Posts Tagged ‘Hamburger’

Guinness World Record for Biggest Hamburger

Posted by Val on June 3rd, 2009 at 9:13 am | Permalink | No Comments » |

Mallie’s Sports Bar & Grill in Southgate, Michigan isn’t just your typical sports bar. Yes, the game is most certainly on one of many, many, televisions. Yes, they have beer. And yes, they have food…even if that food might be more than you bargained for.

Over anything else Mallie’s is known for their particularly large quantities of food. Amongst their typical selections are a few items that stand out: a colossal Ice Cream Sundae (1.5 gallons of ice cream with the works on top), and a “Ginormous Cookie” that is 20 inches and covered in chocolate chips.

The menu also contains another item: a 10 lb. Monster Burger ($34.99, or free if eaten in under two hours), a 150-pound “Absolutely Ridiculous Burger” that costs $499 or is free if a team of 30 people can finish it in under an hour.

Last year Mallie’s made an official Guinness World Record by creating an outrageous 164.8 pound hamburger. And this weekend they did it again and broke their own record with a 185.6 pound hamburger. The burger was paraded in in a succession of their burger fare. A mini burger came out first, a half-pounder, a double deluxe, their signature ten pound monster…

Guinness World Record for Biggest Hamburger at Mallie's Sport Bar and Grill in Southgate, Michigan

The crowd gathered around as each burger was escorted to the table with a huge scale on it. In anticipation everyone’s cameras were out. Finally, it was wheeled out: a burger weighing in at over 180 pounds.

Guinness World Record for Biggest Hamburger at Mallie's Sport Bar and Grill in Southgate, Michigan

It was hoisted onto the scale and the owners were presented with an official letter from Guinness declaring that a world record has been set.

Guinness World Record for Biggest Hamburger at Mallie's Sport Bar and Grill in Southgate, Michigan

Where: Mallie’s Sports Bar & Grill
Location: 19400 Northline Rd. in Southgate Michigan
Hours: Monday through Saturday 11am until 2am, Sundays 12pm until 2am.
Date: May 30, 2009

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Wimpy Statue in Chester, Illinois

Posted by Val on April 10th, 2009 at 1:06 pm | Permalink | No Comments » |

Hamburger Week

We’re finishing up Hamburger Week here on Silly America with one of the great American icons of the hamburger: J. Wellington Wimpy.

No, he didn’t invent the hamburger. No, I doubt he ever even made a hamburger. But yes, he sure did like to eat them! Wimpy is the beloved character from the cartoon Popeye, a smart but lazy and cheap man who holds an inescapable hunger for hamburgers but is oft unwilling to pay for them. He’s the type who would beg, borrow, and steal just for a taste of a beef patty on a bun. And, he is perhaps one of his most famous lines “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” probably says it all.

Chester, Illinois is home to Popeye creator Elzie Crisler Segar and the town has been turned into a sort of shrine to the man and his work. Statues and murals are erected all over the town in honor of Popeye and the rest of the comic gang. In September 2006, at the town’s annual Popeye Picnic, a new statue was added to the mix in Gazebo Park: an 18-ton granite rendering of Wimpy, hamburger in hand.

Wimpy from Popeye Statue in Chester, Illinois

Site: Wimpy from Popeye Statue
Location: Gazebo Park, Chester, IL
Cost: Free to see
Hours: Always Visible
Date: July 15, 2007

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McDonald’s #1 Store Museum

Posted by Val on April 10th, 2009 at 9:01 am | Permalink | No Comments » |

Hamburger Week

When you think fast food hamburgers in America, you mind probably immediately moves towards McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast food chain. In 1955 Ray Krok, who later purchased and expanded McDonald’s, leading the brand to the status it has today, opened a franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Today, the spot of that first McDonald’s is home to a museum prepped up to look just as it would have back then. While the museum is a tribute to the past, it does not in fact house a restaurant. Luckily, if you’re hungry, there is a functioning modern McDonald’s right across the street (or, even better, a restaurant down the street that delivers your meal by train!).

Unfortunately, the museum is only open odd hours between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so plan accordingly and call ahead before going. I have never actually been inside the museum but will make it my mission to go this summer. In the mean time, here are some pics of the outside, a glorious testament to McDonald’s of yore.

