Get a Napkin Ready, Things are Getting Messy: The History of the Sloppy Joe
For decades, the sloppy joe has been a mainstay on dinner tables and a beloved American staple. Like many cult classics, the origin of sloppy joes can be as debated as the ingredients. Did it stem from a popular midwestern diner dish, or does it hail from Cuba? Here’s everything you never knew you needed to know about the sloppy joe!
Many believe the Sloppy Joe is the namesake of a Sioux City, Iowa cook, who in 1930, combined the regionally popular loose meat sandwich with tomato sauce. It’s less messy predecessor, the loose meat sandwich is a Midwestern favorite of steamed or sauteed ground beef, onions, mustard and pickles. Joe’s dish at Floyd Angell’s café added a tomato sauce and seasoning to the dish to produce a messy hit.
Another account states that Jose Abeal Otero began serving a sloppy joe in his Havana, Cuba restaurant in 1910. While the original dish was inspired by ropa vieja or picadillo, the name itself is believed to be derived from the condition of the eatery. In addition to serving sandwiches, he also served chilled seafood and the ice would melt and muddy the floor, leaving things “sloppy.” Thus, Otero’s restaurant became known as Sloppy Joe’s. Havana’s Sloppy Joe’s closed in 1959 following the Cuban revolution. After decades, and a massive restoration project the restaurant re-opened in 2013.
The original Sloppy Joe’s had a regular that became a connoisseur of the dish and brought it back home to Key West. Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway loved the sandwich so much that he convinced friend and bar owner, Joe Russell, to change the name of The Silver Slipper to Sloppy Joe’s and start serving the sandwich. The Key West version of the dish is described as “delicious ground beef in a sweet rich tomato sauce with onions, peppers and spices.
The recipe was found in cookbooks in the 60s and 70s, it wasn’t until Hunt Foods manufactured its canned sloppy joe sauce in 1969 that the dish became a kitchen staple. While no one knows exactly where the sandwich first originated, we do know that Manwich is responsible for bringing the sandwich to dinner tables throughout the country.
From school cafeterias to dinner tables, the sloppy joe became a crowd-pleasing staple. The dish even rose to pop culture stardom in 1994 following a cameo on Saturday Night Live. In the sketch, Adam Sandler sings of cafeteria food revolting against angry lunch lady, Chris Farley, and it’s the sloppy joe that saves the day.
From Billy Madison to Eli Manning, everyone loves a sloppy joe! When the messy craving hits, answer the call with our sloppy joe! A blend of proprietary blend angus beef combined with seasonings and house made tomato sauce and topped with old fashioned yellow mustard on a local Niedlov’s bun, it’s sure to hit the spot. We suggest grabbing another napkin and making it extra sloppy!