Tavern Sandwich

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Nathaniel calling from Vermillion, South Dakota.

So, what’s happening in Vermillion?

Well, I was calling to ask. I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri.

And when I moved here, I learned that there is a type of sandwich that they call a tavern.

Now, to me, a tavern would be a drinking establishment, possibly an inn.

But apparently it’s something like a sloppy joe.

And when I ask, they tell me it’s like a loose meat sandwich, but I’ve also never heard of that.

So I’m wondering about the etymology and if taverns are peculiar to this region.

I wouldn’t say taverns are peculiar to that region.

You mean tavern the sandwich, right?

Oh, the sandwich.

The sandwich.

Oh, okay.

I was like, I know about drinking establishments from around the world.

I’ll take you to London sometimes.

We’ll have a ball.

And so your experience then, because you’re from Kansas City, is about barbecue and that kind of thing, right?

Well, actually I’m vegetarian, but yes, I did grow up around that kind of thing.

Hey, I’ve had some of the best barbecued eggplant that you will ever eat in your life.

It’s an amazing stuff.

In Kansas City?

No, not in Kansas, in Missouri.

Okay, okay.

Okay, so let’s talk about this sandwich called the Tavern.

You only heard this when you moved to North Dakota?

South Dakota.

South Dakota, sorry.

Yeah, and so you’re not so familiar with the ingredients because you’re vegetarian, but you gather that it’s what, like a sloppy joe without the sloppy part?

I’ve asked.

I’m told that it’s similar, that there’s something different about the sauce.

And everyone here seems to think it’s the most normal thing in the world, but I called a number of my friends in different parts of the country, and I can’t find anyone who’s heard of it.

Yeah, everyone thinks that their family pathologies are normal until they go to school for the first time.

So this is a diner food?

This is not the kind of thing you’re eating at a restaurant that has cloth napkins, right?

I wouldn’t think so.

It seems to be served at things like church functions, you know, that sort of thing.

Okay, so your granny would make it, maybe.

Yeah, that’s what I gather.

And is it on a bun?

It is.

Apparently it’s on a hamburger bun.

I mean, it must not be identical to a sloppy dough because they, you know, liken it to one, but something similar.

So a tavern sandwich on a bun, casual food in the Dakotas.

Yeah.

Didn’t know it in Missouri.

What else can we add to this, Martha?

Yeah.

Well, I think it goes by lots of different names.

Oh.

So it’s like the devil.

Something like that, especially for a vegetarian, right?

Yeah, I’ve heard it called a maid right.

M-A-I-D-R-I-T-E.

My wife from Iowa knows it by that name.

Really?

Yes, the Maid Right is an establishment throughout Iowa.

They make these loose meat sandwiches.

Maid Right.

M-A-I-D hyphen R-I-T-E, Maid Right.

So Maid Right, I’ve also heard it called a tasty, but you’re right that it’s sort of loose meat, maybe seasoned, but not with so much sauce, as I recall.

It’s thought to perhaps have been invented at a, what, a diner in Sioux City, Iowa, I think.

It’s contested, though, isn’t it?

Oh, well, yeah.

As always with two diners, right?

Yeah, everybody takes credit for frankfurters and hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

But there is a story about a restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa called Ye Olde Tavern.

And people have associated it with that.

So I’m not sure if that’s exactly the origin, but that’s the story that gets repeated the most.

But it is interesting.

I mean, I’ve never even been offered one.

You haven’t.

Never seen one on a menu in person.

Yeah, so it’s very interesting to hear that, Nathaniel.

Oh, brilliant. Thank you so much.

Well, it’s our pleasure.

You know, we could talk your ear off about food questions.

Thanks for calling.

Well, thank you very much for having me.

All right. Bye-bye.

All right. Bye-bye.

Martha, I’m betting there are a lot of different names for these kinds of sandwiches, these loose meat sandwiches on bun, right?

Oh, I bet. I bet we’ve only scratched the surface of the bun.

Mm-Only toasted half of it.

Something like that.

If you’ve got names for this sandwich that we haven’t talked about, give us a call, 877-929-9673.

Or send your questions about regional food dishes to words@waywordradio.org.