[1] One origin story holds that Reuben Kulakofsky (his first name sometimes spelled Reubin; his last name sometimes shortened to Kay), a Lithuanian-born Jewish grocer residing in Omaha, Nebraska, asked for a sandwich made of corned beef and sauerkraut at his weekly poker game held in the Blackstone Hotel from around 1920 through 1935.

Schimmel's son, who worked in the kitchen, made the first Reuben for him, adding Swiss cheese and thousand island dressing to his order, putting the whole thing on rye bread.

[9] The walleye Reuben features the freshwater fish (Sander vitreus) in place of the corned beef.

[14] The Rachel sandwich is a variation which substitutes pastrami or turkey for the corned beef, and coleslaw for the sauerkraut.

[16] The Dinty Moore sandwich is a Detroit variation which substitutes coleslaw[18] or shredded lettuce and tomato[19] for the sauerkraut.

[22] Vegan versions can use the aforementioned wheatmeat also known as seitan, tempeh[23] or mushrooms with non-dairy cheese, dressing and butter.