Ask any non-American what people love to eat in United States and most will say “hamburgers.” It’s universally understood that this iconic sandwich is an essential part of American culture—even though it’s originally from Germany.
Back in mid-1800s, German immigrants introduced our ancestors to a popular Hamburg dish that consisted of a bun-less steak. The flat, round patty we all know and love came about when the meat grinder was invented in the 1860s. Two decades later, The New York Sun publicized the German dish’s American version (cooked ground-up steak) as “‘hamburgers’…made from raw meat chopped up with onions and spices and are very good.”
When and who placed the brown beef between two pale pieces of bread is debatable. The oldest U.S. chain restaurant focusing on the hamburger on the bun was White Castle, which opened up in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. The start-up cost $700 and consisted of a little shack with a window for people to order their food. According to White Castle’s website, the founder E. W. “Billy” Ingram knew he had something special when he made a profit of $3.75 after the first day. At present, the profits for fast food restaurants selling burgers soar into the billions.
One of the newest and more trendy hamburger hots pots is the Shake Shack. The mini burger joint has five shacks stationed in Manhattan and one in Miami. Their notorious menu, which generates lines around the block, includes burgers made with Black Angus beef (free of antibiotics and hormones) and a delectable secret burger sauce. They use fresh locally grown ingredients made to order with genuine hospitality.
Whether you like it grilled, broiled, or pan-fried, rare, medium, or well done, in your backyard or at a restaurant (fast food or gourmet), hamburgers are without a doubt deeply ingrained in American culture. The sandwich has even been immortalized in one of our most beloved comic strips “Popeye.” Who could forget the famous line affectionately coined by the character Wimpy starting in 1931: “I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
[Photography courtesy of Wikimedia]
Published on July 29, 2010
While there are many sites today dedicated to the pursuit of fashion and style, here at MRK Style we approach these subjects through a collector’s lens. Through exploring how people relate to Art, Family, Fashion, Food, Film and Travel—essentially life’s various, everyday obsessions—we reflect on how we all live with the things we love. 
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