Curious what other people call this sandwich:

[VeloClone]

Pleny of right answers, only one wrong answer. Maidrite.

This is a brand name (unlike the others) This isn't debatable unless people also agree you can call anything you want a Big Mac. A Maidrite is a Maidrite just as a Big Mac is a Big Mac.

That doesn't stop people from all over the South from calling just about any soda a Coke. I'll bet many people put Band-aids on their cuts even if they are made by any of the other manufacturers. How many people do you know who use a Kleenex rather than a facial tissue? Ever heard of an ice resurfacer? Just about everyone calls it a Zamboni, even though that is only one brand of product. It may be the most common one but it certainly isn't the only one. Brand names get misused quite commonly.

Besides the thread isn't about what is proper, it is about what people actually call the sandwich. You can correct them all you want, but that doesn't change what they actually call it on a daily basis.

 

[SaraV]

That sounds like a sloppy joe. To me a barbeque sandwich is pulled pork or roast beef with barbeque sauce. Don't think I ever had ground beef with BBQ sauce. A Tavern as described above (never heard of) sounds like it could be good. If you want a maid rite, go to Taylors in Marshalltown.

Coming from the Chicago area, definitely a sloppy joe. I didn't know loose meat/tavern/Maid Rite until I started hanging around the Iowa/Nebraska area after I was married.

I agree with Henks. A BBQ sandwich is shredded beef or pulled pork with BBQ sauce. I know I've heard this type of sandwich called a barbecue, but very rarely. Just because you use BBQ sauce on it doesn't make it a barbecue.

Great, now I'm craving sandwiches from the Canteen.

 

[statsaholic]

Tavern for me. Also seems to be the typical name up in northwest Iowa (at least our little bubble north of Sioux City).

And south.. My understanding is that the tavern was what was served during stockyards years at a tavern on south lewis blvd in Sioux City.. either the Crosstown Tap or the Half Moon Inn (next to old Half moon lake). The name is a local one to areas around Sioux City

 

[statsaholic]

Charley boys are great .. outstanding.. and only at Miles....

 

[Rhoadhoused]

My mom always made sloppy Joes with ketchup and mustard

 

[IAStubborn]

Barbeque-fine
Sloppy Joe-perfect
Maid Rite- false. No tomatoes sauce
LMS- maybe, but see Maid Rite
Tavern - fine

Tavern=maidrite=lms=no sauce
Sloppy joe=sauce

 

[xboxfever]

Am I the only one to call it a beef burger?

 

[MeanDean]

Raised in Muscatine County; home of the Maid Rite (not Made Rite as in the poll).

As previously mentioned Maid-Rite is a registered trade marked brand name and does not contain sauce (tomato or other). So just stop calling sloppy joes maid-rites and you won't sound like an idiot, m-kay?

Many local school districts, who served loose-meat sandwiches as a part of their hot lunch program, that were menued as "Maid-Rites" have been warned to not use that term. They wouldn't call a beef patty sandwich a Whopper or Big Mac.

I never heard the term "tavern" for this sandwich in eastern Iowa until I was in my 40's. The person calling them that was divorced from a woman from NW IA so it makes sense that that must be where he picked it up. Otherwise no one in E. Iowa calls them that.

 

[capitalcityguy]

That doesn't stop people from all over the South from calling just about any soda a Coke. I'll bet many people put Band-aids on their cuts even if they are made by any of the other manufacturers. How many people do you know who use a Kleenex rather than a facial tissue? Ever heard of an ice resurfacer? Just about everyone calls it a Zamboni, even though that is only one brand of product. It may be the most common one but it certainly isn't the only one. Brand names get misused quite commonly.

Besides the thread isn't about what is proper, it is about what people actually call the sandwich. You can correct them all you want, but that doesn't change what they actually call it on a daily basis.

I understand your point that the thread wasn’t asking what was correct, but instead, what people call them. That said, why perpetuate ignorance on this and not differentiate between what might be regional preferences to names of things vs. when someone is labeling something out of ignorance?

Your analogies are flawed because bandaids, Kleenex, etc essentially are the same thing across different brand names. There is no risk when you ask for a band aid, that someone will give you a needle and stitches. They are essentially a commodity (as are tissues). On the contrary, because everyone has such different preferences for tastes, food dishes are anything but a commodity so labels do matter.

If someone tells you they are serving Maidrites and you’re instead handed a sloppy joe, there IS a noticeable difference (and not welcomed if you’re not a fan of the tomato taste of sloppy joes). As I said, a Maidrite is no different than a Big Mac in that it is very specific and associated with a restaurant chain, so it can be defined. If you attempt to make a Big Mac at home, are you going to use Ranch or Thousand Island dressing?

