Last Saturday was a historical time in Tampa history. That's when the Taste of the Cuban Sandwich event, featuring many local chefs and restaurants, crafted the world’s largest Cuban sandwich at the HCC campus in Ybor City.

This 36-foot sandwich also helped the hungry and was donated to the Tampa Bay Harvest, a non-profit which seeks to end hunger in the Tampa Bay area.

A handful of Tampa restaurants worked together to make the sandwich including Faedo’s On The Go, Stone Soup Co., Gaspar’s Grotto, Ronnie’s Pastrami’s, The Floridian, La Teresita, Mata Monchies, Danny’s All-American Café, The Columbia, and more.

Ray Villadonga and the Rayzilla’s Dreamboats provided great live music as the sandwich was created. HCC Ybor hosted the event on their campus and the room it was held in set the stage perfectly for the event with a crowd of curious diners.

Restaurants had stations around the event and sold food and refreshments to visitors. My personal favorite Cuban sandwich was from The Floridian. It literally melted in my mouth and was one of those tastes that runs through your mind long after the food is gone. After the food was made, Yvonne Yolie Capin presented the resolution naming the Cuban sandwich the historical sandwich of Tampa and presented a copy of the resolution to HCC Ybor for their generosity and support in hosting the event.

The event was sponsored by Latin Times Media, Inc. and President Jolie Gonzalez really did a great job bringing the community together for this historical moment in Tampa food history. My excitement for the 2013 Cuban Sandwich Festival next March is already building after the great event this past weekend.