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<\/p>\nOranges may be the official state fruit, but choosing a potluck dish that represented Florida proved to be a more complicated matter for “America’s Test Kitchen.”<\/p>\n
Faced with choosing a food to represent every state for its \u201cAmerica\u2019s Potluck\u201d effort celebrating America250 and the Fourth of July weekend, the co-hosts of the PBS Create channel show had a hard time narrowing down Sunshine State possibilities.<\/p>\n
There was Key lime pie, of course, said Bridget Lancaster in an interview with WGCU. Other contenders included sour orange pie and chicken empanadas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, Florida has such a rich food history and there’s so many great flavors and cultures to choose from,\u201d said Lancaster\u2019s co-host, Julia Collin Davison. \u201cBut when we were deciding, we really had to think about what kind of ingredients cooks around the country could find. Also, they had to fit into the idea of a potluck, so you had to be able to bring it somewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there’s also a ton of pies, great pies across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since they wanted another sandwich to be included, the Cuban sandwich was crowned for Florida.<\/p>\n
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Amanda Inscore Whittamore<\/p>\n
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WGCU<\/p>\n
Patrons at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers have lunch on Monday, June 29, 2026. <\/p>\n
A great deal of research went into the decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a group of historians, we had a bunch of editors and people from around the country all weighing in, talking about which foods they think should represent each state,\u201d Davison said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I have to say, these were the best editorial meetings you can imagine, sitting around with a map, thinking about all the wonderful food that the U.S. has to offer and all the pockets of cultural identity that you could highlight,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
As for Florida and the Cuban sandwich, a bit of controversy arose. There\u2019s a Miami version and a Tampa version. While the Miami version includes Cuban bread with slow-roasted pork, Serrano ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard, Tampa\u2019s version adds salami and sometimes mayonnaise.<\/p>\n
The \u201cATK\u201d hosts said their researchers concluded that the original comes from the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City.<\/p>\n
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Amanda Inscore Whittamore<\/p>\n
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Patrons at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers have lunch on Monday, June 29, 2026. <\/p>\n
Locally, Cubans Be Like restaurant serves the Miami version, but is flexible if customers want to add or subtract ingredients because all their Cuban sandwiches are made to order.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it’s always yellow mustard and pickles,\u201d said Eylen Garcia, who has worked at the restaurant for three years and was born in Cuba.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s my home and that’s where my family is. That’s where I grew up,\u201d she said. She ate Cuban sandwiches back then, she said, but they were different. More like \u201cstreet food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Garcia loves that it was chosen as Florida\u2019s food.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel proud. I feel represented. There\u2019s a lot of us here in Florida, a lot of Cubans. We\u2019re part of the culture. We\u2019re part of the food. We\u2019re part of everything that happens. So I feel represented.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Amanda Inscore Whittamore<\/p>\n
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Cubans Be Like restaurant makes a Miami-style Cuban sandwich with Cuban bread, roasted pork, Serrano ham, pickles and mustard. <\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, Cuban food reminds her of home and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cCuban food is really special to us because it’s like our comfort food. It’s a very family-oriented thing that we do. Food is a really big thing to Latinos in general, Cubans and Latinos in general. And like, sitting around the table with our families is something that’s really special to us,” Garcia said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re big into celebration. And our food is part of that. Like sitting around a table with your family for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, New Year’s, and eating Cuban food is something that means a lot to us. We’re not the type to sit in separate rooms to eat and stuff. You have to sit with your family at the table and eat.<\/p>\n
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Patrons at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers have lunch on Monday, June 29, 2026. <\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
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A Cuban sandwich sizzles under the sandwich press at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers on Monday, June 29, 2026.<\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
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Cubans Be Like restaurant makes a Miami-style cuban sandwich with Cuban bread, roasted pork, Serrano ham, pickles and mustard. <\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
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Patrons at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers have lunch on Monday, June 29, 2026. <\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
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Cubans Be Like restaurant makes a Miami-style cuban sandwich with Cuban bread, roasted pork, Serrano ham, pickles and mustard. <\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
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Patrons at Cubans Be Like Restaurant in Fort Myers have lunch on Monday, June 29, 2026. <\/p>\n
Amanda Inscore Whittamore \/ WGCU<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it’s nice, and we want other people to also enjoy with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s certainly possible with the Cuban sandwich, whether you choose to dine out locally or make \u201cAmerica\u2019s Test Kitchen\u2019s\u201d version.<\/p>\n
And Floridians have an advantage: We can buy Cuban bread. \u201cATK\u2019s\u201d recipe calls for making your own.<\/p>\n
An \u201cAmerica\u2019s Test Kitchen\u201d marathon from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday on PBS Create highlights various regional foods, including such delights as Rhode Island-style fried calamari, North Carolina barbecued pork and Hoosier pie. <\/p>\n
Basic Cuban sandwich (Miami-style)<\/p>\n
Cuban bread, sliced lengthwiseIn order, add to bottom half:Slow-roasted porkSerrano hamSwiss cheeseAdd top half of bread and press on heated grill or pan.Add pickles and yellow mustard.Press briefly once more.Serve and enjoy!<\/p>\n