WHO MAKES THE BEST CUBAN SANDWICH? THE WINNERS ARE…

May 3, 2024

a group of men sitting at a red table — The judges for the third annual Cuban Sandwich Throwdown includes, from left, County Commissioner Craig Cates, former police chief and city commission hopeful Donie Lee, entrepreneur Paul Menta and City Commissioner Clayton Lopez. Judges also included Key West Weekly Editor Mandy Miles, who took the photo.

What can I say? My job is rough. Take, for instance, this past Saturday, April 27, when I had to drag myself out of bed at the crack of noon, and head to the Green Parrot bar, of all places. (Are you feeling any sympathy for me yet?)

Once there, I was shown a reserved seat at the “judges” table for the third annual Cuban Sandwich Throwdown, a fundraiser organized by Marcia Weaver, owner of Frita’s Cuban Burger Cafe, for the Learning Center of Key West preschool.

Longtime bar manager and friend Jim Fossum hooked me up with an icy cold White Claw and Weaver deposited a literal pile of Cuban sandwiches and a score sheet in front of me, each sandwich identified only by a letter or number for the blind taste test.

See what I mean? I don’t know how I get out of bed some days.

I joined my fellow judges — former Key West mayor and current county commissioner Craig Cates, city commissioner Clayton Lopez, business owner Paul Menta and former police chief and possible future city commissioner Donie Lee — in comparing opinions and marking our tally sheets.

The lunchtime crowd at the Parrot on Saturday, April 27 joined the flavorful festivities with a $20 donation that afforded them the same pile of sandwiches and enabled them to cast a vote for the People’s Choice winner. The event, emceed by the inimitable drag queen QMitch, raised $2,700 for the preschool.

There were two professional categories: Traditional and Non-Traditional Cuban Sandwiches. With only one entry in the amateur category, the trophy went to Yuri Moreno.

As for the rest of the winners, each received a one-of-a-kind trophy — a loaf of Cuban bread in a chalice — and bragging rights for the next year.

And the winners are….