Search for the Best Loose Meat Sandwich in Siouxland: Fall of 2012

Three more places that serve loose meat sandwiches have been discovered in late October and early November. After taste testing 2 sandwiches from each establishment here are the results:

HyVee Kitchen
HyVee is a grocery food store on Hamilton Blvd in Sioux City. HyVee has a kitchen that sells prepared food as meals to customers. Every so often they serve tavern or loose meat sandwiches.

Results of HyVee's tavern sandwich taste test:
Bun - Rating: 4 points. The bun was a bit dry.

Meat - Rating:  3 points. The meat had very good moisture. But was too salty. there was a hint of other spices in the meat but it was very subtle due to the salt content. The salt content needs to be reduced or the amount of the other spices increased.

Condiments/Toppings - Rating: 5 points. The proportion of ketchup, mustard and pickles were perfect

Total score: 12 points out of 15 possible.

The Garden Cafe
The Garden Cafe is what Gus's Family Restaurant used to be. Gus's closed and The Garden Cafe opened. It is in the same building where the tavern or loose meat sandwich was first created. The original restaurant was called Ye Old Tavern and the sandwich was named Ye Old Tavern Tavern. The proprietor of the Garden Cafe claims the original recipe used by the person who invented the original tavern sandwich is being used to make their tavern sandwiches. There is currently no proof to back this claim up. Proof of the original authentic recipe from the creator of the original tavern sandwich would have to be something that is authored and signed by that person. But the Garden Cafe's tavern sandwich did make it into a magazine called Food Network Magazine as the best in all of Iowa.

Results of The Garden Cafe's tavern sandwich taste test:
Bun - Rating: 5 points. The bun is perfect size for the amount of meat and is toasted.

Meat - Rating:  4 points. The meat had a perfect blend of spices and great flavor. But it was a little too dry.

Condiments/Toppings - Rating: 5 points. The proportion of ketchup, mustard and pickles were perfect. An interesting option that was not used was mayo. on the side.

Total score: 14 points out of 15 possible.

Bob Roe's Point After
Bob Roe's Point After, or The Point After as it is most often called was founded in 1982 and opened at its current location in 1991. During the lunch hour she service tavern sandwiches.

Results of Bob Roe's Point After tavern sandwich taste test:
Bun - Rating: 5 points. The bun is perfect size for the amount of meat.

Meat - Rating:  5 points. The meat had a perfect blend of spices and great flavor. It also has chopped onion mixed in.

Condiments/Toppings - Rating: 5 points. The proportion of ketchup, mustard and pickles were perfect.

Total score: Perfect score of 15 points!

Note: for these 3 tavern sandwich taste tests the ketchup and mustard was added by the tester.

To Date rankings of all loose meat or tavern sandwiches tested:

Tied for 1st Place - Coney Island and Bod Roe's Point After with a perfect score of 15 points.
Tied for 2nd Place - Billy Boy, Miles Inn and the Garden Cafe with 14 points.
Tied for 3rd Place - Tastee Inn and Out and Ali's Good Time Grill with 13 points.
4th Place: HyVee Kitchen on Hamilton Blvd with 12 points.
5th Place -  Culver's with 9 points.
6th Place - Dairy Queen with 8 points.

Previous articles:
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City: Update
History of the Loose Meat or Tavern Sandwich
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City: Update Continued
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Siouxland: 10/6/2012

Search for the Best Loose Meat in Siouxland: 10/6/2012

The search for the best loose meat sandwich continues. Recently the blog author found a place to try one at an unexpected location.

In Sioux City, Iowa during the weekend of October 6th and 7th, 2012 the 9th Annual Riverssance or Renaissance Fair took place. At the festival were food vendors. One of these vendors was Ali's Good time Grill. Loose meat sandwiches were among the menu items.

The blog author tried one. Here are the results:

Ali's Good Time Grill is a privately owned and operated food vendor who sells food from their menu at events like fairs and festivals.

Bun - Rating: 4 points. Very good thickness for the proportion of meet and condiments but it was a little dry and was not toasted.

Meat - Rating:  4 points. The meat had very good moisture, indicating it was properly steamed and not too much of the fat was drained. It had a hint of pepper and other spices blended in very well. It did not soak into the bun as to make it mushy.

Condiments/Toppings - Rating: 5 points. The proportion of ketchup, mustard, onions and relish were perfect. The relish was a very nice change compared to pickles. The onions were nice and crisp.

Total score: 13 points out of 15 possible.

