Florida's Most Iconic Sandwiches Were Once Sold At McDonald's For One Year In 2001

It's well known now that McDonald's in different countries often features wildly different menu items to cater to local tastes, but the chain once did the same thing with a sandwich here in Florida. Back in 2001, some McDonald's franchises in South Florida tried catering to the local community themselves by introducing a Cuban sandwich.

That's right, the Cuban, one of the most iconic sandwiches in the Sunshine State, found its way onto McDonald's menu for a test run at the turn of the century. This wasn't an initiative from McDonald's corporate. Instead, an interview from the Associated Press at the time shows a McDonald's employee saying the idea was kickstarted by local Hispanic franchise owners in South Florida, which has a heavily Cuban population. Still, there may have been plans for a wider release if things had gone better. The initiative apparently had the blessing of the larger McDonald's business community, and was also tested in South Florida locations with less Hispanic customer bases.

The sandwich itself wasn't some alternate ingredient copycat either. Menus from the time say it was made with pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, and even had the traditional Cuban-style bread. However, that attempt to stay "authentic" may have been its undoing.

The Cuban testing video at McDonald's shows a man being interviewed by a McDonald's employee who checks off a feedback form as they talk. That man can be heard saying "delicioso," "delicious" in Spanish. However, other news stories from the same time seem to suggest people were underwhelmed by the sandwich. One complaint seems to be that McDonald's didn't get the bread right, with a report suggesting it was closer to the sweeter bread used in a medianoche sandwich, not a true Cuban. And since the difference between Cuban sandwiches and Medianoches is all in the bread, this was a huge mistake. Other interview subjects seemed happy that McDonald's was reaching out to the community, and thought the result wasn't bad, but overall, nothing special. Miami is the right place to get the best 9 Cuban sandwiches, so  "nothing special" wasn't good enough. As one person told the South Florida Sun Sentinel at the time, "It's alright for fast food."

The Cuban sandwich wasn't the only thing McDonald's tested with that South Florida menu in 2001. There was also a "Latin McOmelet" for the McDonald's breakfast menu, which was actually an omelet sandwich with tomatoes, ham, onions, and a "spicy cheese" on a roll. For dessert, there was a Dulce de Leche McFlurry, and there was even a pineapple mango dipping sauce for McNuggets. Obviously none of these worked out and made it wide, but McDonald's hasn't given up on bringing the flavors of South Florida to the chain. In 2018, the company tried another Cuban menu in the region, this time with fried croquetas, guava pastries, and even Cuban coffee with a line of McCafecitos — including coladas, cortaditos, and café con leche. So far, nothing has broken out, but for the sake of people living outside South Florida, McDonald's should definitely keep on trying.