Today I would like to discuss something very important with you: The Cheeseburger.
Boy— does the internet have a field day with this one. If you search “a short history of the cheeseburger” you will find all kinds of tasty stories that make you want to order some Door Dash….but don’t do that yet. Finish reading this and let me know when you go all Pavlov’s dogs and start to salivate if you haven’t already. You know who you are out there.
Many food historians credit 16-year-old Lionel Sternberger, who in 1924 decided to slap a slice of American cheese as he was burning a burger while cooking it at his father’s Pasadena, California, sandwich shop, the Rite Spot. He did it to cover up his mistake, but when he tasted it, he liked it, and so did his dad. (Cue angelic music) Thus, the cheeseburger was born.
Oh but the internet is so much more fun than that. As I cringed (because I didn’t want to know the answer), I Googled “how many burgers do Americans eat per day?” Some sites say 1.5, and some have it up to 6 per week. That seems a little high to me, but then again, it’s winter where I live, so the grill isn’t fired up as much.
Continuing down this wormhole (burger hole?) we learn that the state that consumes the most burgers in a year is…….shockingly: OREGON, with an average of 79 burgers eaten per person, per year. At the bottom was D.C. according to this webpage, which you can put as much stock into as you want…or not…..which is the way most of the internet works right? Well, except for this blog, which is always taking the pulse of the loyal reader and posting only the truth, which are my opinions, so yada, yada, yada. Where were we?
Quick: Top choice? McDonalds? Burger King? Wendy’s? In my world, Five Guys tops them all, but hey, I’m happy with a sweet sizzling patty off the grill anywhere baby. PAVLOV.
But anyway, I think I just found the best thing ever on the whole entire inter web. LOOK AT THIS. Who knows if it’s accurate or even real….I’m making this my new home page. SO MUCH BETTER with this on my screen. Do some math and you will learn that McDonalds sells 6.48 million burgers PER DAY worldwide. That’s a lot of cows. Poor cows.
Alright, enough screwing around. I do love me a good burger and it became a joke in college to see how many a few of us drummers could consume in one sitting. We were gross and I still don’t understand why the ladies were not lining up to hang out with us….but that’s for another blog.
This week I have given myself a challenge: Probe the memory banks and produce a story of the best burger that I have ever eaten. I feel that this is a good use of my brain power while trying to fall asleep, or while driving. Why not, right? It was a long, difficult study and there are so many burgers and so many yummy memories…..but…..here is what came out of the brain computer:
Sometime in 1982ish I was visiting my paternal grandparents in Manhattan. They lived on East 83rd St. near the corner of Lexington Avenue. We used to visit them a couple of times a year and the city was so big and so amazing to my ten year old eyes, that I loved walking around the neighborhood with my grandfather to simply look at all the stores, deli’s, apartment buildings and towers of concrete and steel each time we visited.
One day my grandfather took me to an old fashioned luncheonette in the neighborhood so I could try a chocolate egg creme and have a cheeseburger from what I would now consider a “greasy spoon diner.” Heaven. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the little booth and smell the burger as it sizzled on the grill a mere 15 feet away. My grandfather knew the owner and they were gabbing away while he introduced me as his grandson from “all the way up” in New Hampshire. The cook told me that this was going to be a special NYC burger for one of his favorite regular customers. He had me at hello, and even though it is called a chocolate “egg creme”, it’s kind of a milkshake and this thing was also akin to an illegal narcotic for my little body. New York City was the center of the taste universe. Were you kidding me with this place? I must have been frothing at the mouth waiting for my ch-ch-cheeseburger. WOO!
The burger arrived still sizzling and the bun was open. The top had grill marks across it and I have a memory of it being as big as the plate it was on, along with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and a bunch of large, flat French fries on the side, which were golden brown. The burger was cooked “medium” as my grandfather had suggested, and I remember him smacking the bottom of a glass ketchup bottle telling me to say “when” as he was pouring. I was in heaven with my big, greasy old style cooked cheeseburger. If I concentrate real hard, I can still see it and taste it.
Of course, if I were to travel back in time, the thing was likely slung onto the plate along with a dozen other burgers to be given to the daily lunch crowd, and I remember the place being larger than it was…..and I’m sure the burger wasn’t as large either, but none of that makes a difference. Great food, like great people, are locked into our memories by the time we share with them and the places we are in, both physically, and in our lives.
Amazingly, after one final Google search, this lunch spot is still operating on the corner of East 83rd. and Lexington in Manhattan. It was called Leo’s back then, and now it’s something else, but the outside looks eerily similar to what I remember, and when you click street view and then “view inside” I travelled back to 1982 in an instant. I hope they have cleaned the grill since then, but one thing is certain. My little diner memory will live on when I take my kids there and they order cheeseburgers. Any of my burger friends down for a road trip?
Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay hungry. Deep readers will know that this is also a Twisted Sister album.
Just like I remember it. Could be the same countertop. I know that we sat in a booth….
Patrick moeschen 