I’ve read about fried brain sandwiches in St. Louis.

The opening paragraph to Lycos.com Travel on St. Louis is the following:
When they're not boasting about their city and chiding tourists who call it "St. Louie," locals at the pubs along Route 66 merrily toast the Cardinals over tasty fried-brain sandwiches. It's a St. Louis thing.

Two places I believe serve the fried brain sandwiches are:
CAFÉ MANHATTAN
Dieckmeyer’s

Anyone had one? And how was it?

bumpity......

Hmmm, a friend of mine mentioned having neck bones with elbow macaroni in St. Louis. I'm sure this is at least that good. :)

Definitely not a "St. Louis thing". It's more of an Ohio Valley thing. There were always fried-brain sandwich vendors at the local fairs where I grew up (Indiana and Kentucky).

My hometown was featured in a news article about these sandwiches during the brief Mad Cow scare earlier this year. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3969530/)

You don't taste the brain too much because there is so much batter on it.

Go ahead and try one! :)

Sorry, but that's not one I know of. Toasted Ravioli, frozen custard, hot dogs, yes. Fried brains, no.

Of course, by definition i'm not here much.....

I think as the article says it is more of a midwest German descent thing than specifically St. Louis. Ive tried eating lots of things. I love fugu for instance. But not a chance on brains.

Sorry, but that's not one I know of. Toasted Ravioli, frozen custard, hot dogs, yes. Fried brains, no.

Of course, by definition i'm not here much.....

I finally found a pizza place near my house that offers "St. Louis-style toasted ravioli". Not too bad, but not as good as what I can find in STL. :(

I’ve read about fried brain sandwiches in St. Louis.

The opening paragraph to Lycos.com Travel on St. Louis is the following:
When they're not boasting about their city and chiding tourists who call it "St. Louie," locals at the pubs along Route 66 merrily toast the Cardinals over tasty fried-brain sandwiches. It's a St. Louis thing.

Two places I believe serve the fried brain sandwiches are:
CAFÉ MANHATTAN
Dieckmeyer’s

Anyone had one? And how was it?



Google reveals NJ & NY area reference too. Likely a German heritage thing as someone posted.

My Irish Grandfather was born & raised in farming country 100 miles south of St. Louis. He ate scrambled eggs & brains, but I don't recall sandwiches ~ guess that would work between bread. I turned purple @ idea & did same when I read your question. I imagine he liked it or he wouldn't have eaten it more than once. Canned pork brains are available in some grocery stores. (not in my cart!)

An uncle transplanted to Ohio & told about a German friend making blood sausage. I didn't ask any questions. Anyone with info about that dietary delight?

Google reveals NJ & NY area reference too. Likely a German heritage thing as someone posted.

My Irish Grandfather was born & raised in farming country 100 miles south of St. Louis. He ate scrambled eggs & brains, but I don't recall sandwiches ~ guess that would work between bread. I turned purple @ idea & did same when I read your question. I imagine he liked it or he wouldn't have eaten it more than once. Canned pork brains are available in some grocery stores. (not in my cart!)

An uncle transplanted to Ohio & told about a German friend making blood sausage. I didn't ask any questions. Anyone with info about that dietary delight?


Blood sausage is pretty common, also blood pudding I think. Im guessing the black sausage I had for breakfast in Dublin once was one in the same. Blood sausage is okay although not a favorite, just no brains thanks.

Definitely not a "St. Louis thing". It's more of an Ohio Valley thing. There were always fried-brain sandwich vendors at the local fairs where I grew up (Indiana and Kentucky).

My hometown was featured in a news article about these sandwiches during the brief Mad Cow scare earlier this year. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3969530/)

You don't taste the brain too much because there is so much batter on it.

Go ahead and try one! :)

Evansville is exactly the location I tie this subject to (my family is from an hour north on 57, so pseduoswede likely knows where I'm talking about). And nope, I haven't tried them although I've heard a lot about them through the years.

