While the hamburger may seemingly need little introduction, this American culinary icon has complex global ancestry. In his encyclopedic 2017 book The World Is Your Burger: A Cultural History, British entrepreneur and burger obsessive David Michaels identifies ‘Isicia Omentata,’ an ancient Roman patty of minced meat, pepper, wine, pine nuts, and fish-based garum sauce as the genesis burger.
With other burgers vying for the original burger title, including the celebrated Middle Eastern kibbeh ball of bulgur, ground meat, and spices, and Mongolian horse meat and mutton tartare in the 13th century, Germany emerged as the cradle of the modern hamburger.
Who created the hamburger? Leading contenders include 15-year-old Charlie Nagreen, selling flattened ground beef and onions between two pieces of bread at an 1885 county fair in Seymour, Wisconsin. Other historians back “Uncle” Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas, who showcased his 1880’s ground beef patty on a hot buttered bun at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. While historians debate the origins of this American dive classic, we’re listing some of Passport’s favorite burger joints and eateries.
Hamburger Mary’s
San Francisco’s original Hamburger Mary’s (hamburgermarys.com) from 1972 has even more illustrious gay lineage. Possibly named after a Williams Burroughs character (the Beat legend frequented a 1930’s Midtown Manhattan restaurant run by native San Franciscan “Hamburger Mary” Morris) the ground breaking burger joint debuted as an “open air bar and grille for open-minded people,” its motto to this day. Founded by gay and hippie restaurant workers, the after-hours haunt became a South of Market (SoMa) fixture alongside Folsom Street’s leather bars before closing in 2001. At coast-to-coast locations, including West Hollywood, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Orlando, patrons are invited to “Eat, Drink, and Be…Mary!” with drag shows, brunches, bingo, and other high-energy interactive entertainment. Burgers rule the much-expanded menu, from the original Mary Burger to saucy riffs such as Buffy the Hamburger Slayer, Guacamole B.J., Black & Blue Boy, and Barbara-q Bacon Burger.
White Mana Diner
New Jersey is the capital of another American institution, the diner, with two nationally acclaimed historical havens for hamburgers across the Hudson River from NYC. The UFO-shaped structure housing White Mana Diner (470 Tonnelle Avenue, Jersey City, NJ. Tel. 201-963- 1441. whitemanadiner.com) was manufactured for the 1939 World’s Fair in Queens, NY as “the diner of the future” and an “Introduction to Fast Food.” In 1946, owner Louis Bridges relocated the diner to its present location on a gritty industrial corridor. Time capsule interiors including the wagon wheel ceiling, wraparound counter, and fresh meat sliders, call pilgrims to this day.
Owl Bar & Cafe
In 1948, World War 2 Navy veteran Frank Chavez and his wife Dee opened Owl Bar & Cafe (77 US Highway 380. Tel. 575-835- 9946. sanantonioowl.com) at Dee’s father’s 1930’s mercantile store and served their first Owl Burger to Manhattan Project atomic scientists from Los Alamos disguised as prospectors. Topped with proprietary green chile sauce, this juicy flavor bomb remains the hot ticket at the fourth-generation family-owned Owl, which features an original Hilton family mahogany bar.
Buckhorn Tavern
Dating to 1918, the Buckhorn Tavern (68 US Highway 380. Tel. 575-835-4423. buckhornburgers.com) introduced its own GCCB around the same time. In 2009, former owner Bobby Olguin defeated Bobby Flay in the Food Network’s “Green Chile Cheese burger Duel.” The ensuing publicity raised lasting national awareness of the culinary attraction. Introduced that same year, New Mexico Tourism’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail (newmexico.org) lists the state’s top GCCB restaurants, diners, dives, drive-ins, cafes, and roadside stands.
1913 Pioneer Saloon
Thirty minutes south of Las Vegas in the ghost town of Goodsprings, the 1913 Pioneer Saloon (310 W Spring Street. Tel. 702- 674-6809. pioneersaloonnv.com) is worth the drive for the Ghost Burger and kicking your boots up. This landmark from the area’s mining heyday is among Nevada’s oldest watering holes, attracting bikers, cowboys, and other colorful characters. One wall of the Sears and Roebuck tin-stamped interior features three bullet holes from a 1915 poker game turned deadly. After Carole Lombard perished in a nearby plane crash in 1942, her husband, Clark Gable, sat anguished at the bar awaiting the heart-breaking news. Tributes to her memory are enshrined in a back room. Every week now, there’s live music, cold beer, and the zesty Ghost Burger with jalapeno bacon and secret Ghost sauce.
Read more about The Best Old School Burgers In The USA at Passport Magazine.
