When: May 28
The hamburger's origin is disputed, its influence is global, and its quality range spans from the best thing you've ever eaten to something you'd rather forget. Understanding what makes a great burger requires understanding one thing: the beef.
The most democratic food in American history — and the one still worth arguing about.
In 2014, the Library of Congress formally acknowledged the competing origin claims for the hamburger without resolving them. Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, and Connecticut each have their advocates, their local documentation, and their genuine civic pride attached. The Library of Congress — whose job is to know things — issued a statement saying the matter was unresolved and likely unresolvable. No other American food has achieved this status: important enough to require an official statement, contested enough that the statement couldn't settle anything. What's not disputed: Hamburg, Germany, was famous for a style of finely ground, salted beef (Hamburger steak or Hamburg steak) in the 19th century, and German immigrants brought both the name and the preparation to the United States. The Hamburg steak was a popular menu item in American restaurants before anyone thought to put it between bread. The sandwich format — ground beef between two halves of a bun — was the American innovation,...