The hotel in Omaha's Blackstone district is thought to be the original home of the sandwich.
The chef at the newly opened Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel faced a pressing question.
Could the Reuben sandwich go home again?
The Reuben was born at the Blackstone Hotel on the very ground Chef Ryan Arensdorfâs kitchen now occupies, or so Omahans believe. (Misguided New Yorkers claim it, too.)
When developers revived the Blackstone as the Cottonwood last year, they embraced elements of the historic hotelâs past. The Reuben was one of them, and Arensdorf wanted his version to steal the spotlight from similar sandwiches at restaurants across town.