George Motz | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Catholic University of America [1] [2] |
Occupation(s) | Television personality, historian, author, filmmaker, restaurateur |
Known for | Hamburger America |
George Motz is an American television personality, historian, author and filmmaker. Motz directed a documentary film and has written books detailing the history of the hamburger in the United States. He hosted the Travel Channel show Burger Land from 2012 to 2013. He is a contributor for First We Feast with a series titled Burger Scholar Sessions. He is also the owner and head chef of Hamburger America, a luncheonette-style restaurant in SoHo, Manhattan.
Motz worked as a Director of Photography for WNET in New York. [3] For his work he was a recipient of three Emmy Awards (one in 2000 and two in 2006). [3] [ better source needed ]
Motz taught a New York University course about hamburgers. [4]
In 2007, Motz founded The Food Film Festival based in New York City. [3] [5] [6] The festival is held annually in New York City, Chicago, and Charleston. [6]
In 2011, the festival had 160 entries and curated them to 28. [5]
In November 2023, Motz opened Hamburger America, a luncheonette-style hamburger restaurant in New York's SoHo neighborhood. [7]
In 2004, Motz directed a documentary film titled Hamburger America about the American hamburger and eight "iconic burger joints". [8] [5] A book of the same name was later released. [3]
Between 2012 and 2013, Motz was the host of Burger Land on the Travel Channel. [9] [10] [11]
Motz has been a regular contributor for First We Feast since 2018, for The Burger Show, where he would frequently guest star, and also his own hosted series, Burger Scholar Sessions, where Motz would introduce audiences to different distinct regional hamburgers and also show how the burgers are prepared. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [ excessive citations ]
Motz grew up on Long Island, New York; most notably in Garden City and Quogue. [1] [19] Motz lives in New York. [5] He has two children. [20]
A hamburger, also called a burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon or chilis with condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish or a "special sauce", often a variation of Thousand Island dressing and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.
A cheeseburger is a hamburger with a slice of melted cheese on top of the meat patty, added near the end of the cooking time. Cheeseburgers can include variations in structure, ingredients and composition. As with other hamburgers, a cheeseburger may include various condiments and other toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, avocado, mushrooms, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.
Louis' Lunch is a fast food hamburger restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut, which claims to be the first fast food restaurant to serve hamburgers and the oldest continuously operated hamburger restaurant in the United States. It was opened as a small lunch wagon in 1895 and was one of the first places in the U.S. to serve steak sandwiches. According to Louis' Lunch, the hamburger was created in 1900 in response to a customer's hurried request for a lunch to go. In 1917, Louis moved the business into a square-shaped brick building that had once been a tannery.
Ted's Restaurant is a hamburger restaurant established in 1959 that is known for its steamed cheeseburger. Its original location is in Meriden, Connecticut, in the United States. It also operates a food truck and a concession stand.
The Hamburger Wagon is a hamburger restaurant located on the sidewalk of the Market Square in Miamisburg, Ohio. The establishment was opened in 1913 by Sherman "Cocky" Porter to help feed Red Cross workers and residents of Miamisburg rebuilding from the Great Flood.
A hamburger is a specific type of burger. It is a sandwich that consists of a cooked ground beef meat patty, placed between halves of a sliced bun. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as dill relish (condiment), mayonnaise, and other options including lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and cheese.
Matt's Bar is a restaurant in south Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is known as one of two businesses that created the Jucy Lucy.
A slider is an American term for a small sandwich, typically around 2 inches (5 cm) across, made with a bun or dinner roll. Sliders can be served as hors d'oeuvres, snacks, or entrées. They have become a popular game day appetizer in the United States.
Evidence suggests that the United States was the first country where two slices of bread and a ground beef patty were combined into a "hamburger sandwich" and sold. There is some controversy over the origin of the hamburger because its two basic ingredients, bread and beef, have been prepared and consumed separately for many years in many countries before their combination. Shortly after its creation, the hamburger quickly included all of its currently typically characteristic trimmings, including onions, lettuce, and sliced pickles.
The Thurman Cafe is a cafe and bar in the German Village district of Columbus, Ohio. It was opened in 1942 by Nick Suclescy, and has remained a family-owned establishment ever since. Thurman Cafe is considered to have one of the best hamburgers in the country.
Wilson's Sandwich Shop is a restaurant located in Findlay, OH, founded by the owner of the Kewpee Hamburger restaurant in Lima, OH. It is a local institution, known for its square hamburgers, called "hamburgs", and frozen malts. Patrons can get in touch with the community at Wilson's. It is even known as a regular stop for local Courier reporters getting "man-on-the-street perspectives". Various celebrities and politicians have visited throughout the restaurant's history, including singer Johnny Mathis, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and President Joe Biden.
J.G. Melon is an American restaurant established in 1972. It is located at 1291 Third Avenue on the northeast corner of East 74th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is known for its hamburgers.
Burger Land is an American food reality television series that premiered with two special episodes airing back-to-back on September 2, 2012, on the Travel Channel. The series is hosted by food author/filmmaker and hamburger enthusiast George Motz based on his book Hamburger America. In each episode, Motz travels the country in search of the best burgers that he can find and eats in each state. The first full season premiered on April 15, 2013.
The 5-8 Club Tavern & Grill is a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1928 as a speakeasy, the eatery is one of two Minneapolis establishments that claim to have invented the Juicy Lucy cheeseburger in the 1950s, the other being Matt's Bar. The 5-8 Club also serves its Saucy Sally burger and other dishes including fried cheese curds and onion straws. The restaurant, which has been featured on several Travel Channel TV series, has three additional locations in Minnesota.
A steamed cheeseburger, also referred to as a steamer or cheeseburg, is a hamburger topped with cheese that is cooked via steaming and originally only served by restaurants in central Connecticut in the United States. Despite it now being available elsewhere, it is still difficult to find outside that area.
First We Feast is an online food-culture magazine and YouTube channel. The site co-produces the YouTube series Hot Ones. The company began as off-shoot of Complex Media, its parent company until 2024. In 2024, BuzzFeed sold Complex to NTWRK, an e-commerce company backed by Live Nation Entertainment and Main Street Advisors, but retained First We Feast.
White Rose Hamburgers is a diner franchise located in Highland Park, New Jersey with a second location in Roselle, New Jersey. The restaurant franchise was ranked on America's best burgers list along with White Manna, another New Jersey burger joint.
Butter burgers are hamburgers topped with butter, either directly on the patty, or on the bun. Likely invented in Wisconsin, they remain popular in some northern parts of the midwestern United States, and are the principal item of Wisconsin-based fast food restaurant Culver's. Many restaurants in and around Wisconsin serve butter burgers.
Hamburger America is a luncheonette-style hamburger restaurant located at 51 MacDougal Street in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 2023 by American chef, television personality, and burger scholar George Motz as an homage to the history of the hamburger in the United States. Specializing in traditional smash burgers, French fries, sandwiches, and milk drinks including egg cream, the restaurant offers 11-stool counter service, booth and table seating, and take-out.