Long time, no post

It has been awhile...over a year, in fact. But I am still thinking of these sandwiches.

I was traveling to the Des Moines Marathon last month and had breakfast at the Big Steer Travel Plaza on the outskirts of Northfield, MN. I couldn't help but notice they had a hot beef commercial sandwich on their menu.

This falls into the geographic range of the beef commercial, seemingly on the eastern edge of the zone.

Might be time to pick up these pursuits again... :)

More beef commercial sandwiches on the web

I've been slacking with my posts. I have been keeping busy with other tasks, and I am thinking another "commercial pursuit" is in order!

In the meantime, I have been doing some more beef-related research. I stumbled upon a website where people can put in a request to find "lost recipes." On it, I found this thread that discusses a beef (or turkey) "commercial" sandwich. It is interesting that they mentioned the variations (open face, bread on top), as I have observed this as well.

Also in the above listed link, there is also another link to a recipe to make your own homemade beef commercial. (There is also a photo of the finished product...Mmmm, looks great!)

An article I found

While perusing the 'net looking for all things beef and gravy, I stumbled upon this article (even though it is not necessarily food-related) that talks in some detail about the hot beef commercial sandwich.

Apparently, the cafe at the infamous Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota, serves a "hot beef commercial." This is intriguing, as it is somewhat of an anomaly. The article even states that outside of Minnesota, this is usually called a hot beef sandwich.

In statistic, they would probably call this an "outlier!" I just thought it was interesting that Wall Drug called the sandwich by this name.

No word from Windom

A little over a month ago I emailed the Windom Chamber of Commerce regarding some information I found declaring them the "Home of the Beef Commercial." Thus far, I have heard nothing back.

Perhaps my e-mail fell on deaf ears, or I was dismissed as a nut case, or maybe nobody is minding the store? Not sure.

Whatever the case, the pursuit goes on, and I will dig up information wherever I can!

Windom, MN - home of the "beef commercial?"

In doing some research, I found a cryptic reference to the beef commercial in a newsletter completely unrelated to food.

The newsletter appears to be from, of all things, an advanced life support training organization. On page two of this newsletter from 2004 (note this link will open a PDF file), there was a comment indicating that the city of Windom, MN, was the "home of the beef commercial."

Intriguing. And what a strange way to find out information on a sandwich!

I e-mailed the Windom Chamber of Commerce last week inquiring as to the validity of this claim, and to see what sort of history the sandwich might might have in the area. I am sure that will be one of the more odd e-mails that the Windom Chamber has received, but should they write back, I will report the findings!

Yours in gravy,

Jean

References to the beef commercial sandwich

Below are some places I have found that refer to the hot beef sandwich as the "beef commercial" sandwich:

Restaurants:

Babe's Music Bar - Lakeville, MN
Bart's Place - Renville, MN
Big Dog Sprots Cafe - North Mankato, MN
Blackbird - Minnespolis, MN
Bump's Family Restaurant - Glencoe, MN
Country Host Restaurant - Slayton, MN
Dorothy's Cafe - Walnut Grove, MN (possibly defunct)
Emma Krumbee's - Belle Plaine, MN
Farmhouse Cafe - Lonsdale, MN
Family Diner - Blue Earth, MN
G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park - Fridley, MN
Hollywood Ranch House - Hollywood (New Germany), MN
Lau's Czech Bakery - New Prague
Lyle's Cafe - Winthrop, MN
MadCake Cafe - Hutchinson, MN
McCormick's Family Restaurant - Hutchinson, MN
Midtown Tavern - Mankato
Mike's Cafe - Marshall, MN
Millie's Deli - Chanhassen, MN
Oodles Cafe - St. Peter, MN
PB&J's Bar & Restaurant - Sunburg, MN
Praha Haus Restaurant - New Prague, MN
R&B Restaurant - Watertown, MN
Roadhouse 169 - North Mankato, MN
Sunni's Grille - Howard Lake, MN
Torey's Restaurant & Bar - Owatona, MN
Ulmer Cafe - New Ulm, MN
Whiskey River - St. Peter, MN