The working Cuban neighborhood. La Teresita on Columbus Drive since 1972, Brocato's deviled crabs since 1948, Mauricio Faedo's Bakery Cuban bread daily.
La Teresita on Columbus Drive in West Tampa has run a Cuban counter and dining room since 1972, owned by the Capdevila family across two generations.
Signature: Palomilla steak, Roast pork sandwich, Cafe con leche
Order: Palomilla steak with yellow rice and black beans, a side of yuca fries, and a cafe con leche at the counter.
Tip: The counter (west door) runs 6am to midnight Friday and Saturday; the dining room next door takes reservations.
La Teresita on Columbus Drive has run a Cuban counter and dining room in West Tampa since 1972, owned by the Capdevila family across two generations.
Order: Palomilla steak with yellow rice and black beans.
Tip: The counter side runs 6am to midnight Friday and Saturday; the dining room takes reservations next door.
Brocato's on East Columbus Drive in Tampa has built Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and stuffed potatoes since 1948 from a neighborhood storefront.
Order: The Cuban sandwich with a deviled crab on the side.
Tip: Cash and card both work; the party finger sandwiches (mini Cubans and mini deviled crabs) are the catering pick.
Cafe Don Jose on West Columbus Drive runs a working-class Cuban counter with cafecito, pastelitos and Cuban breakfast plates for the West Tampa crowd.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche
Mar Jaylis on West Hillsborough Avenue runs a working-class Cuban bakery and counter with cafecito, pastelitos and breakfast Cuban toast. Open year-round.
Signature drink: Cafecito and pastelito
Alessi Bakery on West Cypress has run an Italian and Cuban bakery in Tampa since 1912, with famous hand-carved Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and cannolis.
Worth the queue: Hand-carved Cuban sandwich
Mauricio Faedo's Bakery on North Florida Avenue bakes Cuban bread, breakfast Cuban toast and deviled crabs daily, with the family running it since 1955.
Worth the queue: Daily-baked Cuban bread
La Caridad Bakery on West Columbus Drive has run Cuban bread, pastelitos and Cuban breakfast toast for West Tampa for over four decades. The kitchen leans.
Worth the queue: Guava pastelito
Casino Bakery on Howard Avenue runs a working-class Cuban bakery and counter with empanadas, pastelitos, guava pasteles and a daily Cuban toast breakfast.
Worth the queue: Cheese empanada
Brocato's on East Columbus has fried deviled crabs since 1948, the Italian-Cuban version with peppers, onions and tomato inside the Cuban-bread crumb torpedo.
Try: Cuban deviled crab
Faedo's Bakery on North Florida Avenue bakes Cuban bread daily and fries deviled crabs at the counter, a fourth-generation family operation.
Try: Cuban bread and deviled crab
West Tampa Sandwich Shop on North Armenia Avenue serves what Obama once called Tampa's best Cuban sandwich, in a hole-in-the-wall Cuban diner.
Try: Cuban sandwich
Alessi Bakery on Cypress has hand-carved Cuban sandwiches and fried deviled crabs since 1912, with a 100-year-old yeast culture and the Italian-Cuban shape.
Try: Cuban sandwich and deviled crab
La Teresita's counter side runs around the clock on weekends, serving Cuban breakfast plates, palomilla steak and yellow rice with black beans.
Try: Palomilla steak with rice
La Teresita's counter runs until midnight on Friday and Saturday, serving Cuban breakfast, palomilla steak and cafecito to the West Tampa late crowd.
Try: Palomilla steak with rice