A tavern sandwich is a sandwich

Sandwich

A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...

 commonly consumed in Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, originally consisting of unseasoned ground beef

Ground beef

Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...

 on a bun

Bun

A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....

, mixed with sauteed onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s, and sometimes topped with pickles

Pickled cucumber

A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...

, ketchup

Ketchup

Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...

 and mustard

Mustard (condiment)

Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...

. The tavern has a number of different names. Two of the most commonly used are "loose meat" and Maid-Rite

Maid-Rite

Maid-Rite is an American casual dining franchise restaurant chain. Before it became a restaurant chain, it was a single restaurant, opened in 1926 by Fred Angell. By the end of the 1920s, there were four franchises granted; these four restaurants are still in operation.Maid-Rite Corporation's CEO...

.

The sandwich was independently created twice: first in 1920 by Carroll Dietz of Missoula, Montana

Missoula, Montana

Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...

, and again in 1934 by Abraham Kaled at Ye Olde Tavern

Ye Olde Tavern (Iowa)

Ye Olde Tavern was a tavern sandwich restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa. Becy Mercuri says that the founder of Ye Old Tavern Dave Higgin created the tavern sandwich in 1924, although rival chain Maid-Rite lays claim that its founder, Floyd Angell, created the sandwich in 1926 in Muscatine,...

 in Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....

. It is the latter location which gave the sandwich its name. Maid-Rite began selling their version of the sandwich in 1926 under the name "Loose Meat," predating the name "tavern sandwich". In Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, this sandwich is also known as a "loose hamburger sandwich".

The tavern sandwich is unlike a hamburger

Hamburger

A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...

, because a tavern's meat is cooked loose rather than formed into a compact patty. It more closely resembles a sloppy joe

Sloppy joe

A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat...

, without the tomato sauce.

The sandwich is well known throughout the Midwestern United States

Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....

, and is served not only in small, local establishments but also in franchise locations such as Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...

. The Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

-based chain Nu Way Cafe

Nu Way Cafe

NuWay is a fast-food restaurant based in Wichita, Kansas. Opening July 4, 1930, the restaurant soon became famous for its loose-meat sandwiches and root beer. The sandwiches are similar to what is known in the Upper Midwest as tavern sandwiches and the ones served at that region's Maid-Rite...

 serves a version of the tavern/loose meat sandwich called a "Nu Way".

In later seasons of the American sitcom Roseanne

Roseanne (TV series)

Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...

, Roseanne Connor (Roseanne Barr

Roseanne Barr

Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...

) co-owns a restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

called the "Lunchbox" in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois, which specializes in loose meat sandwiches.