Reuben sandwich

Infobox Prepared Food
name = Reuben Sandwich


caption = One half of a Reuben sandwich.
alternate_name =
country = United States
region =
creator = Multiple claims
course = Main Course
served =
main_ingredient = corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing and rye bread
variations =Rachel and multiple others
calories =
other = The Reuben sandwich is a grilled or toasted sandwich made with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and either Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing. ["Reuben", "Oxford English Dictionary", 2 ed.] It is typically made with rye bread or pumpernickel bread.

Origins

The origins of the Reuben are disputed. One account holds that Reuben Kulakofsky (sometimes spelled Reubin, or the last name shortened to Kay), a grocer from Omaha, Nebraska, was the inventor, perhaps as part of a group effort by members of Kulakofsky's weekly poker game held in the Blackstone Hotel from around 1920 through 1935. The participants, who nicknamed themselves "the committee," included the hotel's owner, Charles Schimmel. The sandwich first gained local fame when Schimmel put it on the Blackstone's lunch menu. [(nd) [http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Sandwiches/ReubenSandwich.htm History of the Reuben Sandwich] What's Cooking America? website. Retrieved 6/9/07]

Descendants of Arnold Reuben, owner of the now defunct Reuben Restaurant on 58th Street in New York City, also claim the invention of the Reuben sandwich. They maintain that Reuben created the sandwich in 1914 to serve to Annette Seelos. Supporters of this version claim that Seelos was starring in a silent film opposite Charlie Chaplin. However documentation of Seelos's performance in a 1914 Chaplin film has not been found.

The Reuben Kulakofsky version of the invention appears more widely accepted. Fact|date=September 2008 Who|date=September 2008 This might be due to the fact that it is mentioned in the movie "Quiz Show", although as a further embellishment in the film it is asserted that the sandwich was invented to win a contest. The oldest known Reuben artifact is a menu from the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1937. Also, in an article published in the Omaha Evening World-Herald in 1965, Ed Schimmel (son of Charles Schimmel, Blackstone Hotel owner) claims to have visited the Manhattan Reuben Restaurant where he ordered a Reuben only to discover that "they had never heard of it."

Variants

Several variants of the Reuben sandwich have appeared, including the most common, the Rachel, which substitutes pastrami for the corned beef and cole slaw for the sauerkraut.Fact|date=October 2008 Other variants include a version sold by the US sandwich chain Arby's which substitutes a sandwich wrap for the rye or pumpernickel bread. Customers can also substitute turkey for the corned beef if they wish. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_49_40/ai_n16883127 "Arby's best-selling Reuben is joined by wrap variant", Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 4, 2006]

ee also

*Monte Cristo sandwich

References

* Claiborne, Craig. "Whence the Reuben? Omaha, It Seems." The New York Times (May 17, 1976).
* McMorris, Robert. "Omaha Saw Invention of Reuben Sandwich." Omaha Evening World-Herald (September 11, 1965).
* McMorris, Robert. "Just When You Thought Reuben's Roots Were Safe." Omaha World-Herald (January 31, 1986): 2.
* McMorris, Robert. "This Reuben Explanation Seems Hard to Swallow." Omaha World-Herald (July 24, 1989): 2.

External links

* [http://www.rowlandweb.com/reuben/ Reuben Realm] In-depth reviews of Reuben sandwiches from dozens of restaurants.