Hamburger America

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Hamburger America
Hamburger America logo.png
Hamburger America NYC.jpg
The restaurant's exterior in May 2024
Hamburger America
Restaurant information
EstablishedNovember 2023;1 year ago (2023-11)
Owner(s) George Motz
Head chefGeorge Motz
Food type
Street address51 MacDougal Street (entrance on Houston Street) [1]
CityNew York
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code10012
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 40°43′41″N74°00′09″W / 40.727977°N 74.002368°W / 40.727977; -74.002368
Website www.hamburgeramerica.com

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. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Hamburger America derives its name from founder George Motz's 2004 documentary film Hamburger America and 2018 book Hamburger America: A State-by-State Guide to 200 Great Burger Joints, which both chronicle the history of the hamburger in the United States and showcase regional burgers throughout the United States. [4] [5]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Motz created the Burgerslide, "a socially distant burger delivery system" through which he delivered thousands of Oklahoma onion burgers out of his Brooklyn apartment and other pop-up locations. [5] [6] He then partnered with restaurant owners Jonathan and Andrew Schnipper to develop his first brick-and-mortar restaurant, which became Hamburger America. [5] [7] Motz's goal was to recreate "what hamburgers used to taste like" by using historically accurate ingredients and cooking processes. [8]

Construction for Hamburger America broke ground in May 2023, with initial plans to open in July 2023. [9] The restaurant eventually opened in November 2023, drawing notable guests on its opening day including Chris Rock, Sean Evans, Christy Turlington, and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. [5] [10]

Motz has considered expanding the restaurant to additional locations, but says that for the time being, he is "just trying to get one right". [10]

Motz's fried onion burger with French fries, served at the countertop Hamburger America onion burger and French fries.jpg
Motz's fried onion burger with French fries, served at the countertop

Hamburger America offers two hamburgers—a classic smash burger and an Oklahoma onion burger known as "George Motz's fried onion burger"—both of which can be ordered with a single or double patty and with or without American cheese. [1] Both burgers are smashed using Motz's proprietary "Smashula", which is custom-made in Argentina. [10] The restaurant also serves French fries; diner-style sandwiches including egg salad, tuna salad, peanut butter and jelly, and The Chester, a variant on the patty melt; [11] and desserts including key lime pie. [1] [4] Beverages include coffee, lemonade, Miller High Life beer, and a selection of traditional American flavored milk drinks such as coffee milk and egg cream. [2] [4] [5]

Since April 2024, the restaurant has offered a monthly rotation of regional American hamburgers, including the olive burger from Lansing, Michigan, the butter burger from Wisconsin, and the double-patty No. 5 from Keller's Drive-In in Dallas, Texas. [1] [8] [12]

Reception

Hamburger America has received positive reviews from restaurant critics. In April 2024, The New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells named the restaurant among the top 100 restaurants in New York City, calling it "the geeked-out burger stand New York didn't know it needed". [13] In a full-length review, Wells called Hamburger America "part fast food restaurant, part shrine to roadside America, part art installation, part nostalgia immersion," writing that Motz's onion burger "tastes like late-night drives into empty downtowns, of cheap beer on boardwalks and wax paper at fly-by-night carnivals, of places where you talk to weird characters you wouldn't meet in the daytime." [12]

Helen Rosner of The New Yorker wrote that the classic smash burger "is fantastic, strong and correct. You don't need to know the history of burgers to be taken with its honest flavors, its modest size, its firm handshake of pickle and onion and good ol' American ground beef. It's a hamburger you trust, a hamburger you'd feel good about taking your daughter to prom." [4] Robert Sietsema of Eater said the classic smash burger is "probably the best smash burger in the city". [1]

Tammie Teclemariam of New York magazine's Grub Street pointed to the restaurant's hype on social media platforms such as TikTok, confirming that its burgers "live up to the hype: they deliver a concentrated beef flavor and bring a new level of crusty smash to the city." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburger</span> Culinary dish consisting of a beef patty between rounded buns

A hamburger, or simply a burger, is a dish 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. Under some definitions, and in some cultures, a burger is considered a sandwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheeseburger</span> Hamburger topped with cheese

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.

