Great American Bites: Iowa's iconic 'loose meat' sandwich

— -- The scene: Philadelphia has its cheesesteak, New York its pastrami on rye, and New Orleans its Po-Boy, but in Iowa, the regional sandwich of choice is the "loose meat." This unique sandwich is also widely known as a "Maid-Rite," because it is most associated with the 85-year old Maid-Rite chain, which probably invented it. The company is based in Iowa but now has more than 80 locations all throughout the Midwest, Plains states and Texas.

Today Maid-Rite has gone a bit corporate in trying to compete with the national chains, and its lengthy menu includes not only classic loose meat sandwiches, but variations including Philly, chili, bacon, and many more, plus unrelated dishes like corn dogs, fish sandwiches, burritos, pizza-ritos, sweet potato fries, taco salads, and even a loose-meat wrap. Several locations offer a large barbecue menu as well, with pulled-pork sandwiches and the like.

But this is decidedly not the case at Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown, Iowa, the only location with its own unique name. I asked numerous people in Des Moines where to get the best loose-meat and everyone I spoke to said without hesitation, "Taylor's in Marshalltown." Once a year, the restaurant delivers 300 sandwiches to feed the State Legislators at the Capital. All of this is significant, because Marshalltown is more than an hour from Des Moines - and several Maid-Rite franchises are much closer. But if Iowans think it is worth the extra effort to make the trip, who am I to argue? After all, Taylor's is unique among all Maid-Rites, largely unchanged since the day it opened, including the menu. It is small and freestanding, resembling a donut shop, and inside is a horseshoe-shaped counter surrounding the loose-meat grill. There is no drive-through. There is little in the way of decor except for a world map mural on one wall inscribed with the now signature Taylor's tagline, "Go around the world but come back again!" Regular customers do come back, some every day.

Reason to visit: Taylor's Maid-Rite (loose meat) sandwich, pie, shakes.

The food: Cliff Taylor purchased his franchise, just the third Maid-Rite, back in 1928 for the princely sum of $300. At this point, twelve years before the first McDonalds opened, franchising had not evolved into the legally structured science it is today. Blissfully free from following corporate dictates, the Taylor family has stayed true to its roots ever since, making this the closest thing to the original Maid-Rite you can find. Not only are there no tacos or corn dogs, the pies are still homemade, the menu is tiny, and it took 70-years for their biggest revolution: the placement of ketchup bottles on the counter, which occurred only after a months-long customer vote. Opinion is still strongly divided, and while one staffer advocated it, another claimed "ketchup ruins good meat," and many old time regulars insist on having the bottle removed from the counter in front of them on principle.