In Iowa we have something called Taylor's Maid Rite. It is a chain started in Marshalltown many years ago. If anyone here ever watched Roseanne Barr, she and her erstwhile husband Tom Arnold opened a restaurant in Iowa and tried to run Taylor's out of business. She even used her television show to run them down, "Just don't bring me one of those loose meat sandwiches from Iowa. Ugh!" Well, Roseanne is gone and Taylor's is goin' strong. They are mighty good. Made fresh while you watch, the counter runs around the perimeter of the restaurant and the meat is cooked in a huge vat in the center. They do not have any "special sauce" just good old Iowa corn fed beef, ground, cooked and served on a bun.
Call me simple, but I love 'em. When you grow up with something and watch outsiders try to destroy it, it gets yer dander up. There are Maid Rite locations all over Iowa, and I am not sure how far out of state, but none compare to the original. Must be the atmosphere, or the fun of watchin' 'em make it right in front of you. Or maybe the fact that the building looks like something out of the 30s/40s (because it is!) and you half expect to see a '39 COE pulling a big rig wheel in and two guys (not one) in real trucking company uniforms complete with the officer's style hats come walking in.
