Maid-Rite is one of the first fast food franchises in the United States starting in Muscatine, IA in 1926. By the end of the 20's there were four restaurants, all of which are still open. They were one of the first chains to have a drive-up window. The location we went to was in Qunicy, IL & has been open since 1928.
Though they have many items on their menu Maid-Rite is known for their Loose Meat Sandwich, a special grind & blend of Midwestern beef with spices. We ordered the Cheese Rite with a slice of American cheese.
This place was totally old-school right down the the bows in the waitresses' hair. The locals seems to like it too as this place was full of groups of people of all ages.
Now, I'm not going to tell you this was a great dining experience, really the food was just ok (though the chocolate malt was great) but it was a chance to experience a bit of American road food history. I know Maid Rite has been opening new locations around the country but these old ones in the midwest are really the draw to us. It ends up Alton Brown went to the same Maid Rite location as us on Feasting on Asphalt, you can watch his segment about it here.
On to Menu Planning Monday...
Monday, we are going to the Dakota to see Holly Cole & will have dinner there.
Chicken Saagwala
Lamb & Root Vegetable Stew
Ropa Veija: Cuban Braised Beef
Pumpkin and Mushroom Pasta with Gorgonzola
Cuban Black Bean Soup
This week's cookie will be an Almond & Cherry Shortbread.
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If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski
Looks kind of like an un-sloppy joe!!! I love those places with the old school diner feel!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Would kill for a chocolate malt right now, too.
ReplyDeleteyou mean ground beef on a bun wasn't a culinary phenomenon? say it ain't so! i've never understood the appeal of these, but to each his own i guess. :)
ReplyDeleteI've wondered what a loose meat sandwich looked like ever since I watched Roseanne. I have learned something... but I can't say it is appetising!
ReplyDeletekat... It's always fun to go to local hangouts when one is out-of-town; you get a great look at new specialty food combinations.
ReplyDeleteYour menu this week is wonderful, especial the Pumpkin pasta with Gorgonzola and the Ropa Vieja. I definitely want to try those. Thanks
Pumpkin & Mushroom Pasta - is that from Cooking Light? If so, I've enjoyed that dish myself before. Hope you do, too!
ReplyDeleteThere are no loose meat sandwiches here! I've wanted to try one since seeing those on _Roseanne_ in the 90s!! =)
ReplyDeleteNever had one of those sandwiches but how fun to try them!
ReplyDeleteI just love Alton Brown.
ReplyDeleteOh man pass me one of those chocolate malts. Yum.
My dad would love this post. He always took us to Maid-Rite when we rolled through Iowa to visit family. I miss it!
ReplyDeleteLove your honesty in the post. I know what you mean with these kind of food dining experiences. We have a place like that here called the Parkett Drive-in. The food is okay to good, but the place has so much history that is really why you go. The chocolate malt does sound awesome though! :)
ReplyDeleteI love Americana places like that. The food may not be great, but I always feel like I'm paying for the experience. Glad you had a good time!
ReplyDeleteWow- I'm so excited that you are making the chicken saagwala. I'm also a bit nervous and hoping that I didn't forget some essential step in the recipe. Let me know how it comes out--
ReplyDelete