St. Paul sandwich

The St. Paul sandwich is a type of sandwich found in Chinese American restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri. The sandwich consists of an egg foo young patty (made with Mung bean sprouts and minced white onions) served with dill pickle slices, white onion, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato between two slices of white bread. The St. Paul sandwhich also comes in different combinations and specials such as chicken, pork, shrimp, beef and other varieties.

A St. Paul sandwich

Origin

One source has the origin of the St. Paul sandwich dating as far back as the early 1940s, when Chinese restaurants, desperate to attract the American public to try their cuisine, invented the sandwich to appeal to their palates. According to local legend, the St. Paul Sandwich was invented by Steven Yuen at Park Chop Suey in Lafayette Square, a neighborhood near downtown St. Louis; Yuen named the sandwich after his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Variations

According to one source, the phrase "St. Paul sandwich" has meant multiple things over the past sixty years. Originally, the St. Paul sandwich was known to contain four pieces of white bread with chicken and egg stuffed inside; later it was just egg and hamburger on a bun.

Availability

It is usually only available in Chinese restaurants in the St. Louis metropolitan area, as well as at least one Chinese American restaurant, Chinese Wok Express on Broadway, in Columbia, Missouri. It can also be found at Yen's Chinese Food restaurant in Springfield, Missouri. This sandwich was featured in the PBS documentary Sandwiches That You Will Like in 2003. You can also pick up a vegetarian option at the Blue Door in St. Paul, MN. Royal China in Winfield, Missouri also carries the sandwich randomly as a daily special.

See also

• Chow mein sandwich
• Bánh mì
• List of sandwiches

External links

• Article on the St. Paul sandwich by Thomas Crone
• "St. Louie Chop Suey," St. Louis Riverfront Times, Nov 15, 2006