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The Raines sandwich was a popular but unappetizing combination of leftovers and inedible items served in New York City taverns on Sundays due to a loophole in the Raines Law. This law allowed the sale of liquor in accommodation establishments that offered free meals to guests. Taverns with hotel licenses and 10 empty rooms became makeshift lodgings, creating “Raines hotels.” The law and loophole ended with Prohibition. The article also mentions unusual liquor laws in Russia, Alaska, Ohio, and Germany.
The Raines sandwich will likely go down in history as the most popular sandwich that nobody wanted to eat.
By the end of the 19th century, variations of the Raines sandwich could be found every Sunday in nearly every tavern in New York City, often making its way from customer to customer, untouched.
The Raines sandwich didn’t have a specific recipe; instead, it was a combination of leftovers and some inedible items stuffed together under (probably stale) bread and doled out with alcoholic beverages. Sometimes it was made of rubber or even brick.
This “restaurant service” was provided to patrons thanks to a loophole in the so-called Raines Law, which came into force in 1896. The Raines Law, among other things, prohibited the sale of liquor on Sundays, except in accommodation establishments that offered it free meals for guests.
The taverns that serve these sandwiches also have hotel licenses as long as they have 10 empty rooms available, and many owners have rented out space above their taverns to serve as makeshift lodgings. Before long, “Raines hotels” had opened up everywhere, giving drinkers quick and easy access to loungers on which to sleep off their Sunday night revelry, in mockery of lawmakers’ attempts to ban Sunday drinking. The law and the loophole continued into the early 20th century, but both stopped in the 20th, with the onset of Prohibition.
Laws on liquors in the world:
Until 2011, any drink containing less than 10% alcohol was considered a “food” in Russia.
It’s against the law to give alcohol to a moose in Alaska or a fish in Ohio.
In Germany, you can have your license revoked and you are required to undergo a psychological examination if you are caught riding a bicycle while intoxicated.
