Ever heard of a chop suey sandwich? It's no match for Fall River's chow mein sandwich

For decades, two Massachusetts cities have been famous for their unusual contributions to Chinese-American cuisine: Fall River with the iconic chow mein sandwich, and Salem, home to the chop suey sandwich. But now, Fall River stands alone.

On Aug. 14, Salem Lowe closed for good, the last remaining Chinese restaurant in Salem that sold chop suey sandwiches — according to published reports, the family that operated Salem Lowe for 50 years has decided to retire.

Retiring with them is their recipe for the chop suey sandwich. Like Fall River’s chow mein sandwich, it’s only theoretically a sandwich — it's the bottom half of a hamburger bun smothered in bean sprouts, vegetables and meat in a sort of beige gravy, with the top of the bun perched atop like a little carb hat. It’s not pretty, it can’t be eaten with your hands, and it has staunch defenders.

With Salem Lowe gone, can Fall River fill the void? The chow mein sandwich has its own theme song and its own wiki page, and they’re in no danger of disappearing since a ton of places in Fall River make them.

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Mr. Chen, 210 Rhode Island Ave.

This brand-new Chinese place led by chef Dominic Chen is famous for fusing Chinese-American with Portuguese cuisine, like cacoila egg rolls or chourico rangoon — but it also sells the Fall River staple chow mein sandwich starting at $4.05, and with a variety of protein choices like beef, chicken, pork or shrimp.

China Sails, 155 Hope St.

Just off Broadway is China Sails, which features all the classic Chinese-American dishes but also a few other treats like pad Thai. They’ve got chow mein sandwiches here too starting at $3.75 for a plain sandwich, or with your choice of meat or subgum style.

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Faneek's Coney Island, 269 Rhode Island Ave.

Faneek's isn't even Chinese at all, but a Fall River landmark that serves up a mix of local favorites like Coney Island hot dogs, chourico rolls, fish and chips ... and chow mein sandwiches. They'll even whip up the Portuguese chow mein sandwich for $6.25 for an experience you can't get anywhere other than Fall River.

China Star, 101 President Ave.

China Star, a longstanding fixture of the Boardwalk Crossing plaza, has a sprawling menu of Chinese delectables, like egg foo young, chow fun and kung pao chicken, but they’re known for their chow mein sandwiches too, starting at $3.25. And here's where it gets interesting for our Salem friends — they have a chop suey chow mein sandwich, for $4.25, to get the best of both worlds.

Mee Sum, 1819 S. Main St.

The king of Fall River's chow mein sandwich joints these days has to be Mee Sum, perhaps the last remaining old-school Chinese restaurant in the city and known as one of the best in the country. The chow mein sandwich is a staple here, and there's a ton of variety like mushroom, green pepper or “extra meat.” A chow mein sandwich here, starting at $5.25, can easily fill an entire dinner plate — and for our pals in Salem who are missing just a straight-up chop suey sandwich, they sell them here: $5.25. Come and get it.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Salem chop suey shop closes; try Fall River's chow mein sandwich