 The ranking is from first to last:


1st Place - Coney Island with 15 points.
Tied for 2nd Place - Billy Boy and Miles Inn with 14 points.
Tied for 3rd Place - Tastee Inn and Out and Ali's Good time Grill with 13 points.
4th Place -  Culver's with 9 points.
5th Place - Dairy Queen with 8 points.

Here are the previous articles on the search for the best loose meat sandwich:
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City: Update
History of the Loose Meat or Tavern Sandwich
Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City: Update Continued

Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City: Update Continued

The search for the best loose meat sandwich in Sioux City continues. Recent developments in the search have caused a shift in the standings. Per this blog article Gus's Family Restaurant: Search for the Best Loosemeat in Sioux City  had the best and Maid Rite second to last. With the recent closings of Gus's and Maid Rite, mentioned in this article: Search for the Best Loosemeat Sandwich in Sioux City, Iowa: UPDATE Billy Boy Long Island Loosemeat and Miles Inn Charlie Boy are tied for first place.

 The scoring for the loose meat sandwich was based on 5 stars, one being the lowest, with an average for the overall score. Three parts of the sandwich are scored: bun, meat and condiments/toppings. The scoring has now changed to the highest possible score being the total sum of points from each of the 3 parts of the loose meat, 5 points each, with the maximum possible score of 15 points.

Recently this blogger had the pleasure of taste testing 2 more loose meat or tavern sandwiches: Culver's and Coney Island. Two sandwiches from each establishment were tested.

Here are the results, in the order tested:


Culver's:
Culver's is a franchise restaurant. The tavern may only be made locally and not available everywhere.

Bun - Rating: Half a point. Both halves of the bun were way too thick Thicker than 2 slices of Texas toast. The bun was way too dry and crumbled apart. This blogger could not finish the bun form the second sandwich, but did finish consuming the meat.

Meat - Rating:  3.5 points. The meat had very good moisture, indicating it was properly steamed and not too much of the fat was drained. It did not soak into the bun as to make it mushy. The meat had a good blend of spices, but was too heavy on the pepper. With the onion mixed in with the meat it did not need as much pepper.

Condiments/Toppings - Rating: 5 points. The proportion of ketchup and mustard were perfect.

Total score: 9 points out of 15 possible

Coney Island:











The Coney Island in Sioux City has been in business for over 90 years. Today along with serving their famous hotdogs they serve loose meat or tavern sandwiches.  

Bun - Rating: 5 points. The bun very well made. Was not too: dry, moist, thick or thin. It is unknown where Coney Islands purchases the buns used for their loose meat sandwiches, but other places that serve loose meats should find out and purchase from the same vendor.

Meat - Rating: 5 points. What ever ingredients are used in the secret recipe Coney Island purchased from Ye Olde Tavern, it is perfect. All the flavors that should be part of the meat are there. The meat, fat and spices are perfectly blended. The meat is perfectly moist, but not so much it turns the bun mushy and not too dry it falls out of the bun and will not hold together. As it hits the tongue it comes apart and all the flavors come to life on the taste buds.

Condiments/Toppings - 5 points. Perfect blend of ketchup, mustard, onion and pickle. One condiment or topping did not over power another and the combination added the great flavor of the meat.

Total score: 15 points out of 15 possible.

As previously mentioned the over all scoring for the loose meat and tavern sandwiches was based on an average of the total score. With the new scoring system here is how the now rank, including Culver's and Coney Island. The ranking is from first to last:

1st Place - Coney Island with 15 points.
Tied for 2nd Place - Billy Boy and Miles Inn with 14 points.
3rd Place - Tastee Inn and Out with 13 points.
4th Place -  Culver's with 9 points.
5th Place - Dairy Queen with 8 points.

Because of the tie between Billy Boy and Miles Inn they will have to be re-tested to see who scores higher. 

History of the Loose Meat or Tavern Sandwich

Chronology:

1920 - The steamed hamburger is created in Missoula, Montana by Carroll Dietz. *

1924 - Dave Higgin created the tavern sandwich in 1924 at his restaurant, Ye Old Tavern.

1926 - Muscatine resident and founder of the Maid Rite restaurant franchise created his version of the loose meat sandwich.

1927 - The Maid Rite restaurant chain is established.

1934 - Abraham, or Abe Kaled purchased Ye Old Tavern, renamed it Ye Olde Tavern and created his own formula for the loose meat sandwich, calling it the Ye Olde Tavern Tavern.

Abe and his wife, Bertha sold the sandwiches for a dime each in wax paper without a plate. They originally bought the buns from a local bakery, the Iowa Baking Company, which was later acquired by and renamed as Old Home Bakery. The buns were from then on dual-sourced depending on bread quality. Because of the restaurant's success, imitations started appearing, though they were actually an imitation themselves, based on Dave Higgin's original creation.