Evansville is exactly the location I tie this subject to (my family is from an hour north on 57, so pseduoswede likely knows where I'm talking about). And nope, I haven't tried them although I've heard a lot about them through the years.

Wow. I swear we were talking about brain sandwiches last year...

So anyways, if you check out Episode 2 of Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt on Food Network, he visits Evansville and tries a brain sandwich. No, he didn't like it, but he also had some poignant comments on why it still exists (and why it's not found anywhere else).

a very common sandwich in STL around the turn of the century (1900). Yes, the large german population in STL was probably the instigator of such a delicacy. They were still pretty popular in the 1940s and I am sure you can still get one somewhere today. I do remember driving downtown for Cardinal football games with my Dad and passing a brick building on Chouteau Avenue with "Harvey's Sandwhich Shop. Brains Sandwiches 25 cents" painted on the side. Of course it was no longer in business.

I also grew up in Evansville and remember brain sandwiches being on the high school cafeteria menu back in the sixties, but I never tried one.

My German grandmother used to eat cow brains, but she'd boil them on the stove. I never saw a fried brain.

Friggin' disgusting if you ask me.

It is so wrong to eat tissue from the central nervous system of a mammal.......:td:

I never saw a fried brain.

Fritutta della Cervello alla Milanese.

One of the most delicious dishes have ever been served. No foolin'. When I asked "What was that I just ate?" and it was translated, I was astounded. That was a seminal moment in broadening my palate to include foods I would not normally order.

That was a seminal moment in broadening my palate to include foods I would not normally order.

LOVE when this happens !!

I don't like it, I won't like it, all of a sudden, hey this is good !!

The first time I had a banh mi sandwich, bit into the sandwich, loved it and was told one of the main items that made up this particular sandwich was head cheese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_cheese which I had swore to myself I would never eat.

LOVE when this happens !!

I don't like it, I won't like it, all of a sudden, hey this is good !!

The first time I had a banh mi sandwich, bit into the sandwich, loved it and was told one of the main items that made up this particular sandwich was head cheese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_cheese which I had swore to myself I would never eat.
FYI - "banh mi" actually means "bread" or in this instance "sandwich"... so you had a type of sandwich.

Give me a banh mi ham and cheese anytime, hold the brain please :)

I've had fried brain sandwiches in India too! Served with fiery chilly sauce too... :D

Im not squemish. Ive had blowfish sperm. But mammalian nervous system is quite another kettle of fish as it were. If an animal is carrying BSE the neural tissue will have incredibly high concentrations of the agent. Given the concern over levels of BSE in the food system I wont touch anything made of brains or other nervous tissue. Fugu is one thing, mammalian brains are way scarier to me.

I guess the Evansville equivalent of Waiter, there's a fly in my soup! would be Waiter, there's a prion in my sandwich!

My advice is: Don't fry this at home!

There are still several places to get Fried Brains in STL.

My father had a shop and once a week he would talk many of the employees to a bar in South St. Louis to get these.

There are several places in South St. Louis that still serve them. Hesslers on Highway 21, Schotsies on Lindbergh Road.

My grandmother used to have brains and eggs once a month. Yes, we are quite German and I think it is a German thing.

I laid off of them for awhile, due to "mad cow", but now I would think they are pretty safe. Still, I have not had one for several years.

.......now I would think they are pretty safe.......

Why? ;)

Blood sausage is pretty common, also blood pudding I think. Im guessing the black sausage I had for breakfast in Dublin once was one in the same. Blood sausage is okay although not a favorite, just no brains thanks.

I love German blood sausage, the really good ones are made with brain and all the other parts of the head after its been boiled. The soft tissue is scrapped out and added to the sausage mix.

IMHO, BSE is a totally over blown fear. IIRC, there have only been about 20 cases worldwide of people contracting it, aside from the few naturally occurring cases of Crutzfield-Jakob.