That’s a good question! And not one that we have a definitive answer to. There are two main origin stories, we’ll let you decide which one sounds the most plausible.
The first is that it was invented in 1914 by Arnold Reuben at his namesake sandwich shop on East 58th Street, in New York City. (Though that sandwich consisted of ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, cole slaw, and Russian dressing on rye bread—not corned beef.) This is a popular theory, in large part because many folks think of a reuben as a classic New York deli sandwich. Not to sway you from this one, but it’s worth noting that the earliest delis in New York City were kosher (and this sandwich definitely is not). Though by the second half of the 20th century, most delis in New York were kosher-style, not strictly kosher. The reuben’s status as a deli classic was solidified in the 1970s when the reuben was added to the menu at Katz’s, a famous deli.
The second is that it was invented in 1925 by Bernard Schimmel at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. That sandwich—corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on rye, pressed on a panini maker and served hot—was created to feed a poker player named Reuben Kulakofsky. The sandwich was such a hit, it was added to the hotel’s menu and named after Reuben. Bernard’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Weil, passionately defended the reuben’s midwestern roots in Saveur saying:
New York delis have adopted the reuben because culturally the sandwich seems as if it should be theirs—it has a huge personality, it’s loud, it man-spreads. But the reuben is a deeply early-20th-century American Midwestern creation, a Jewish sandwich that isn’t kosher, made by an assimilated Eastern European whose family left Russia, Poland, and Germany several generations before World War II.
What’s not in dispute is that in 1956, Fern Snider, a former Blackstone employee won the first-ever National Sandwich Idea Contest with a reuben sandwich.
This sandwich’s origins might be up for debate, but our dedication to it isn’t—the reuben has been on our menu from the very beginning.
Our Reuben Menu
On March 15th, 1982, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig first opened the doors of Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor. “Our goal,” says Paul, “was to make a sandwich so big you needed two hands to hold it and when you took a bite, Russian dressing would drip down your arms.” Things have changed a lot since then, but our sandwiches are still as impressive and delicious as ever. And now, in addition to our classic Zingerman’s Reuben, we have seven other reubens to choose from, too!
#2 Zingerman’s Reuben
The original reuben at the Deli, the Zingerman’s Reuben was, is, and forever will be our most popular sandwich. We make about 50,000 a year! We believe that better ingredients make better sandwiches, which is why we’ve worked to select the very best ingredients to make our reubens at the Deli.
The #2 starts with Zingerman’s Delicatessen Corned Beef. It has our name on it because we developed our own corned beef recipe with Sy Ginsburg about three decades ago, and it’s been the signature component of Zingerman’s Reubens ever since. Sy opened his business, United Meat and Deli, in Detroit in 1982—the same year that Zingerman’s Deli opened! From the start, he’s done a couple of things differently than other folks who cure corned beef. Sy cares about ingredient quality just as much as we do! All the seasonings he uses are minimally processed, like using freshly squeezed garlic juice instead of the more commonly used processed and chemical-laden garlic powder.
Like most of our reubens, the #2 features LeSuperbe Swiss Emmental cheese which comes from the AOP-protected Emme River Valley region of west-central Switzerland and exemplifies that undeniable Swiss cheese flavor. We also pile on sauerkraut from The Brinery, made right here in Ann Arbor by masters of lacto-fermentation led by David Klingenberger, and slather on our own Russian Dressing.
All of those flavorful fillings are layered between two grilled slices of Jewish Rye bread from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, an important building block of thousands of reuben sandwiches here at the Deli since the Bakehouse opened in 1992. Their Jewish Rye is made with a high percentage of rye flour, a natural rye sour that’s fed daily with freshly milled organic Midwest rye, and “old” a mush made from leftover rye bread and water (a step usually skipped in modern-day baking).
#13 Sherman’s Sure Choice
A twist on the #2 Zingerman’s Reuben, this is one of our long-time most popular sandwiches.
It features the same classic corned beef, real Swiss cheese, and rich Russian dressing on the Bakehouse’s Jewish Rye. The difference? Sauerkraut is swapped out in favor of our crunchy, two-cabbage coleslaw and this is the only ungrilled reuben in our lineup.
