Saturday, February 11, 2012

Iowa eats: Tastee Inn & Out, Sioux City


A few weeks ago, I drove (in the snow) to Sioux City in northwest Iowa.  I stopped at the Tastee Inn & Out, a retro drive-thru restaurant known for its "Tastee" sandwiches. The Tastee is a loose-meat sandwich, or a "tavern" as folks in northwest Iowa call them.  (I grew up calling them "maid-rites." My husband, who grew up in far northwest Iowa, calls them taverns.)

Did I mention it was snowing? So I didn't want to leave my car to take the photos.  Here's the view of the Tastee Inn & Out neon sign from my car window.


 There's a tire store right next to the Tastee Inn & Out.  Couldn't help but notice this guy.


I ordered a Tastee and fries for $2.  Pretty much can't beat that deal. 


Are loose-meat sandwiches a Midwest thing?  What does your family call them: taverns, maid-rites or sloppy joes?

2 comments:

  1. I have always called it a maid-rite. If lots of a tomatoe sauce added to it then I call it sloppy joes. I have never heard the term "tavern" applied to this sandwich. I guess we are clueless here in Central Iowa. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also grew up calling them maid-rites, probably because of the Maid Rite chain. The best maid rite, of course, used to be at Taylor's in Marshalltown. On our way home from a weekend trip a few years ago with my mom, sister, and aunt, we decided to detour through Marshalltown for a stop at Taylor's. I had not been there in about 12 years. I was a little disappointed, my maid-rites were not quite as good as I remembered them. The chocolate malts were, however, so it wasn't a total waste of a detour!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails