| Medianoche | |
| Alternate Name: | Cuban sandwich |
| Country: | Cuba |
| Type: | Sandwich |
| Main Ingredient: | Egg bread, roast pork, ham, mustard, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles |
Medianoche (pronounced as /es/; Spanish for "midnight") is a type of sandwich which originated in Cuba. It is served in many Cuban communities in the United States. It is so named because of the sandwich's popularity as a staple served in Havana's night clubs right around or after midnight.
A medianoche consists of roast pork, ham, mustard, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles. It is a close cousin to the Cuban sandwich, the chief difference being that a medianoche is made on soft, sweet egg dough bread similar to challah rather than on crustier Cuban bread. Like the Cuban sandwich, the medianoche is typically warmed in a press before eating.[1]
The Elena Ruz sandwich is a turkey sandwich with cream cheese and strawberry jam on toasted but not pressed medianoche bread.[2] It is named after the Cuban socialite Elena Ruz Valdés-Fauli, who convinced the Havana restaurant El Carmelo to put it on the menu in the late 1920s or early 1930s. As of the 2020s, Cuban-American restaurants such as Versailles in Miami have continued to serve the sandwich despite waning popularity.[3]