Sioux City’s signature dish is loosemeats, also known as a tavern, a Charlie boy, a tastee and a Big T. It is a sandwich of spiced, steamed ground beef that was invented in the 1920s when nutritional dogma declared that frying food was bad and steam-cooking was good. The sandwich first was known as a tavern because it was the specialty of Sioux City’s Ye Old Tavern. Other than as the specialty of Iowa’s Maid-Rite chain east of Des Moines, taverns never gained popularity outside Siouxland. They customarily are dressed with pickle, mustard, and a slice of cheese.
For two-lane travelers, pulling into a parking lot perfumed by hamburgers and hot onion rings is as satisfying as any four-star dining experience. At a true classic drive-in, you...
Road trip through Iowa The Loess Hills Scenic Byway through westernmost Iowa is describes as "truly an American treasure." The trip from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sioux City, Iowa offers Roadfood...
Cinnamon rolls can be found almost everywhere, but no state has better (and bigger) ones than Iowa.
Why Call a Food Loosemeats? Loosemeats has all kinds of aliases, including tavern, Tastee, Big T, and Charlie Boy. Whatever you call it, loosemeats is similar to sloppy Joe, but...
