Ha! My grandmother - South Dakotan born and raised - called them taverns, when they were really sloppy joes! Used to confuse the hell out of me as a kid, because my mother - her daughter - never called them taverns, only sloppy joes. People, people, get your terms straight!
fluiddruid - I’ve never seen a Maid Rite here in Nebraska, but I’m going to find one. I know they have them in Missouri, too.
ETA: Wow, two in the Omaha metro area. In new developments. Well, I now have a quest for the weekend.
Looks like it. With lots of bits of sauteed onion mixed in with the meat. I can see how modern palates could go for a bit more seasoning in the mixture, but I’m going to try it in its plainest form tonight. If it’s too austere, I can tweak the recipe in the future to ramp up the flavor a bit. I stopped at the supermarket this morning and got plain ol’ “white trash” cheapy hamburger buns.
I may have been born and raised in California, but both of my parents came from the midwest. Sometimes, when I crave comfort food, I think I their taste in cooking came to me in their genes.
YAY! I was just about to page you to see if the Maid-Rite was still in Springfield! Is it still over close to Springfield High School?
I grew up in Spfld, and we went to that Maid-Rite all the time when I was in high school. They used to make their own root beer in a big wooden keg too.
I didn’t know until today that Maid-Rite was a chain. I always thought it was one of the very few non-franchise places in town.
I just looked at the one pictured in your link. That is definitely the same one I went to as a kid. Although, it used to be painted red.
(Thanks for the nostalgia moment)
Punxsutawney-style loose meat sandwiches AKA Carlino burgers a just a couple spoonsful of hamburger chopped up very fine while frying served on a hotdog bun with ketchup, mustard, pickles, and minced onions.
You missed the Carb Rite Cup and the Maid Rite Salad – not to mention, the Maid-Rite Maiden (I wonder if they administer a test?) informs me that they use no trans fats.
Good lord, that’s a blast from the past. My grandmother used to take me to a Made-Rite in Chicago in the early 70’s. I had no idea they were a chain, or still around.
No no no, far too exotic. Too spicy. Remove any sign of chili powder, cumin and oregano, get rid of any tortillas, tomatoes, chilis, cheese or lettuce and scoop it onto a white hamburger roll and you’re nearly there. Remember, this is WASP food. I’m sure someone’s Grandma figured out a way to work mayonnaise and/or jell-o in there at some point, but thankfully, they stoned her to death with the potato rolls, so it’s all good.
Which is apparently even fancier than Taylor’s Maidrite ground beef, because, although front and rear beef quarters contain many of the best cuts of the beef, I don’t believe they include the short loin which breaks down into the Tenderloin and NY Strip (Porterhouse or T-Bone).
Inspired by this thread, I stopped by Maid-Rite for lunch today. Yes, it’s still there, still the same, still looks like the picture in the link, still close to Springfield High School (although that may change—one of the big local issues right now is whether or not to build a new high school on the far west side of town to replace the current SHS).
They still make their own root beer. According to the signs, they’ve been there since 1924 and have the nation’s oldest drive-up window. I didn’t see anything about the place that would indicate it’s part of a chain or franchise. There’s not much on the menu but Maid-Rite sandwiches, though they do offer a Maid-Rite horseshoe.
Holy Cow! After seeing that there are some in Illinios I figured i would check the site to see where. They just opened this month two blocks away from my office. I am definately checking them out!!!
Mmmmm horseshoe sandwiches! I haven’t had one of those in years either.
Stop by the Cozy Drive-in for corn dogs and fries and you will have pretty much reached the Springfield trifecta of food.
Essentially it is two slices of thick toast, covered with either ham or hamburgers, then covered with french fries and then all of that is covered with a cheese sauce. It is
served open faced, and as I am sure you can tell, very heart healthy!
It actually is better than it sounds, it really is.
Okay, that was seriously yummy junk food. I think I’m going to prefer them to hamburgers.
I made them thusly: Finely chopped half a large onion and sauteed it in vegie oil, then added a pound of high-quality, lean burger and chopped it up as it cooked. Added a cup of water and a dollop of “Better Than Bouillon” and let it boil rapidly. When the mixture reached the almost-dry stage, I added a couple of good squirts of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Served it up on warm white buns with mustard, ketchup, and dill pickle slices.
Mr. brown devoured two large Maid-Rites and I one, although it was all I could do to keep from having a second. He gives it two big thumbs-up, as well.
This will be in my dinner repertoire due to its simplicity and yumminess.
silenus, did you carry through with your loose meat plans?
Growing up in Bettendorf, IA in the 60s and 70s, we had maid-rites quite frequently. They were always called that, regardless of whether we got them from the eponymous establishment, the school cafeteria, or Ross’s Diner. ISTR a few Maid-Rite restaurants being around in the early 70s, but they disappeared by the end of the decade, only to enjoy a resurgence in this one – I’ve been to a couple in the QC over the last few years.
As for sloppy joes, which are at best a distant cousin to maid-rites, I made a batch Sunday night, using BBQ sauce, deli mustard, salsa, & picked jalapeno slices – a distinct improvement over Mom’s ketchup/mustard-based recipe.
