| Hamburger America | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | George Motz |
| Produced by | George Motz Casey Benjamin |
| Cinematography | George Motz |
| Edited by | George Motz Virginie Danglades |
| Music by | Tony Ormond |
Production company | MotzFilms |
Release dates | |
Running time | 54 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000 [1] |
Hamburger America is a 2004 American documentary film directed by George Motz. The film highlights eight family-owned hamburger restaurants across various regions of the United States.
Working as a commercial cameraman in 2001, George Motz had the idea to create Hamburger America while sitting with his wife Casey Benjamin, who co-produced the film; as Motz explained, "We were watching TV and saw a show about hot dogs, and I thought, 'Gee, I've never seen a really good documentary about hamburgers.'" [2]
Over the course of the next three years, Motz traveled across the United States to various hamburger restaurants, selecting them under the criteria that they must be family-owned, use fresh beef, be more than 40 years old, and offer a distinctive burger that has stayed the same over those years. [2] Motz researched 26 restaurants throughout the country, eight of which made it into the film. [3] None of the restaurants featured in the film are from major coastal cities; as Motz explained, "Anybody can go to New York or L.A. and get a burger ... But I want people to go to Milwaukee and get a burger. I want people to think about Oklahoma and think about burgers." [1]
Motz calls Hamburger America a "pro-burger film," in contrast to works criticizing fast food such as the documentary Super Size Me , which was released the same year, or the book Fast Food Nation , which Motz cited as an inspiration for the film. [1] [3]
The film premiered on April 19, 2004, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, followed by a release party at Billy Goat Tavern, one of the restaurants featured in the film. [2] [4] It was also shown on December 3, 2004, at the Santa Fe Film Festival. [3] It was released on DVD alongside two screenings at Two Boots Pioneer Theater in New York City on February 1, 2005. [1]
Hamburger America documents the following hamburger restaurants, listed in order of appearance in the film:
| Restaurant | Location | Opened | Known for | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyer's Burgers | Memphis, Tennessee | 1912 | Deep-fried hamburgers | [2] |
| Ted's Restaurant | Meriden, Connecticut | 1959 | Steamed cheeseburgers | |
| Wheel Inn Drive-In | Sedalia, Missouri | 1947 | Guber burgers (made with peanut butter) | |
| Solly's Grille | Glendale, Wisconsin | 1936 | Butter burgers | |
| Meers Store & Restaurant | Meers, Oklahoma | 1901 | Texas Longhorn burgers | |
| Bobcat Bite | Santa Fe, New Mexico | 1953 | Green chile burgers | |
| Louis' Lunch | New Haven, Connecticut | 1895 | Claiming to have invented the hamburger | |
| Billy Goat Tavern | Chicago, Illinois | 1934 | Curse of the Billy Goat and Saturday Night Live 's Olympia Café | |
In 2006, Hamburger America was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. [5] In 2011, the film was selected by the United States National Archives and Records Administration for a screening at the National Archives Building. [6]
Since releasing the film, George Motz has become a "leading authority on hamburgers," as described by The New York Times . [7] The film went on to inform Motz's later ventures, including his 2018 book Hamburger America: A State-by-State Guide to 200 Great Burger Joints, as well as his restaurant Hamburger America, which opened in SoHo, Manhattan in 2023 and draws inspiration from the restaurants featured the film. [4] [8]
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.
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.
Whataburger is an American regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. Founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, it opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950. Family-owned by the Dobsons until 2019, the chain is now managed by the private equity firm BDT & MSD Partners; the Dobson family still holds a small stake.
Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.
Bobcat Bite is a restaurant that is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, off of the Old Las Vegas Highway. The location itself has hosted two businesses, both of which have gone by the name "Bobcat Bite". The original Bobcat Bite specialized in the preparation of steak, chops, and hamburgers.
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.
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.
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 Burger King and McDonald's. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's; Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Triarc then became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company following the sale of Arby's to Roark Capital Group.
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.
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.
The fast-food restaurant chain Burger King was the first major fast food chain to introduce a grilled chicken burger to the marketplace, in 1990, six months before Wendy's and four years before McDonald's. Since then, Burger King, and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's have offered a variety of grilled chicken burgers, as have Wendy's and McDonald's.
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.
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.
A butter burger is a hamburger 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.