new for us- maid rite

When we were in Springfield, IL we searched down a few letterboxes. One of them took us to a little restaurant called Maid -Rite. The website describes it as a 'Retro Americana Classic Diner Restaurant.' This was the original one so it had a total retro feel. They are known for their sandwich called the maid-rite, homemade root beer, and hand wrapped gum drops.

This one is a historical site and boasts the first drive up window. It really was just that, a wooden window that you drive up to.

We found the letterbox, drank root beer, talked with Sam- the owner since 1970. We enjoyed a maid-rite on the house. It was SO delicious. Unfortunately, we had just eaten a nice lunch at my Grandma's so no one had room for more.

Later, my Grandma helped me track down a recipe for a maid-rite. The first meal I made after arriving home was this. They were good. Very good in fact. I think I'll need to have another one at the shop to compare... maybe two! Here's the recipe my grandma's friend gave us:

(no one will probably notice, but the recipe calls for dill sandwich slices and spears are in the picture. There was some initial confusion on my part... I made a pickle relish for ours, but then hubby reminded me that they had slices instead. oh well)

Maid-Rite

1 pound ground beef

1 packet dry onion soup mix

white buns

sandwich dill pickles

yellow mustard

paper towel

Steam the ground beef. I think this means that you cook it covered in a skillet with a little water. Also, you break it up a lot to make it as fine as possible. After it's mostly cooked, add the packet of soup mix. On the buns, place a pickle or two and a squirt of mustard. Then add the loose meat to the top. Place the top bun on. Place in the paper towel and smash. Then, warm in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.

Those apple slices are not fresh, they were cut the day before. That's another thing I learned last week; another way to keep apple slices looking fresh, other than lemon juice. Dip apple slices in saltwater and then place in whatever storage container. When I tried this at home I just cut the apples up and put them in a glass container. Then I filled the dish with water and poured in some salt. I shook it all, then drained out the water. It worked. It gives the apples the slightest salty taste, but we have all agreed at our house that it's pretty yummy. When I was eating the apple slices last week before I knew about the salt, I didn't taste it. They were served at the funeral dinner with brei topped with brown sugar. It was fantastic. I am now looking for an occasion for brei. Do you really need a special occasion for brei though?