“The St. Paul Sandwich — comprising an egg foo young patty, slice of tomato, pickle and iceberg lettuce sandwiched between two slices of mayonnaise-laden white bread..”
—Riverfront Times, November 15, 2006
If you’ve visited Chinese-American restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri, or some other Missouri cities, you might’ve eaten a St. Paul Sandwich. The origins of this sandwich are murky, but the most commonly shared legend is that it was invented by Steven Yuen at Park Chop Suey in St. Louis, possibly in the 1970s. It’s further alleged that Yuen named the sandwich after his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota.
However, is this legend true, and if so, is there proof?
The first reference I found mentioning a St. Paul sandwich, and not surprisingly, was in The Appeal (St. Paul, MN), October 17, 1903. There was an ad for Mills’ Sandwich room, and it was suggested you get “the new and popular St. Paul sandwich.” A later issue of The Appeal (MN), April 29, 1905, published an ad for J.S. Mills’ Lunch & Sandwich Room, mentioning that a St. Paul sandwich cost 10 cents. However, neither article described the nature of this sandwich.
The Evening Herald (KS), December 9, 1913, stated, “A St. Paul sandwich, made of ham, eggs and sometimes onions, is also drawing down the sum of three nickels.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), March 4, 1916, also provided a brief recipe for the sandwich, “Scramble eggs in bowl; chop ham fine; add onions and parsley.”
This St. Paul sandwich isn’t the exact same as the one using Egg Foo Young, although they are very similar. I suspect this is the true source of its name, building upon an existing name for the Chinese-American variation. There were also other similar sandwiches such as the Denver Sandwich, Western Sandwich, and Manhattan Sandwich.
The Berkshire Eagle (MA), December 16, 1907, had a brief mention that the Western sandwich was made with ham. Then, the Daily Missoulian (MT), February 1, 1909, referenced some restaurant slang, noting the Denver Sandwich was made with minced ham, eggs, and onions. Next, the Press & Sun-Bulletin (NY), October 5, 1911, stated the Western Egg Sandwich was made with minced ham and egg but the Boston Post, October 29, 1916, printed that “A Western sandwich consists of ham and onions all chopped up and fried with an egg.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), April 28, 1919, noted that “a St. Paul Sandwich which is composed principally of ham and eggs.” The South Bend Tribune (IN), June 9, 1922, stated that the Manhattan Sandwich had a fried egg, minced ham, and onion.
The Algona Upper Des Moines (IA), September 3, 1940, published, “If you order a Denver sandwich you get egg, onion, chopped meat…if you order a St. Paul sandwich, you get the same thing but with green pepper instead of onion…if the cook likes you, maybe you’ll get both onions and green peppers.” And then the Amarillo Daily News (TX), June 9, 1950, noted that, “A sandwich made of scrambled eggs mixed with chopped-up ham and green peppers is known as a Denver or St. Paul sandwich. There’s a slight difference. You add onions to one. The question is, which one.”
So, how did the original St. Paul sandwich evolve into an egg foo young sandwich?
There doesn’t appear to be much information readily found about Steven Yuen of Park Chop Suey. The Riverfront Times, November 15, 2006, indicated that Yuen opened his restaurant in the mid-1970s, which seems to indicate his version of the St. Paul sandwich wasn’t invented prior to that time.
In the Indianapolis Star (IN), June 24, 1962, there was an article about recent changes at The Lantern restaurant, which was owned by the Chung family. Their menu included an Egg Foo Young Sandwich for 40 cents. This was the earliest mention of such a sandwich I was able to find, and obviously predates any sandwich Yuen might have created in the 1970s. The Indianapolis Star (IN), April 21, 1963, also mentioned a restaurant, the China Palace, which served an Egg Foo Young Sandwich. Their sandwich was served open-faced on bread and topped by gravy.
The Arkansas Democrat (AR), July 18, 1963 and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), August 1, 1963, presented the same recipe for “Oriental Egg and Shrimp Sandwiches,” an “Americanized version of the famous Chinese dish, Egg Foo Young.” Basically, you make an omelet similar to Egg Foo Young, which is placed onto a hamburger bun, to which is added tomato slices, watercress and soy sauce. This information was repeated in several other newspapers across the country.
Wong’s Chinese Frozen Foods, around since at least 1950, made frozen Egg Foo Young. The San Diego Union (CA), January 8, 1964, presented one of Wong’s ads, explaining how their frozen Egg Foo Young could be used to create an “Eastern Denver” sandwich, simply placing the patties between a couple slices of bread. The Battle Creek Enquirer (MI), June 9, 1966, also noted a restaurant selling a Hot Egg Foo Young Sandwich, with gravy, for 65 cents.
Clearly, Yuen wasn’t the first to put egg foo young between two slices of bread to make a sandwich. At best, he might have been the first to add mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles to his sandwich, a minor variation to a pre-existing sandwich idea. His version simply became very popular in Missouri and acquired a legend all its own, ignoring all of the history that came before.
SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
