Horseshoe sandwich

The horseshoe sandwich originated in Springfield, Illinois. This food item begins with thick-sliced toasted bread, most often Texas toast and most often hamburger patties, or ham. Other meat is also used, such as deep fried pork tenderloin, grilled or fried chicken breast, and fried fish filets. There is also a "breakfast" horseshoe that uses eggs and hash browns. The meat is topped with French fries and smothered with a "secret" cheese sauce. The cheese sauce varies from chef to chef, allowing each cook to create a signature dish, but the sauce is a sort of Welsh rarebit, common ingredients being eggs, beer, butter, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper.

A smaller portion, with one slice of bread and one serving of meat, is called a "Pony Shoe".

It is considered a local Illinois delicacy.

History
Though there is debate on the subject, the horseshoe may have been first made by Steve Tomko at the Leland Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, in 1928. Steve Tomko later took the recipe to Waynes Red Coach Inn, where it was served until the late 2000s.

Another theory is that Chef Joe Schweska invented the horseshoe. Steve Tomko was a 17-year-old dishwasher at the hotel at that time and learned to cook from the chef Joe Schweska.