We recently went through Lexington, Nebraska, and stopped at a fast food place called Runza. We had never been to this place before but when we saw they had truck parking, we decided to try it.
They sell sandwiches called Runzas - seasoned ground beef, mixed with cabbage and onions, inside bread that they bake at their stores every morning. We had to try it as they are regional specialties.
It was actually delicious. I looked up the origin of the Runza sandwich, and Wikipedia says:
"The runza sandwich originated from the pirog, an Eastern European baked good, or more specifically, from its small version, known as pirozhok (literally "little pirog"). In the 18th century, Volga Germans (ethnic Germans who settled in the Volga River valley in the Russian Empire at the invitation of Catherine the Great because of their skill in farming) adapted the pirog /pirozhok to create the bierock, a yeast pastry sandwich with similar savory ingredients. When the political climate turned against the Volga Germans as part of Russification, including the threat of conscription into the Russian army beginning in 1871, many emigrated to the United States, creating communities across the Great Plains. These immigrants, including the Brening family that settled near Sutton, Nebraska, brought their bierock recipes with them. Sarah "Sally" Everett (née Brening), originally of Sutton, is credited with adapting her family's bierock recipe into the runza and also inventing the name for the sandwich. In 1949, Everett went into business selling runzas with her brother Alex in Lincoln, founding the Runza restaurant chain.
Many sources agree that Sally Everett invented the name "runza" although it is likely she adapted it from an existing name for the sandwich; either the krautrunz, an older, different German name for the bierock, or the Low German runsa, meaning "belly", alluding to the gently rounded shape of the pouch pastry. The modern German Ranzen, also meaning satchel, derives from runsa. The word "runza" is registered as a trademark in the United States, held by the Runza restaurant chain."
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2018: Stop And Smell The Makeup
2017: Hours Of Silence
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2015: It's Always Pie Day In Shipshewana
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