Photo © John Mitzewich
Origins of the Hamburger
There's a lot of controversy when it comes to who served the first commercial hamburger as you'll read in the next section. But, when it comes to where the term for this sandwich originated, there is little debate. In the German city of Hamburg, there is a round bun or roll shaped piece of bread called a "Brotchen." It was a common snack to cook various scraps of meat together, and serve it on one of these buns. It is believed that when the German immigrants from Hamburg arrived in America, they continued this culinary custom and these sandwiches became known as "Hamburgers."
Who Really Sold America's First Hamburger?
This debate has raged for decades. Here are the three most popular versions of how this all-American sandwich was really invented:
Hey! Where's My Ground Pork?
At the 1885 Erie County Fair, held in Hamburg, New York, two brothers, Frank and Charles Menches were not happy. Their meat vendor had shorted them the right amount of ground pork needed to make the sausage sandwiches at their booth at the fair. Instead of more pork, they were sent ground beef. They fried some up in patties, but didn't enjoy the flavor. For some inexplicable reason, they decided to add brown sugar and coffee to improve the taste. They decided to go ahead and serve it, and called it the "Hamburger Sandwich," named in honor of the name of the host town.
Who is Fletcher Davis, and Why Did He Call Himself "Old Dave?"
Fletcher Davis and his wife Ciddy ran a restaurant in Athens, Texas. They sold a sandwich of seasoned ground beef, which was a very popular lunch item. As the story goes, some local businessmen enjoyed the sandwich so much they offered to help financially so the couple could sell the sandwich at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. They sold their sandwich from a booth called, "Old Dave's Hamburger Stand." For what it's worth, the Texas State Legislature designating Athens as "Original Home of the Hamburger" in November 2006.
Louis' Lunch Goes Vertical
Many hamburger historians (how many can there be?) claim the first real hamburger was served in 1895, in New Haven, Connecticut, at a sandwich shop called Louis' Lunch. It was run by a man named Louis Lassen who cooked his beef patties in small vertical cast iron gas stoves using steel wire broilers to hold the hamburgers upright as they cooked. They were served one way, on toasted white bread. Louis Lassen's claim as inventor the first burger got a big boost in 2000, when the U. S. Library of Congress credited Louis' Lunch with making America's first hamburger.
