The Reuben has two origin stories, and they are fighting. One says it was invented at a poker game in an Omaha hotel in the 1920s by a grocer named Reuben Kulakofsky. The other says it was born at Reuben's Delicatessen in New York, possibly for an actress, possibly earlier. Omaha has the better paperwork. New York has the better accent. Nobody has won.
The Rachel has no such drama. Somebody, somewhere, swapped the corned beef for turkey, kept everything else, and gave it a name that rhymed. That is the entire history.
What's actually in them
| Reuben | Rachel | |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | Corned beef | Roasted turkey breast |
| Cabbage | Sauerkraut | Sauerkraut (coleslaw in some cities) |
| Cheese | Swiss | Swiss |
| Dressing | Thousand island (or Russian) | Thousand island |
| Bread | Rye, griddled in butter | Rye, griddled in butter |
You will see Rachels made with pastrami, and Rachels made with coleslaw instead of kraut, and people who insist a Rachel needs both. Ours is the clean version: turkey, kraut, Swiss, thousand island, rye. If you want it with slaw, ask. We have slaw.
Why ours is shredded, not sliced
Most Reubens use deli-sliced corned beef, stacked. We roast whole corned beef in-house, then shred it. Two reasons. Shredded beef holds the dressing and the kraut instead of letting them slide out the back. And it means the same corned beef goes into our country corned beef hash at breakfast, roasted and shredded with potatoes, peppers, and onions, which is a much better use of a Tuesday's leftover roast than a sandwich fridge.
The rye is the other thing. Griddled rye is not toast. It goes down on the flat-top with butter and comes up with a crust, and because the bread comes out of our own oven it has a real crumb to crisp. A Reuben on soft, cold rye is a wet sandwich. A Reuben on griddled rye is a good one.
Sliced corned beef slides. Shredded corned beef stays.
The other rye sandwiches worth knowing
- Tuna melt: tuna salad, Swiss, tomato, griddled. The Reuben's quieter cousin.
- The Melt (on the burger page): sautéed onions, cheddar, thousand island, griddled rye, around a smash patty. Essentially a patty melt. Essentially perfect.
- Gourmet grilled cheese: your cheese, tomato, rye if you want it. Add peameal bacon and it becomes lunch.
The one sandwich Buffalo made up
Since we are talking about beef on bread: Buffalo has its own, and it is not on our menu, because it belongs to dinner and to a bar. It is called Beef on Weck, rare roast beef on a kaiser roll crusted with coarse salt and caraway, with horseradish and a cup of jus. Our sister restaurant across the parking lot serves it after four. If you have the Reuben here at noon and the weck there at seven, you have covered the two best things that ever happened to sliced beef in Western New York.
Either way, they both come with a pile of hand-cut fries, and if you ask nicely at the counter they come with a pickle too.