Later on, the restaurant went from just serving sandwiches to serving meals also. Abe's sandwich creation was served at fundraisers, churches, restaurants, and bars in and around the greater tri-state and Sioux City area.

Bertha sold the taverns at an event called Tavern Days, Ye Olde Tavern Day which served 875 people in less than two hours. Their children helped at the restaurant when Bertha became ill. The restaurant closed in 1974 because of Bertha's failing health; none of their children were interested in operating it.

At some point during its history Ye Olde Tavern sold the recipe for their famous tavern sandwich to the owner of Coney Island. Coney Island has been using it ever since. They currently use it for their tavern or loose meat sandwiches at the Hamilton Blvd location.

1974 -  Ye Olde Tavern closed. Some time after 1974 Gus's Family restaurant opened in the building at 14th and Jackson Streets in Sioux City, Iowa Ye Olde Tavern occupied. Gus's had their own recipe of the tavern sandwich.

April 2012 - Gus's Family Restaurant closed. Ending another era of tavern sandwiches. a new restaurant will open in the same location. It is unknown as to whether or not they will serve tavern or loose meat sandwiches.

* There is no document proof the loose meat, or steamed hamburger sandwich was created in Missoula, Montana in 1920, predating when it was first created in Sioux City, Iowa by Dave Higgin. There is documented proof it was first created in Sioux City in 1924. Inquiries have been made, to historical organizations, asking for proof showing it was first created in Montana in 1920. Such proof has yet to surface. Until then 1924 will stand as the year the loose meat or tavern was first invented in Sioux City, Iowa by Dave Higgin.

Definition of a tavern or loose meat sandwich:
 The term loose meat is generic and encompasses pretty much all forms and styles of the sandwich. It is more commonly known as the tavern, a tavern has to be made a certain way for it to be defined as a tavern.

Here is Wikipedia's definition: Wikipedia: Tavern Sandwich

Here is another more accurate definition: ground beef prepared loose, not formed into a pattie, scooped onto a bun, typically with an ice cream scoop and topped with, but not limited to: mustard, ketchup, onion, pickle, even cheese and bacon. Tavern meat, when cooked right, should have 2 distinct tastes: 1. seasoned, steamed beef. 2. a light greasy taste. A true tavern NEVER has any sort of sauce or gravy added to it, whether tomato based or otherwise. Once a sauce is added the sandwich is no longer a tavern and CANNOT be called such. One other thing a true tavern or loose meat NEVER has mixed in with the meat  is rice. Once rice is added, it stops being a tavern or loose meat is becomes something else entirely.

Search for the Best Loosemeat Sandwich in Sioux City, Iowa: UPDATE

One year ago the blog author tested as many loose meat sandwiches in Sioux City as he could. Sioux City is  where the loose meat sandwich was invented in the 1920's. The results are posted here: Search for the Best Loose Meat in Sioux City

Since April of 2011 there have been some changes in Sioux City regarding which establishment serves the best in the city. Two of the restaurants have closed, Maid Rite and Gus's Family Restaurant. It is unknown if Maid Rite will reopen. Gus's was bought by a new owner and will reopen on April 14, 2012 with new staff as the Garden City Cafe. It is unknown if they will continue to serve the loose meat sandwich.

Until such time that Maid Rite reopens, if ever, and until it is known whether or not the new Garden City Cafe will serve loose meat sandwiches the results of the taste test have changed.

Here are the standings as of April 2012:

Results for best loose meat in Sioux City:
Tied for 1st Place: Billy Boy, Long Island Loosemeat and Miles Inn, Charlie Boy:
Billy Boy Drive Thru
Billy Boy on Facebook

                                     



















Charlie Boy on Facebook



 










 



























2nd Place: Tastee Inn and Out, Cheese Tastee:
 Tastee Inn and Out on Facebook

 










3rd place and dead last: Dairy Queen:
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen on Facebook


 








The history and origins of the creation of the loose meat sandwich have been called into question. Some claim it was first created in Missoula, Montana in 1920, 4 years prior to its creation in Sioux City, Iowa. This blogger has seen such information on the Internet alluding to this. This blogger has also made an inquiry, by contacting historical groups in Montana to confirm whether or not this is true. Until such time when evidence, such as documented proof, presents itself to the contrary the historical fact remains, backed up by documented proof this blogger has personally seen in Sioux City, Iowa, that the loose meat or tavern sandwich was created in Sioux City, Iowa in 1924 at Ye Old Tavern Restaurant located at 14th and Jackson Streets and was originally called the Ye Old Tavern Tavern.