This one is named for Paul Saginaw’s grandfather, who owned a surplus and remanufactured bearings company at 7 Mile and Conant in Detroit, where Paul worked in his youth. A keen businessman, who also loved to bet on the horses (hence, the “sure choice”), Sherman had a lot of words of wisdom to share with Paul and Ari back when they were starting the Deli. Paul asked him if they should spell “Zingerman’s” with one “n” or two and Sherman said, “One, of course, so it’s easier for customers to write a check!”
Paul recounted that Sherman held an account at the diner next to his business so that he could pick up the tab for hungry people in the neighborhood. Paul’s experience of this simple act of generosity and the impact it made on the community served as the inspiration for Food Gatherers (a non-profit food rescue program founded by Zingerman’s in 1988) years later. We hope the spirit of Sherman’s generosity is passed on to all who eat this sandwich!
#48 Binny’s Brooklyn Reuben
You’ll still find that nutty, buttery Swiss cheese, the Brinery’s flagship kraut, and our creamy Russian dressing on the #48. This one takes a turn from the previous reubens with Zingerman’s Pastrami, a richly spiced cousin of corned beef. It’s brine-cured and coated in a blend of black pepper and aromatic spices, and like our corned beef, our recipe is made for us by United Meat and Deli. Holding it all together are grilled slices of the Bakehouse’s old-world style pumpernickel bread. Dark, moist, and full of flavor, it’s made with the same detailed process and organic rye sour as its cousin, Jewish Rye bread.
The #48 is named for Kitty Koppelman, one of our first kitchen managers and a New York native. Kitty was nicknamed “Binny” by Randy Hampton (who also has a namesake sandwich, #28, Randy’s Routine) who worked in our kitchen, was our first official bookkeeper, and drew cartoons in some of our early newsletters. Kitty lives in Washington State and still works with food (along with M.J. of the #42) at the Olympia Food Co-op.
#22 Jenny’s Fix
The #22 is like the #13 Sherman’s Sure Choice—stellar Swiss cheese, crisp coleslaw, our own Russian dressing on Bakehouse Jewish Rye—but with peppery pastrami instead of corned beef, and it’s grilled.
The #22 is named for Jenny Wagner (Jenny Fox-Manaster during her Deli days), who worked here for a year between undergrad and graduate school to be with her boyfriend (now husband) who was attending the University of Michigan. Since she knew she only had a year to work at the Deli, she was really motivated to try out a number of roles and rise through the ranks! As a result, she was a food runner, an order taker, a cashier, and then a lead cashier. At the end of her time with us, there was a call for new sandwich ideas and Jenny realized she had one. As she explains:
I wrote a note to Ari and put it in his box upstairs before I left for Chicago for grad school. I had noticed that customers were ordering #13 with pastrami A LOT! I realized that it would either take the order takers a lot of time to write out the full custom sandwich order which would charge the correct amount, or you could write it #13 sub pastrami but then the deli wouldn’t be charging the right amount. So, I wrote my idea and explained how it related to great service and great finance, and hoped for the best. When I came back to visit a while later, it was on the menu as Jenny’s Fix! Woohoo! The name made it sound like I can’t live without it, but in reality, I don’t eat pastrami—I just wanted the problem fixed!
#123 TNT Cowboy Reuben
Yee-haw! Does the “cowboy” in the name give it away? The #123 features hand-pulled, beef brisket simmered in our own BBQ sauce. It’s topped with full-flavored provolone cheese and our two-cabbage coleslaw, then served on a grilled Paesano roll from Zingerman’s Bakehouse.
This one is named for Travis, who worked on the sandwich line for several years. For a time, Travis donned a most marvelous mustache. Tommy, a longtime Zingerman’s Next Door employee, brought smiles and serenades to everyone who stopped in. Known for his joyful demeanor, Tommy dubbed Travis’ look “a mustache big enough for 5 cowboys!” And with that, the TNT Cowboy Reuben was born.
#18 Georgia Reuben
The #18 is a turkey reuben! We make it with free-range turkey breast, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing on grilled Jewish Rye bread.
