We Americans do love our hamburgers. In fact, Americans consume nearly 50 billion burgers a year, which equates to three a week per person. To put that number in perspective, lined up, those same 50 billion hamburgers would circle the earth 125 times. Burp!
Atlantans are no different than the rest of the country when it comes to the hamburger. For some reason we just can’t get enough, and every chef seems to boast his her or hers as best in the city.
So, with all those great burgers in our city, who really and truly does it best? Well, that is wildly subjective but as I usually do, I will give a nod to my three favorites. But before I do, let’s look at a few fun little burger facts.
Did You Know?
The Library of Congress credits Louis Lassen of Louis Lunch sandwich shop in New Haven, CT as the creator of the hamburger as we know it.
The cheeseburger was born in the 1920s when a young cook in Pasadena, California came up with the crazy idea to add a thin slice of cheese to a burger he was preparing. The rest is history.
Founded in 1921 by Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram, White Castle is the oldest burger chain. They served steam-fried hamburgers, 18 per pound of fresh ground beef, cooked on a bed of chopped onions, for a nickel.
Burgers account for an astonishing 40% of all sandwiches sold in the US and account for about 71% of the beef servings in commercial restaurants.
June is the single largest month for beef sales in restaurants, with nearly 1 billion pounds of beef consumed in this month alone.
The hamburger isn’t as red, white and blue as you may think, the sandwich actually comes from a town in Germany by the name of — you guessed it! — Hamburg.
The world’s most expensive “real meat” hamburger, sold at a Las Vegas casino, will ding your wallet for $5,000. This snooty meat sandwich is made out of lofty grade Kobe beef and is ornately adorned with truffles and foie gras.
The world’s most expensive hamburger, however, costs a whopping $250,000 Euros. That’s right, a quarter-of-a-million Euros — and, don’t laugh, but it isn’t even real meat. This test-tube hamburger, made from artificial meat was perfected after years of research by scientists in Holland,
The first known hamburger critic was writer Upton Sinclair, who in his 1900 novel “The Jungle” denounced the terrible conditions in Chicago slaughterhouses.
Can’t think of where to romance the wife or girlfriend for your next vacation? Well think no more, the Hamburger Hall of Fame is located in Seymour, Wisconsin, which just so happens to be home of the famous 5,000 pound record-breaking hamburger, assembled back in 1989. To this day it is uncontested.
THERE Brookhaven
305 Brookhaven Ave #1200, Atlanta
Tel: 404.949.9677
This hip easy-going gastropub is as close to East Village vibe as it gets outside of New York City’s East Village itself. And the food at THERE holds its own against any East Village gastropub. That’s saying a lot considering the term “gastropub” has been so loosely tossed around by so many others in Atlanta. Not this kitchen, these guys dig cool food, and they respect the term “gastropub” by delivering smart, skillfully prepared food up and down the menu. One of those well prepared items is a juicy bison patty burger (picture on cover and on the page to your left) which currently hails as my go-to burger these days. This gorgeous double-stacked beauty is toppped with earthy roasted poblano, cheddar cheese, avocado, and a showering of finely diced red onions. The Holeman & Finch bun receives a smear of spicy mayo before being wisked away to the table. Wash it down with one of the many local brews on draft. Bliss.
Hop Alley Brew Pub
25 S Main St, Alpharetta
Tel: 770.696.2097
Yes, I have to say this brewpub brews some amazing beer thanks to owner/brewer Brandon Hintz. And sure, the menu boasts a bunch of sausages from insanely delicious Heywood’s Meat Provisions in Marietta. But all that quickly becomes afterthought once you sink your teeth into the Bacon Burger. Okay all you bacon lovers, wrap your head around this: Local White Oak Pastures grass fed beef mixed 50/50 with ground — yes, ground — smoky Riverview Farms bacon to make this brilliant hamburger patty. Who is the genius that dreamed up this idea? He or she should be praised and awarded, even hoisted up on a pedestal with the likes of Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Muss & Turner’s
1675 Cumberland Pkwy SE #309, Smyrna
Tel: 770.434.1114
This grass fed burger has been my old stand-by since this savvy sandwich shop opened its doors for business. Who else remembers wearing a hard hat to enter because the rest of the building was still under heavy construction? Oh, those were the days. But Todd Mussman’s kitchen still serves up one studly burger today. It’s a lush locally raised grass-fed burger cooked perfectly to a gushy, seductively silky medium rare center, juicy and dripping with healthy omega-3s. This one is topped with roasted poblano, Vermont cheddar and a healthy slathering of cilantro aioli. Mussman’s mighty thick patty bucks the trend of those credit-card swipeable thin patties you’ll find all over town, and remains on the shortlist as one of our city’s best burgers. And just an FYI, those incredibly crispy pomme frites play the perfect supporting cast to a big time star.