Horseshoe Sandwich

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

This open-faced sandwich is a specialty of Springfield, Illinois, where it was originally invented. A horseshoe typically consists of two slices of toast topped with two meat patties or slices of ham, french fries, and a cheesy sauce. Originally, it was served on a hot metal plate known as anvil , with ham and fries representing the horseshoe nails, hence the name. There is also a variety of this sandwich called a pony shoe sandwich , which is half of a regular horseshoe portion. The sandwich was invented in the late 1920s by a chef named Joe Schweska at Leland Hotel in Springfield.