This has been one of our most popular sandwiches at Zingerman’s from day one. You may have seen a Georgia reuben at other places, but despite claims that this is just the generic name for a turkey reuben, Zingerman’s actually coined the name and the sandwich! Ari had the idea for this sandwich a few years before the Deli opened. And although Georgia seemed a likely place from which this sandwich would come, there is no real connection to the Peach State.
#236 Rucker’s Raucous Reuben
A vegetarian reuben, this is made with Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, grilled Jewish Rye, and not one, but two products from The Brinery! When David and his fermentation wizards at The Brinery debuted their version of tempeh, a plant-based protein known for its earthy, rich flavor and meaty texture, we knew it needed a home on one of our reubens—along with their sauerkraut, of course.
The #236 is named for longtime Deli Facilities Manager Nancy Rucker. Nancy’s a vegetarian, making her an obvious namesake when this sandwich hit the menu. And, during her time at the Deli, she was always the life of any meeting or staff party, so raucous felt like a great alliterative tribute!
#36 Lila & Izzie’s Skokie Skidoo
Another vegetarian reuben, the #36 is loaded with Swiss cheese, our coleslaw, and Russian dressing, and bookended by grilled slices of the Bakehouse’s Farm bread. Their Farm bread is a naturally leavened loaf, with a thick crust and soft, white chewy interior. You’ll taste—and smell—a delightful nuttiness from the wheat.
The number #36 is named for Ari’s mother and father, Lila and Izzie, who lived in Skokie, Illinois. “Skokie Skidoo” is a permutation of “Skokie Swift,” the train that picks up where the “L” leaves off to connect Chicago to Skokie.
Deli Reubens in the Wild
Made by You
If you’re in the area and want to try your hand at making a Zingerman’s Reuben at home, our Reuben Kit has you covered. Each kit feeds 4 to 6 people and includes your choice of one pound of lean corned beef or lean pastrami, a loaf of Jewish Rye bread, a half pound of sliced Swiss cheese, a jar of Brinery sauerkraut, and a bottle of Zingerman’s Russian Dressing. It also comes with a jar of pickles, because every sandwich needs a pickle on the side. (To get your reuben fix elsewhere, Zingerman’s Mail Order ships Reuben Kits across the country!)
Our pickles are made with our own custom recipe by Topor’s Pickle Company in Detroit. Topor’s has been making delicious pickles with the freshest ingredients since 1960. Unlike preservative-laden mass-produced pickles, ours don’t have additives, that’s why they’re refrigerated! Like the Brinery sauerkraut, Topor’s uses lacto-fermention—the oldest form of food preservation—to turn cucumbers, fresh garlic, dill, and a blend of pickling spices into irresistible pickles. Whether you go for garlicky “Old” pickles or crunchy “New” pickles, either choice is a delicious one.
Made by Us
We take reubens made by us with our Catering & Events team far and wide. And if you want a custom tasting experience where you learn how to make the sandwiches, you can call on our tasting experts to create an event just for you. (It could be for a recruiting or team-building event, a holiday celebration, a birthday party, or just a casual gathering of family or friends!) Our Deli food experts can come to you in the Ann Arbor or metro Detroit area. Alternatively, we can ship the goodies anywhere in the U.S. and gather with you online, so your virtual event can connect folks around the country.
And while we won’t ever be moving outside of the Ann Arbor community, we still like to share our sandwiches with friends near and far. Did you know that we’ve taken our reubens on the road?! In 2019, we went to Chicago for a 2-day pop-up with the hospitality collective 16 on Center. (In addition to seven types of reubens we also made The Gym Shoe, a special collaboration sandwich with Chicago’s own The Ruin Daily with Zingerman’s corned beef, Ruin Daily lamb gyro meat, tzatzikii, giardiniera, provolone and lettuce on a bolillo roll.) In 2020, we did a Reuben Tour. With the advent of Covid, we wanted to limit guests’ travel and crowds at the Deli, so we brought reubens to select cities across our great state of Michigan. In 2023, we again partnered with 16 on Center for another reuben pop-up, this time in New York City at Olly Olly Market. Want to make sure you don’t miss the next time we road trip with our reubens? Sign up for our e-news to stay up to date on all the latest.
