Ode to the HAMBURGER…
This blog is about Americana. And, there is no food in the culinary world more Americana than the hamburger. So, in the spirit of the 9th grade English essay, I offer this…Ode to the HAMBURGER.
The generic hamburger pictured above looks quite delicious. But, that’s a modern day hamburger. Where did the hamburger originate? It did NOT originate in Hamburg, Germany…fake news. There are other false stories out there as well. Through skilled research by my crack staff, PugsleyTonks is able to give you the true story. The inventors of the hamburger were Frank and Charles Menches from Canton, Ohio. In 1885, they were vendors at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York (near Buffalo). They ran out of pork for their signature pork sausage patties. The only meat that they could acquire was beef. So, they pressed the beef into a patty and called it a “hamburger.” There you go…how the hamburger was invented.
But, as you might expect, things invented at the Erie County Fair in 1885 do not necessarily sweep the nation over night. It was several decades before the hamburger really had solid footing in the culinary world. The real credit for bringing the hamburger to national prominence goes to White Castle. In 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, Walter Anderson founded the White Castle hamburger chain…generally viewed as first hamburger chain. Arguably, the next oldest hamburger chain has already been covered in a past blog post. Let us not forget Kewpee Burger with its first location built in Lima, Ohio, in 1928.
Now, if this was an average blog, that would be the end of the story. But, my readers deserve better. What is the little known story? For this answer, I had to travel to the small town of Miamisburg, Ohio. As the story goes, there was a devastating flood on the Great Miami River in 1913. The Red Cross set up a relief tent in Miamisburg. A gentleman by the name of Cocky Porter volunteered in the food effort. And yes, his flood relief effort was his own version of the hamburger. After the flood water receded…the people still wanted Mr. Porter’s hamburgers. So, Cocky began selling his burgers in a food wagon on a street corner in Miamisburg. I give you the Hamburger Wagon in Miamisburg, Ohio, since 1913.
Well…I guess White Castle’s claim of the first burger chain is safe since the Hamburger Wagon is one of a kind…not a chain. Additionally, the wagon itself is not a brick and mortar location. Lastly, I am sure that’s not the original wagon. But heck…someone has been serving these burgers at that location since 1913. That fact deserves some serious recognition in the history of the hamburger.
On the subject of the burger itself, these burgers are of the smaller “slider” style (did White Castle copy???). The Hamburger Wagon slider is a high quality slider. The patty is thick, and in my uneducated opinion…the burger is much higher quality than anything at White Castle. These burgers taste great…as supported by the line of people on the sidewalk, as well as line of cars along the curb. The burger is only $1.50, so I had 6. I even stopped on the way out at White Castle to do a taste comparison. No comparison…in my humble opinion…the Hamburger Wagon is easily the better slider. If you find yourself near Miamisburg, OH, stop by the Hamburger Wagon, serving quality sliders since 1913. PT
Thank you for reading Ode to the HAMBURGER on Traveling with PugsleyTonks
Thank you to http://www.hamburgerwagon.com/
You may also like this post: https://travelingwithpt.com/kewpee-burger/