 

[VeloClone]

I understand your point that the thread wasn’t asking what was correct, but instead, what people call them. That said, why perpetuate ignorance on this and not differentiate between what might be regional preferences to names of things vs. when someone is labeling something out of ignorance?

Your analogies are flawed because bandaids, Kleenex, etc essentially are the same thing across different brand names. There is no risk when you ask for a band aid, that someone will give you a needle and stitches. They are essentially a commodity (as are tissues). On the contrary, because everyone has such different preferences for tastes, food dishes are anything but a commodity so labels do matter.

If someone tells you they are serving Maidrites and you’re instead handed a sloppy joe, there IS a noticeable difference (and not welcomed if you’re not a fan of the tomato taste of sloppy joes). As I said, a Maidrite is no different than a Big Mac in that it is very specific and associated with a restaurant chain, so it can be defined. If you attempt to make a Big Mac at home, are you going to use Ranch or Thousand Island dressing?

You failed to include the Coke in you list of flawed analogies. They even call a 7-Up or a Mountain Dew a Coke and a 7-Up is just as far away from a Coke as a Sloppy Joe is from a Maid-Rite.

Look, I recognized that my family was misnaming them when I got older and actually had a Maid-Rite. Wrong or right, people call things very different names in their own homes. I will give you that at least you aren't calling people idiots over it. I had always heard that people were unreasonably passionate about Maid-Rite, but didn't experience it until this thread.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Barbecue? That's about as wrong as Maid-Rite, just on the other end of the spectrum.

 

[capitalcityguy]

You failed to include the Coke in you list of flawed analogies. They even call a 7-Up or a Mountain Dew a Coke and a 7-Up is just as far away from a Coke as a Sloppy Joe is from a Maid-Rite.

Look, I recognized that my family was misnaming them when I got older and actually had a Maid-Rite. Wrong or right, people call things very different names in their own homes. I will give you that at least you aren't calling people idiots over it. I had always heard that people were unreasonably passionate about Maid-Rite, but didn't experience it until this thread.

The reason for all soda pop being referred to as Coke down south (at least from my understanding) is because Coke was founded down south (in Atlanta) and was essentially the first of any kind of soda pop at the time (and definitely the most popular). To the people of that region, Coke was pop (because there was no other choices) Eventually different flavors (and brands) of pop were introduced, but by that time, Coke had become synonymous with "soda" so it just stuck. Not a big deal if you never leave the area, but it technically isn't correct and thus when a person moves outside that region, their ignorance (although innocent) can cause confusion.

 

[capitalcityguy]

Barbecue? That's about as wrong as Maid-Rite, just on the other end of the spectrum.

What I find odd about this is there is nothing barbecue about it. This one confuses me.

 

[VeloClone]

The reason for all soda pop being referred to as Coke down south (at least from my understanding) is because Coke was founded down south (in Atlanta) and was essentially the first of any kind of soda pop at the time (and definitely the most popular). To the people of that region, Coke was pop (because there was no other choices) Eventually different flavors (and brands) of pop were introduced, but by that time, Coke had become synonymous with "soda" so it just stuck. Not a big deal if you never leave the area, but it technically isn't correct and thus when a person moves outside that region, their ignorance (although innocent) can cause confusion.

I agree with you on all counts. It can also cause confusion for others coming to the area who ask for a Coke and the reply is "What kind of Coke can I get you, darlin'?"

 

[capitalcityguy]

I agree with you on all counts. It can also cause confusion for others coming to the area who ask for a Coke and the reply is "What kind of Coke can I get you, darlin'?"

That almost exact thing happened to me first time I was in San Antonio. I was in a McDonald's and ordered a Coke with my meal. The gal asked me what flavor. I was in 7th grade at the time and wasn't aware of the regional quirk, and kept telling her just a Coke. I can't recall how we resolved it, but I did eventually did get my Coke.

 

[mapnerd]

I think "tavern" is a dumb name for a food item. A tavern is an establishment, not a food. Please stop the insanity.

 

[Gizmo]

Growing up in NW Iowa, they were taverns but once I went to ISU the central Iowa word was sloppy joe.

 

[cowgirl836]

What I find odd about this is there is nothing barbecue about it. This one confuses me.

that's what we called it, dammit!

 

[Clonefan94]

I don't really care about the other names, but Barbeque is just plain wrong. Barbecue is a style of cooking, it's not a sandwich. It's like calling a hot dog a "Boil" or a tenderloin sandwich a "Deep Fry"

Does make sense if it happens in Minnesota though. My cousins up there used to aske me if I wanted a Coke, then when I said yes, they'd ask what kind I wanted, "Sprite, Orange or Dr. Pepper"

 

[Wesley]

So how did joe get sloppy?