Maid-Rite - Newton, IA

Posted By Michael Stern on July 7, 2001 6:55 PM

Most Roadfood is found in unique restaurants – individual, one-of-a-kind places that sing of their town or region. However, there are a handful of small chains that somehow fulfill the Roadfood criteria – great local food and color – that we cannot resist. Maid-Rite is one of those. An Iowa institution since 1926, the Maid-Rite sandwich shops throughout the state specialize in a very unglamorous but addictive version of what Midlands folk know as a “tavern” or “loosemeats” sandwich: seasoned ground beef that is stirred and worried as it cooks so it never clumps. The result might best be described as a sloppy joe without the slop: a heap of flavorful, pebbly beef that gets piled into a bun.

There are Maid-Rites all over Iowa; and frankly, we’ve never eaten a bad one; but we have especially fond memories of a recent visit to the one in Newton. It was 9am, just after breakfast hour, and we feared that lunchtime sandwiches might be hours away. No, the cooks told us that the meat was just ready, as it always is this time of day for those customers who need their fix early. We sat at the counter and had a Maid-Rite and a Cheese-Rite, both with the works, while a veteran customer across from us called out an order of “Meat and coffee.” Alongside his cup of coffee was presented a good-size bowl filled with nothing but hot, seasoned Maid-Rite meat – no bun, no condiments, not even a pickle to distract his taste buds as he spooned his way to the bottom.

Once nice thing to know about the Newton Maid-Rite is that it has a drive-through window, so you never have to leave your car to get a bag full of sandwiches. A word of warning: once unwrapped, a Maid-Rite is virtually guaranteed to spill all over everything.

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Posted By Lynn Thompson on July 17, 2011 1:09 AM

Maid-Rites exist in Illinois as well. The photo and description do the sandwich justice. It is indeed like a sloppy Joe without the slop; and is therefore a sloppy Joe without any flavor. Don't waste your time on these sandwiches. They are flavorless, with very little seasoning, and as you can imagine from the photo are impossibly frustrating to eat.

The location in Macomb, IL (now closed) had truly wonderful milk shakes, and their french fries were quite good as well. I tried several versions of the sandwich and found them all disappointing. I usually threw the sandwich away and just enjoyed the shake and fries.

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Milk Shake

French Fries

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Posted By George Devol on June 26, 2011 8:04 PM

The photo makes it look like ground-up asphalt. No way I would eat that!

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Posted By Heather Johnson on October 18, 2010 4:21 PM

Maid Rites are an institution in Iowa. I miss them so much now that I'm in Ohio. We have a place out here that has them - but they are NOT the same. There's something about the greasy bun, the cheese gooing on the loose meat, the pickle for tartness. God I miss my Maid Rites! (cheese-rites are my favorite).

Maid Rites were also seen on Roseanne as a "loose meat sandwich" - my husband calls them "fall apart burgers". It's loose meat with some special seasoning on a small bun. They typically come with pickle and onion - then you can add cheese for extra fantastic flavor!

You know you're in the right place if they give you a spoon with your maid rite - that means it's messy and you'll need the spoon for clean up duty. The Maid Rites are typically small little joints and that's why they're awesome. They are the definition of "greasy spoon" - literally!

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Cheese-Rite

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Posted By Steve Godwin on May 8, 2008 4:13 PM

I'm a native of Newton, IA and have lived in Tucson, AZ for 30 years now. But every time I go "back home," the Maid-Rite is one of my first stops. And I'm not alone. When you meet people from Iowa, two food topics generally come up: breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches and Maid-Rites.

It's difficult to discern what it is that makes a Maid-Rite so good. It's just a plain white bun piled up with ground beef cooked up in a steam table with tiny bits of onion and some blend of subtle spices that makes the meat perfect. When you try to cook that up at home, it's just not the same. Maybe it's the texture of the meat. When cooked at home, it just doesn't get beat up as much as at the restaurant, where it is constantly battered with spatulas as the meat is cooked and served up.

The fries are excellent, too, as are the malts and shakes. I've often thought of ordering some Maid-Rites from here; I understand that they'll freeze and ship them across the country. But I'm sure the experience would pale in comparison to getting it fresh from "the trough."

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