Serious Sandwiches: Pressed Duck Sandwich at Deli Lane Cafe, Miami
If you are in Miami, Florida and looking to eat the "best sandwich," you'd be hard pressed (terrible pun intended) to find something better than a Cubano. Sliced pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles, ironed flat inside a French-style Cuban bread—it's a near perfect creation. I say near perfect because you will always find that person from Tampa who insists on salami, but in all my years growing up in Miami, genoa was something you got on an Italian sub, not on a Cuban. Salami or not, it's about as serious as sandwiches get.
And yet, this past weekend when I was visiting Miami, I found myself craving a totally different pressed sandwich. A sandwich whose soul is about as far away from Calle Ocho as you can get, and possibly my earliest memory of eating what we would now refer to as a "Serious Sandwich": the pressed duck sandwich from the Deli Lane Cafe in South Miami.
South Miami is not exactly known for its destination dining, and Deli Lane is no exception. Opened 20 years ago as a yuppified Jewish-ish diner, it has undergone many physical and existential transformations over the years, and yet when I returned this past weekend, I found that the sandwich that evokes such great memories for me has remained exactly the same.
It starts with duck breast, which is oven roasted, pulled and then sautéed on the flat top grill with white onions. The mixture then gets placed inside a hoagie roll, topped with brie, pressed on the flat top until browned, sliced into thirds, and then served with my favorite part—a house made dipping sauce from apricot preserves, burgundy, and red wine vinegar. The richness of the duck, creaminess of the brie, and sweet frutiness of the dip makes for a perfect sandwich that tastes exactly the same today as it did over 15 years ago.
About the author: Zach Brooks is the proprietor of Midtown Lunch, where he blogs about affordable lunchtime eats in Midtown Manhattan. The guy knows his sandwiches.
Deli Lane Cafe & Tavern
Address: 7230 SW 59th Ave
Phone: 305-665-0606
Website: delilane.com
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12 Comments:
If I ordered pressed duck and got a roasted duck breast with brie, I'd be sorely disappointed.
mphughes at 2:11PM on 04/02/08
Yay! I love Deli Lane! When I was at school at UMiami (which is right up the street), I used to live a couple of blocks from D-Lane. I still miss this sandwich and their amazing breakfasts on Sunday morning.
Also, in case you are in the mood after your duck- you can always stop by BT's Gentlemen's Club, which is literally in the parking lot of Deli Lane. Haha. The strip club doesn't detract from the Turkey Bacon Club, though!!
firelight1016 at 2:24PM on 04/02/08
According to all of the information I've ever read, the Cuban originated in Tampa and always should have the following ingredients: roast pork, ham, salami, swiss cheese, sour pickles, mustard and mayo. It should not have lettuce or tomato but it doesn't necessarily bother me if it does.
kevlney at 2:24PM on 04/02/08
S.W.O.O.N.
Curlz at 3:44PM on 04/02/08
I would eat that sandwich like it owed me money.
Imo the Tampa Cuban is not a fraud, it's a good sandwich and I'm not a sandwich purist, if it's good and it's a sandwich it is going in my belly. I've had delicious Tampa Cubans even with lettuce and tomato.
Even Miami Cubans aren't generally real Cubans anymore on account of the mustard instead of mojo.
redfish at 4:00PM on 04/02/08
@redfish - i agree with you- a good sandwich is a good sandwich. i guess I was just trying to preempt the inevitable "a real cuban has salami" comment by stating that I prefer mine without salami, because that's how I had it growing up in Miami.
That being said, I certainly wouldn't kick a Tampa Cuban out of bed, that's for sure.
Zach Brooks at 4:40PM on 04/02/08
I had a grouper reuben sandwich a couple of weeks ago that was just insane.
Imagine a Reuben except with a large fillet of grouper instead of the regular meat ... it was ridiculous. Kill me now and let me go to heaven for I have tasted the perfect food .... it will cost you $10.95 but it is worth it.
redfish at 5:29PM on 04/02/08
where did you have? sounds like next week's serious sandwich...
Zach Brooks at 6:07PM on 04/02/08
This looks amazing!
Tres2006 at 6:47PM on 04/02/08
How about Pressed Rat and Warthog, with an atonal apple on the side?
{a memory is a terrible thing to waste}
srhcb at 10:03PM on 04/02/08
forget the sandwich, how about those fries?!
boltchloer at 11:45PM on 04/02/08
I'm with boltchloer: Those fries look delicious.
So does the sandwich. I'd hit it.
modysoul at 7:50AM on 04/03/08