The St. Paul Sandwich
So I decided that monthly I am going to bring you an STL fact… Because if you don’t know I’m from St. Louis, MO and I love my city! The first fact is going to be about the origin of the St. Paul sandwich that is found in most if not all “true” St. Louis Chinese food restaurants… Or simply put, the “chinamen” to us STL-ians.
Upon leaving St. Louis I was shocked when I had my first run in with a Chinese food restaurant in Columbus, Ohio on the campus of The Ohio State University. I ordered shrimp fried rice and was so appalled © Yeezy that my fried rice was a tan color and only had shrimp, peas and carrots in it. I immediately handed it back and told the kind gentleman that he had given me the wrong order… And he told me I was mistaken… I knew that I wasn’t gonna eat that, so I figured I’d ask for something I KNEW they couldn’t mess up… A St. Paul sandwich… The guy taking my order then looked at me like I was crazy and said “Um, we don’t sell those here.” I called my Mom FURIOUS and she said “Mia, you can only get those in St. Louis!” I replied… “IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE!?!?!”
To those that are not STL natives I know you’re probably wondering… What the hell is a St. Paul sandwich? Well, let me enlighten you… A St. Paul consists of an egg foo young patty (made with minced white onions and bean sprouts) served with pickles, white onion, mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato all in between two slices of white bread. Yummyyyyy… If you’re really trying to earn your negreaux card than you’d order it with cheese… COONTASTIC!
Where did the St. Paul come from? Well, after asking my Mom and several other old folk in the Lou I came up with somewhat of an answer…. My Great Aunt said that the sandwich dates back to the 1940s. She said it was because back then American’s weren’t really trying to eat at Chinese food restaurants… So they created the St. Paul to make their cuisine appeal to various demographics.
Well, where did the name come from? I got so many answers from so many different people on this… But one story I distinctly remember was from when I was in High School. I went on a field trip that gave us a history of St. Louis “staples.” The tour guide told us that 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…
Hungry yet? Head to STL and get a St. Paul ASAP… and bring one to me in the Chi :)