Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Obama Horseshoe


Springfield restaurants, ever ready to set trends, have fashioned three variations of an "Obama horseshoe sandwich" to mark the inauguration of the 44th president, and the fourth from Illinois (we include Grant and Reagan).

The State Journal-Register proposed a competition, and three chefs responded, at Maldener's, Sangamo Club, and D'Arcy's Pint. You won't find the usual combination of hamburger, fries, and cheese sauce; these concoctions emulate Chicago-style hot dogs and Hawaiian comfort food, in keeping with the new President's tastes.

The story appears today in the SJR. For background on the horseshoe, see this Wikipedia article, which proclaims that Springfield is indeed the birthplace of the artery-clogging sandwich. Do any of our readers still eat this stuff?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Believe! IF I could get to one, I might well eat TWO! More than comfort for me! Wonder what SPAM would "do" for one kind. Hum!

Lee

Anonymous said...

No way! But at least I wouldn't have to pay the check if I ate one - I'd have a stroke halfway through my meal.

Barbara

C E said...

Maldner's had the only original horse shoe, the others had pony shoes. A horse shoe has double the meat.

Anonymous said...

I thought Norb Andy's on Capitol (across from First Methodist)had the original. If not, they sure had a good horseshoe. Also on Laurel between Macarthur and State Street, across from Pease's, is a family restaurant (which seems to have taken the trade Balestri's used to have) which has very good horseshoe and "pony shoe" sandwiches.
Here in Kentucky a very similar sandwich is called a "hot brown," named for the Brown Hotel in Louisville where it originated.
--Allan Stephens 8-)

Will Howarth said...

The only similar concoction offered in the NJ-PA area is a "Philly Cheese Steak," shaved bits of steak, onion, and peppers, fried in grease on a hot grill, dumped on a large split bun, and smothered with cheese sauce. I've always thought the Horseshoe was a lot more elegant and better-tasting. But then, so is Illinois!

Anonymous said...

The Leland Hotel, was one of the first to have the Horseshoe, and I believe, at that time it was the best. Norb Andy's was right there, too, my father used to say. I was too young to go in there. We found the best tasting Shoes at D'Arcy's Pint, but that was some time ago. Sure wish they had them in OK.
Libbie