“This is exactly like eating fries out of the drive-thru bag. The next bit of history is better than the last and leaves you wanting more of that salty goodness.”
—Charlie Calderin
“Burgers, history, business, and great stories! Love it. We drive by these places every day and sometimes we take them for granted. Thanks for sharing the stories of these visionaries with us Burger Beast.”
—Javier De La Vega
“If you love food and consider yourself a foodie, then this is the book for you. Burger Beast’s attention to detail is second to none. Beast has a real passion for telling the history of the burger. Run, don’t walk to get many copies of this book, and give them to your friends, especially the vegan ones.”
—Dan Vezina
Copyright © 2019 Sef Gonzalez
Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.
Cover, Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni
Author Picture: Copyright © Al Diaz
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All About the Burger: A History of America’s Favorite Sandwich
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2019932091
ISBN: (print) 978-1-63353-962-4, (ebook) 978-1-63353-963-1
BISAC category code HIS054000 HISTORY / Social History
Printed in the United States of America
Ingredients
Chapter 9: A Better Burger Revival
Chapter 10: Regional Specialty Burgers
Chapter 12: Burger Competitions
As a rule, I trust very few people. And when it comes to burger knowledge, I trust even fewer. I’ve spent the better part of the last twenty years researching, eating, thinking, writing, talking about, and generally loving hamburgers. In those years, I have taken the deep dive into the truth about the American hamburger and why we love them so. In many cases, I have spent far too much time trying to get it right and can barely count on two hands my truest burger allies. But when I met Sef Gonzalez, I realized I was in the presence of someone I could trust.
I was struck by his dedication to the Burgerverse, and we became instant friends and confidantes. In the past decade, we’ve regularly traded findings on burger joints and speak often about the poorly documented history of the American hamburger. And just when I think I’ve got a certain history or timeline correct, Sef is there with a new detail. On more occasions than I’d like to admit, usually immediately following an Instagram post or a mention in a newspaper, Sef has set me straight. Sef is deeply knowledgeable about many of the burgerways in America, and for this I’m constantly grateful.
When he told me he was considering opening The Burger Museum to house his growing collection of burger ephemera, I thought, Who better? followed by. How much stuff could he have? In my mind, it was sure to be a cute one-room pocket museum with a few cool items. When I first set foot in the place, I was knocked over by the more than 3,500 items on display, many one-of-a-kind. A new level of appreciation had been achieved.
To me, the hamburger is one of the greatest gastronomic expressions of American proletarian food with its rich and varied history. Sef has done his research, and this book is arguably the definitive resource on a subject very dear to the both of us. Lose yourself in the stories which make up the patchwork that is the fabric of America, and learn why after more than a century, we love burgers today more than ever.
George Motz
Professor