McDonald's #1 Store Museum in Des Plaines, Illinois

Site: McDonald’s #1 Store Museum
Location: 400 N. Lee Street, Des Plaines, IL 60016
Cost: Free.
Hours: Open Seasonally (Memorial Day to Labor Day), Call (847) 297-5022 for Days/Hours
Date: November 25, 2007

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Book Review: Hamburger America

Posted by Val on April 9th, 2009 at 9:01 am | Permalink | No Comments » |

Hamburger Week

While the documentary film came first, Hamburger America was released in book form last year. In it, George Motz expands on the selection he focused on in the film to showcase 100 of the best burgers in America. While he thinks they are all some of the best, he is very careful not to declare any of the hamburgers in the book as “the best.”

Like the film, there are certain criteria that seem to make a regular burger into one of the best. First and foremost on that list is the quality of the meat. In fact, several times throughout the book Motz declares that certain burgers don’t need any toppings (or even seasoning) because the meat is just that good. Freshness of the meat is the most important thing and not one of the burgers features meat that has been frozen.

Like the movie, tradition is also very important. While there were a handful of burgers that debuted more recently, most of them have deep pasts, and all of the burgers seem to reflect the era and culture that the burgers were raised in. From chapter to chapter you can see a running theme between the restaurants in each section. This stands out most Oklahoma where the onion burger is king. Born in the WWII era (where onion was used as a filler to replace the harder to get meat), this specialty in which onions are pressed into the cooking burgers is seen in several places today demonstrating how even when something is born for necessity it can still stand the test of time.

Each section provides a location, history, and a description of the “must get burger.” The photos are wonderful, but, even though there were rich descriptions, I would have liked to have actually seen all of the burgers. I guess there isn’t always enough room, but I wanted more. I also wanted to eat a lot of burger while reading it. Don’t even attempt to read the book on an empty stomach. Actually, you should probably read it at your favorite hamburger venue. Or better yet, hit the road to try one of the burgers featured in the book. Because it will make you hungry. Very hungry.

Learn more about Hamburger America at its official website.

Buy Hamburger America — the book comes with the DVD of the documentary too!

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Burger King that is not a Burger King

Posted by Val on April 8th, 2009 at 8:57 am | Permalink | 2 Comments » |

Hamburger Week

Burger King that is not a Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois. The Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois is not what you’d expect from a Burger King. You won’t find a creepy looking life-size puppet king or a subservient chicken or a 5,000 calorie omelet sandwich or a cardboard crown that you’d pretend you are taking for your little sister but really just want to wear yourself. Not that I would ever do that.

The Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois is not that kind of Burger King at all. In fact, you won’t find that kind of Burger King anywhere within a 20 mile radius of Mattoon.

Back in 1952 Gene and Betty Hoots bought the Frigid Queen ice cream shop and, after years of expanding, changed the name to “Burger King” to reflect the extended menu options they added through the years. In 1959 Hoots registered the moniker as a state trademark in Illinois.

Around that time another Burger King, the one so famously known today, started opening its doors around the country and between 1961 and 1967 started serving up fast food in 50 locations throughout the state.

Burger King that is not a Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois.

Burger King that is not a Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois.
The Hootses believed that they had sole rights to the name “Burger King” in Illinois while the Florida company behind “Burger King” believed it’s federal trademark trumped the states. Burger King of Florida, Inc. v. Hoots in 1968 became an important case on interpreting trademarks.

In the end, the Florida Burger King’s trademark stood and they were found to have to right to open anywhere in Illinois…except in the Mattoon area where the prior use of the name was valid. So the Hoots family can continue to use the name in Mattoon and only in Mattoon and “Burger King” can use its name anywhere but there.
So driving down Charleston Ave in Mattoon you may see the familiar name on the unfamiliar sign. You might stop in and get a chocolate Coke (yummy), an order of fries (yummier), and a Hooter Burger (yummiest). The burgers come standard with pickles, onions, and mustard. A slice of melting cheese never hurt. It was a delicious specimen of hamburger and a far cry from what you would get if you stopped at the chain.

Hamburger, fries, and chocolate Coke at the Burger King that is not a Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois.

I stopped in in 2007 on a road trip around Illinois. It’s a stretch down the road from the World’s Tallest Abraham Lincoln and a great spot for lunch that not only serves tasty food but also provides a piece of history and a piece of attraction all in one. (not to mention the juke box that plays local artists AND a sit down Ms. Pacman machine!)

While it is always tempting and convenient to stop at a McDonald’s or a Wendy’s when on a road trip, the little extra effort it takes to eat at local establishments is totally worth it. You’ll not only get to experience a taste that you couldn’t get every other day but you’ll also be supporting a local business. The Burger King in Mattoon is definitely a stop not to be missed.

Inside the Burger King that is not a Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois.

Site: The Burger King that is not a chain Burger King
Location: 1808 Charleston Ave., Mattoon, IL
Hours: Call for hours, (217) 234-8122
Date: July 14, 2007

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