Have a hankering for the best sandwich in the state?
You can nab it – it's stuffed with fresh fried walleye, by the way – at Tavern on Grand in St. Paul.
At least that's according to Mental Floss, a popular online magazine, in its lineup of the best sandwiches in all 50 states.
"Since the walleye is Minnesota's state fish, locals have had plenty of practice figuring out the best ways of preparing it," the post reads. "If fried and served between bread slices is your choice, Tavern on Grand is reputed to be the best place to dig in. You can opt for grilled, blackened, or sizzling in oil, each one prepared using walleye fresh from Lake Manitoba."
I'll be honest, my mouth is watering. Fried walleye is really good.
But is this declaration scientific? No. In fact, while many of the picks were nod-worthy – all hail the pastrami on rye from Katz in New York – I have some quibbles with a few of the other selections. A French dip representing California instead of something Asian or sprouts-and-avocado filled? I don't know about that. Massachusetts' top sandwich is a fluffer nutter? If anyone has ever had a fluffer nutter, they'd know it's downright disgusting. And that is scientific. And how in the heck didn't some southern state get pimento cheese? There are some great ones out there.
Plenty of room to argue with MF's take on Tavern on Grand, too, since Minnesota is stocked with stellar between-bread options. The smoked fish creations at Northern Waters Smokehaus in Duluth come to mind, as do Lu's Sandwiches' banh mi and – hello – Matt's Bar's Jucy Lucys.
Few things (um, politics) inspire more heated debate than pronouncing something in a state "the best" – so join the game and tell us your favorites in the comments, below!
