The History of the Reuben Sandwich

The Reuben is an iconic sandwich, but its origins are contested. There are two major claims, the first of which dates back to 1914. According to the story, the silent film actress Annette Seelos, a colleague of the era’s mega-star, Charlie Chaplin, reportedly asked Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish proprietor of Reuben’s Restaurant on East 58th Street in New York City, to make her a sandwich — she requested ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, and coleslaw on rye, which has some similarities with the modern Rueben, although it is not an exact match. (The Reuben is traditionally made with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and either Russian or Thousand Island dressing on rye bread.) The second claim starts with the Blackstone Hotel (later the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel) in Omaha, Nebraska. In the latter half of the 1920s, Reuben Kulakofsky was playing a routine poker game at the hotel and requested a late-night sandwich of corned beef using cured and slow-cooked brisket (rather than the minced and jellied British version) and asked for sauerkraut on top. The hotel’s owner, Bernard Schimmel, is credited with creating the sandwich for him but adding both Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing, then finishing it in a hot press. Notably, the sandwich he created is essentially the same as the modern Reuben. His granddaughter later mentioned his typewritten specifications for the sandwich, which included kosher dill pickles, a radish rose, and potato chips on the side. Named after the customer who made the initial request, the sandwich became known as the Rueben at the hotel and became a favorite on the menu, even winning the 1956 National Sandwich Idea Contest. While we may never know the exact origin of the Reuben for certain, or how it became so entwined with New York City, we do know that by the mid-20th century, it had become a staple in New York’s Jewish delis. As it spread from one establishment to the next, the sandwich became increasingly ubiquitous in the city, and today, it is considered quintessential New York cuisine. Of course, the Reuben sandwich is also beloved all over the U.S. and appears on restaurant and diner menus all across the country, but it still has a special place in New York. Notably, it also plays a key role in Omaha, where Schimmel invented his famous version, and National Reuben Sandwich Day is celebrated there every year on March 14th.