<i>Teriyaki</i> Japanese marinade

Teriyaki is a cooking technique in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Although commonly associated with Japanese cuisine, this cooking technique is also commonly used in other Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Indonesian and Thai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patty melt</span> Type of burger

A patty melt is an American grilled hamburger consisting of a ground beef patty topped with melted cheese and caramelized onions between two slices of griddled seeded-rye bread.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veggie burger</span> Non-meat hamburger

A veggie burger or meatless burger is a hamburger made with a patty that does not contain meat, or the patty of such a hamburger. The patty may be made from ingredients like beans, nuts, grains, seeds, or fungi such as mushrooms or mycoprotein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburg steak</span> German patty of ground beef

Hamburg steak is a patty of ground beef. Made popular worldwide by migrating Germans, it became a mainstream dish around the start of the 19th century. It is related to Salisbury steaks, which also use ground beef. It is considered the origin of the hamburger, when, in the early 20th century, vendors began selling the Hamburg steak as a sandwich between bread.

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. McDonald's traces its origins to a 1940 restaurant in San Bernardino, California, United States. After expanding within the United States, McDonald's became an international corporation in 1967, when it opened a location in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the 1970s, McDonald's restaurants existed in five of the Earth's seven continents; an African location came in 1992 in Casablanca, Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frita</span> Type of hamburger originating in Cuba

A Frita is a type of hamburger originating in Cuba. The burger is found mainly in South Florida; according to George Motz it is no longer known in Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy's</span> American international fast food chain

Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following McDonald’s and Burger King. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smashburger</span> American fast-casual chain

Smashburger IP Holder LLC, doing business as Smashburger and stylized as SmasHBURGER, is an American fast-casual hamburger restaurant chain founded in Denver, Colorado. As of 2022, it has more than 227 corporate and franchise-owned restaurants in 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and 2 Canadian provinces.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5-8 Club</span> Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impossible Whopper</span> Veggie burger sold by Burger King

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyline Restaurant</span> Diner in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Skyline Restaurant is a diner in northwest Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Established in 1935, the restaurant initially sold fried chicken by a gas station. It gained popularity during the 1950s, and Skyline's menu of American cuisine has changed little since then. Michelle Nelson has owned the diner since 1999; previous owners have included Benny and Phyllis Lum, as well as Ken Hom, who eliminated drive-in service. Skyline's burgers and milkshakes have received a generally positive reception. In 1975, James Beard said the restaurant's burger was among the best in the country, and Food Network Magazine said Skyline had the best burger in Oregon in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Motz</span> American presenter, historian and author

George Motz is an American television personality, historian, author and filmmaker. Motz directed the 2004 documentary film Hamburger America 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butter burger</span> Hamburger topped with butter

A butter burger is a hamburger topped with butter, either directly on the patty, or on the bun. Believed by many to be 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fried onion burger</span> Regional burger style and specialty of Oklahoma cuisine

A fried onion burger, also called an Oklahoma onion burger, is a regional burger style and specialty of Oklahoma cuisine. The dish was created in El Reno, Oklahoma, in the 1920s by a restaurateur searching for a way to stretch ground beef with a less expensive ingredient in order to cheaply feed striking railroad workers during the Great Railroad Strike of 1922. Its primary ingredients are thinly-sliced onions and ground beef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sure Shot Burger</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Sure Shot Burger, formerly known as Rough Draft Burger Shop, is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Sietsema, Robert (November 28, 2023). "This New Luncheonette Serves the Hamburgers America Deserves". Eater . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Fabricant, Florence (November 28, 2023). "Hamburger America, From a Burger Documentarian, Opens in the Village". The New York Times . Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. ↑ Pehlivan, Gunsel (March 27, 2024). "A Day Making NYC's Most Hyped Burgers at Hamburger America". Bon Appétit . Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rosner, Helen (January 14, 2024). "Reviving the Classic American Burger". The New Yorker . Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Kogan, Rick (March 20, 2024). "The story behind New York's hottest new restaurant, Hamburger America, and a look at the owner's time in Chicago". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ Fortney, Luke (November 14, 2023). "A Race to Open at Two New Burger Spots". Eater . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ Spina, Matthew (December 21, 2023). "Burger Scholar George Motz's Hamburger America Is A NYC Hot Spot". Tasting Table . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Kaufman, Jared (May 22, 2023). "A New York Restaurant Is Showcasing What Hamburgers Used To Taste Like". Mashed . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ Braiker, Brian (May 8, 2023). "Burger king George Motz talks new book and upcoming restaurant". Brooklyn Magazine . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Teclemariam, Tammie (December 5, 2023). "It's the Most Hyped Burger in Years — But Is It Any Good?". Grub Street . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ Sietsema, Robert (February 8, 2024). "The Wildest Burgers in New York". Eater . Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Wells, Pete (April 16, 2024). "Restaurant Review: Hamburger America Is Deliriously Messy". The New York Times . Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  13. ↑ Wells, Pete (April 1, 2024). "The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City in 2024". The New York Times . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
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