And I’ve always heard the NYC creation of the sandwich at Reuben’s Restaurant and Delicatessen.
from here:
Cottonwood Hotel review
Russian dressing has horseradish, otherwise almost exactly the same. And in order to keep that dressing fresh, you’d have to sell a LOT of reubens. So, that is forgivable.
I cut my pizzas into star shapes because I like the pointy first bite.
I thought Russian was the same as Thousand Island except without the bits of relish?
But yeah, a Reuben is a Reuben. There are many sandwiches very similar to a Reuben, and some of them are quite tasty in their own right, but they’re not Reubens. I’m willing to allow for pastrami instead of corned beef, but that’s about the limit.
At one job, I would visit a local deli for lunch from time to time and got in the habit of ordering reubens, partly because there were no questions to be answered; the sandwich is well defined.
This kind of “Russian dressing” must be a regional thing, because the only form of Russian dressing I’m familiar with is tomato-based, dark red, and sweet/sour. It doesn’t look or taste anything like Thousand Island, and it certainly doesn’t have horseradish in it.
I grew up in Connecticut, where Russian dressing was regularly available but once on a trip to the West Coast, I asked for it at a restaurant and the waiter had no idea what I was talking about.
Maybe it is regional - because the Russian dressing I am used to is a similar color to Thousand Island and the taste is similar as well, although Russian has horseradish and Thousand Island has relish. The dressing I think you are talking about is called French/Catalina/ Tangy tomato in my experience.
I’ve never seen Russian dressing in any restaurant in California — and I’ve been to many.
That outing may be the first time I became aware of regional differences.
Never been to LA, hmm? Plenty of Russian dressing, much of it homemade, at delis and other restaurants, particularly in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and the Westside.
Wishbone “Russian” is a completely different creation than deli Russian. As noted above, deli Russian is 1000 Island -relish +horseradish.
A pastrami on rye with cole slaw and 1000 Island is a Rachel.
I lived in LA for seven years, but I was much younger and poorer then, so admittedly I didn’t eat out that much, and definitely never in Beverly Hills. I’ve been in the Bay Area for almost 40 years, so that’s where the vast majority of my California dining has been.
Yeah, I grew up with Wishbone Russian which is closer to French or Catalina and was completely flummoxed when I’ve gotten the real stuff.
IME there’s “Russian” in areas of significant Jewish concentration and a totally different “Russian” elsewhere in the USA.
Same tends to be true of Reubens, delis, good rye, etc.
And the combination of meat and cheese means you won’t find a genuine Reuben in a kosher deli.
Exactly.
I ordered a Cheeseburger in a Jewish deli. The burger came on one plate, with the fixins. On another small plate was the top half of the bun, with a slice of cold cheese on it.
Just like the McD.L.T.!
Portillo’s in Moreno Valley, Ca is awesome. Best Chicago beef sandwiches in Ca. Chicago girl.