Is The Maurice Salad A Michigan Tradition?

A co-worker mentioned the Maurice salad and if it was a Michigan tradition because none of us ever heard of it. So let's dive into the history of the Maurice salad.

What is a Maurice Salad?

First, let us learn what's in a Maurice salad before learning its origins and history in Michigan. The Maurice features a combination of chopped turkey, ham, swiss cheese, sweet pickles, and hard-boiled eggs tossed on top of a crispy bed of lettuce covered in a mayo-based dressing. Sounds pretty good.

It turns out that the Maurice salad happens to be a Michigan classic that has a deep connection to Detroit and a major department store in the early 20th century.

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What is Michigan's Connection to the Maurice Salad?

The History of Michigan Facebook page has outlined the origins of the Maurice salad.

What does Steve Miller have to do with the Maurice salad? Nothing, but if you click the video above you will see where I made the connection. Come on, click it, it's the best part of the story.

Detroit's connection to the Maurice salad was because it was originally available at the J.L. Hudson's department store restaurant. My dad used to go there when he first moved to Detroit to work in the auto industry. J.L. Hudson's was a landmark department store in its heyday in the Motor City.

Back in the day department stores were known to have pretty good restaurants for their customers and J. L. Hudson's was one of the best and served the Maurice salad. The salad was a long favorite of Detroiters. Even though the department store is no longer there, several restaurants still serve the salad. So the Maurice salad was more of a Detroit tradition but the salad is so good it shows up in restaurants all over Michigan.

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It wasn't J. L. Hudson's who invented the Maurice salad or it probably would have been named the Hudson Salad.  Most culinary experts say the Maurice salad was created by French Chef P. A. Maurice who worked in New York City.