OK, so we are at my wife’s Uncle Richard’s talking about blogging and the latest blog of the Cuban bread, when right in the middle of the conversation, my phone beeps signaling the arrival of an email. It reads,
“You have to go back to Ybor City to La Segunda Central Bakery on 22nd. My grandfather’s family still runs the bakery (The More’s) and they put the palm frond in it to this day. It is the only bread the Columbia Restaurant will use for ALL its restaurants, so if you go to the Columbia in St. Augustine, try it and if you don’t like it – I’ll take it off your hands!!! It’s the only white bread I still eat! We’ll be at Richard’s tonight. Hope to pop in and see you. Sharon.”
So, I respond with,
“I am sitting and talking with your in-laws right now. And we are talking about Cuban bread!”
Moments later, Sharon and Ken stop in to visit with his parents and talk with us. We enjoyed a great evening, talking about everything from Cuban bread to new babies born into the family to old babies who were no longer babies but now little kids to The Owl Hoot Trail Trilogy by T.H. Bear to Ken’s Cessna Cardinal and my 170.
Then, at the invite of Richard and Anti, we start into dinner of roasted Cuban pork, salad, and Cuban bread. Over dinner, we talk more of Tampa from the old times, the bakeries that are gone, the old buildings that have disappeared, and of an era in Tampa history that is no more and never will be again.
Tampa is truly a different place today than what it was when my mother moved here in 1959. At that time, it was almost a sleepy little town. Today, the area containing St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tampa is a huge metropolis.
Since my family arrived, it has changed tremendously. This city does not resemble the one I grew up in throughout the last four decades of the last century. I cannot imagine what my father-in-law and his brother, Richard, and their wives, have witnessed over the time since they were born here.
If you get a chance, get to Tampa and go over to either La Segunda Central Bakery or the Columbia Restaurant for some authentic Cuban bread. You will very much enjoy the experience.
What a very pleasant evening… Ardy and I really enjoyed the time with all of you.
-30-
©2010 J. Clark
I am attaching an article from 12/2/08 of the Tampa Tribune regarding La Segunda Central Bakery and how they almost lost their contract with Hillsborough County Schools because of trans fats. They were considering buying bread from New Jersery! http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/02/ybor-bakery-breaks-bread-recipe-keeps-school-deal/ The owner wasn’t about to lose one of his largest contracts so he experimented and now all of the bread is made without trans fats.
Bottom line, not only is their Cuban bread the best tasting, it is also a healthier option (if you are going to eat Cuban bread!)