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... More

Wolfie's Rascal House As we mentioned last week, Wolfie's Rascal House in Miami was set for demolition this past Sunday. Today, the New York Times visits the classic old-school Jewish deli on its final night and as the take-apart begins, with patrons buying mementos off the walls and tables. Even if you don't live in Miami or have fond memories of Rascal's—having never been, I certainly don't—you can't help but think of your own favorite holdover from another era and imagine your reaction would be much the same on seeing it fade from the scene. I know I'd be in line in an instant to grab a stool from The Cozy Inn in Salina, Kansas. (But I hope it... More

Wolfie's Rascal House Wolfie's Rascal House, the last deli left standing in Miami, Florida, is closing its doors Sunday, according to the great chronicler of all things deli-related, David Sax. Mr. Sax says on his site: The Rascal House, arguably the most famous of all Florida’s numerous Jewish delicatessens, will go into the sunset after one final brunch. Friends who have been in the past weeks have said it’s deserted, and many thought it was already closed. I just called and spoke with the cashier, who, in her wisecracking, war-weary voice, told me that Sunday would be the final day of business. Then the sticky buns and buttery rugelach would go away, as would the towering corned beef sandwiches... More

Stephen Colbert, in the segment "People Destroying America," interviews Susan Pagan, a mother who tries to "obliterate America's happiness" by denying her daughter a Happy Meal earned from a good report card in Seminole County, Florida. Video after the jump.... More

Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in! In 2006, the Southern Foodways Alliance headed to Apalachicola, Florida, for a field trip. We were there for four days—tonging for oysters, gathering Tupelo honey, casting shrimp nets, worm grunting, and, of course, eating well. As always, we did more than a bit of talking with the folks who have built their lives and livelihoods in the Apalachicola Bay. These people tell stories of the days when schools of mullet were thick in the water and when Tupelo honey was a local find, not a... More

Southern Foodways appears on Fridays as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in! From left: Florida fishermen Tommy Ward and A. L. Quick After the long, hot bi-valveless summer, it is time to anticipate and then savor platters filled with glistening briny fresh oysters. Can’t get a table at your favorite seafood place tonight? Then, celebrate the start of oyster season with a virtual trip to Apalachicola, Florida. Meet the men and women who have long worked the water, tonging for oysters, casting nets for shrimp and fish, and cultivating soft-shell crabs on Florida’s Forgotten Coast. People have... More

In honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year (Sunday, February 18 ushers in the Year of the Pig), we talked to our food-loving friends around the country to find out where they'd send Serious Eaters for some great Chinese food. Inside, picks from Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco, and more, along with the symbolism of some of the food eaten on the eve of the new lunar year. Year of the Pig—Serious Eaters, don't you love that?!? More