Jill Schramm/MDN Tiffany Lee serves up a hot beef sandwich at Charlie’s Main Street Cafe Tuesday. Charlie’s, along with Homesteaders Restaurant and Schatz Crossroads, have entries in an online competition for top 10 hot beef sandwiches in North Dakota.

Three Minot restaurants are among top contenders in a statewide, online contest for best hot beef sandwich.

As of Wednesday, Charlie’s Main Street Cafe in downtown Minot was in first place in the USA Today contest, with voting continuing until May 8. Schatz Crossroads Family Restaurant of Minot was in fourth place and Homesteader’s Restaurant of Minot in fifth among the 20 restaurants in the running.

Mattie B’s in Ray is holding second place, followed by Medora’s Cowboy Cafe. The contest kicked off Monday.

Tiffany Lee, an owner at Charlie’s, said the restaurant launched a promotional blitz after learning from USA Today that it was nominated to participate. USA Today teamed up with Sandwich America to find the 10 best hot beef sandwiches in North Dakota, based on top restaurants identified by bloggers and food critics in the state.

Charlie’s is promoting the contest on its Facebook page and Instagram, offering menu specials and sporting T-shirts urging a vote for Charlie’s.

“A lot of our customers are really excited,” Lee said. The restaurant is drawing votes from Hawaii, Texas, Korea and Japan in taking the contest’s early lead.

“It’s pretty exciting, too, because I feel like the community is really getting together to show so much support and love,” Lee said. Charlie’s contest nomination comes after winning a chili competition two months ago in a fundraiser for Independence Inc. and after earning recognition a year ago from an online magazine as best brunch restaurant in North Dakota.

Freshly mashed potatoes are a key ingredient in Charlie’s hearty hot beef sandwich, topped with juicy roast beef and house-made beef gravy, according to the website entry.

Krista Schatz Marshall, co-owner of Schatz Crossroads, said the challenge for her restaurant was in submitting an image for the contest.

“My first thought was, ‘How are we going to show the sandwich and the mashed potatoes under all that gravy?'” Marshall said.

Schatz’s hot sandwich comes with beef, hamburger or pork on bread, served with a heap of mashed potatoes and smothered with a thick, homemade brown gravy. Guests can also substitute hash browns, home fries or French fries for the mashed potatoes.

Marshall said the 24-hour restaurant typically serves more than 17 gallons of the gravy a day.

“I would say it’s a staple here,” she said of the gravy-covered sandwich. Of the different variations, she added, “Hot beef is by far the best seller.”

Schatz Crossroads so far has promoted the contest through Facebook and through alerting its staff in Minot and Fargo to get the word out.

Homesteaders owner Dean Aberle wasn’t aware of the contest until recently so hasn’t even had a chance to promote.

“We are going to have to do something with it – maybe run them on special for a while to promote it,” said Aberle, who was pleased to the see the restaurant included in the contest and making a strong showing in the early going.

The restaurant’s hot beef sandwich is a popular menu item, especially the half-sandwich among the senior diners, Aberle said. Homesteaders has long had the classic North Dakota sandwich on its menu, he said. Homesteaders also offers a hamburger version.

The website describes Homesteaders as a classic American eatery, serving a traditional take on a hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and house-made beef gravy.

“We are probably going through in an average week about 30 gallons of gravy,” Aberle said.

Other contest nominees are the Depot Cafe in Jamestown, Frieds Family Restaurant and Rolling Hills Restaurant in Mandan, Little Cottage Cafe in Bismarck, Roadhouse Cafe, North Side Cafe and Scotty’s Deli in Grand Forks, Lonnie’s Roadhouse Cafe in Williston, Teddy’s Lounge in Watford City, Tower City Travel Center in Tower City, Usher’s House and Kroll’s Diner in Fargo, Traxside Cafe in Enderlin, Wahpeton Deli and Eatery in Wahpeton and White House Cafe in Devils Lake.

To vote, people can go to www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-hot-beef-sandwich-in-north-dakota.