My LES Of Cambridge

If I had my choice of condemned man last meals it would be a toss up between spinach pie and a reuben sandwich. Cambridge's S and S Restaurant (named after "Ess and Ess mein kinder") serves up a mean reuben, along with just about everything else on their menu. The Inman Square neighborhood of Cambridge is my choice of LES of Cambridge. Here's some history of the reuben from the Boston Globe: "Not every sandwich is so perfectly conceived that a fight erupts over who invented it. Such a trophy is the Reuben, that tantalizing tower of tender corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, melted Swiss, and Russian dressing squished between buttered grilled rye. For years credit went to New York deli owner Arnold Reuben. Word was he stacked the first in 1914 for Chaplin film starlet Annette Seelos. Then, in the '80s, the earth shook. Nebraskans claimed Reuben Kulakofsky devised it in 1925 at an Omaha poker game. Other Nebraskans place the seminal Reuben at Lincoln's Cornhusker Hotel, circa 1922 (have they nothing else to do?).The more pressing question here: Where to find a super Reuben? The answer: S&S deli in Cambridge. Its grilled Reuben with chips, slaw, and a half-sour sits on caraway-seeded marble rye. Lightly salted, juicy homemade corned beef, just enough buttery sauerkraut, thin gooey layers of mild Swiss, and a nice shmeer of dressing pay glorious homage to Arnold, or Reuben, or whomever." Some Wikipedia Inman Square history: "After transportation brought people and commerce to the region, a new era of stability overtook Inman Square. From 1910 up until the early 1950s, streetcar, automobile, and foot traffic shuffled people to and from the square where architectural instead of transportation construction was taking place. During this period commercial dwellings popped up to service the local community: drugstores, taverns, markets, bakeries, delis, and an insurance company were among the many stores that called Inman Square home. After the streetcars left Cambridge Street around 1950 the square became "just a little bit out of the way" yet remained "around the corner from Harvard, Central, Kendall and Lechmere." Even though there is not direct rapid transit, three MBTA bus lines (69, 83, 91) stop in the square, making it accessible by mass transit. Post-streetcar visitors still regularly frequent the area's restaurant and entertainment attractions. Today, Inman Square is a culturally diverse neighborhood, home to professionals and working people alike. Students and professors from neighboring MIT and Harvard find their home there as well. Inman Square also has strong Brazilian and Portuguese influences, as can be seen in the storefronts lining Cambridge Street, especially to the East of Prospect Street.