The Horseshoe

There is a sandwich that exists only in Springfield, Illinois, and in the bars and diners of the surrounding prairie that grew up in its shadow. It is called the horseshoe, and it is not subtle. The construction begins with two thick slices of toasted bread, often Texas toast, laid flat on a plate.

On top of the bread goes a hamburger patty or, in the original version, a large slice of bone-in ham. On top of the meat goes a mound of french fries. Then over the entire assembly, covering the fries and the meat and most of the bread, goes a pourable cheese sauce based on the Welsh rarebit recipe: sharp cheddar, eggs, stale beer, Worcestershire sauce, butter, and a roster of seasonings.

The whole thing is called a horseshoe because the original bone-in ham slice looked like one, or possibly because the potato wedges were arranged in a horseshoe shape around it, depending on who you ask. The horseshoe was first served in nineteen twenty-eight at the Leland Hotel, which had been a Springfield institution since the eighteen-sixties. The hotel sourced much of its food from the Leland family farm in what is now Leland Grove.

Whether that farm-to-table approach contributed to the dish's invention is not recorded. A smaller version, using a single slice of bread and one meat portion, is called a pony shoe. There is also a breakfast horseshoe, with sausage and eggs and hash browns in place of the burger and fries.

Springfield does not apologize for any of this.