 A St. Paul sandwich | |
| Type | Sandwich |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Missouri |
| Main ingredients | White bread,egg foo young patty,pickle slices,white onion,mayonnaise,lettuce,tomatoes |
TheSt. Paul sandwich can be found in manyChinese American restaurants inSt. Louis, Missouri, as well as in other cities in Missouri, includingColumbia,Jefferson City, andSpringfield. Thesandwich consists of anegg foo young patty (made withmung bean sprouts and minced white onions) served with dillpickle slices,white onion,mayonnaise, andlettuce between two slices ofwhite bread.[1][2] The St. Paul sandwich also comes in different combinations and specials, such as chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, and other varieties.[3]
One source has the origin of the St. Paul sandwich dating to the early 1940s, when Chinese restaurants created the sandwich as a unique dish that was in a more familiar sandwich form to appeal to the palates ofMidwestern Americans,[4] an early example offusion cuisine. According to local legend, the St. Paul sandwich was invented by Steven Yuen at Park Chop Suey inLafayette Square, a neighborhood neardowntown St. Louis; Yuen named the sandwich after his hometown ofSt. Paul, Minnesota.
Food writersJames Beard and Evan Jones believed that theDenver or Western sandwich was created by "the many Chinese chefs who cooked forlogging camps and railroad gangs in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries" and was probably derived fromegg foo young.[5][6] They think that the early Denver sandwiches had the same ingredients as what were later known as St. Paul sandwiches in St. Louis and a few other Missouri cities.[7]
This sandwich was featured in thePBS documentarySandwiches That You Will Like in 2003. It was featured in a 2016 book by artist Kelly Pratt, calledStately Sandwiches, as the sandwich chosen to represent the state of Missouri.[8]
It is usually only available in Chinese restaurants in the St. Louis metropolitan area as well as a select fewChinese American restaurants in outlying regions ofMissouri, the owners of which are typically originally from St. Louis.
As of 2024[update] it is not in theMinneapolis-St. Paul area.[9]
