Cheeseburger Paradise

On September 18, America celebrates National Cheeseburger Day. The temptation of a beef sandwich interspersed with pickles, lettuce and tomato lurks here at every step.

Drive-in restaurants are very popular, and unlike in Poland they do not belong mostly to McDonald's, but to many fast food chains.

Legend has it that the cheeseburger was born in Pasadena, California in the 1920s. A homeless customer of Lionel Sternberger’s restaurant asked to add a slice of cheese to his bread with the meat. The Chef fulfilled the request and later entered the new styled sandwich to the menu permanently. By the way, the hamburger had been invented a little earlier in Texas, and not in Hamburg Germany.

I have to admit that during the last few weeks, I have tried at least 4 kinds of burgers, although I do try to order the without cheese option and to avoid the extra goodies served the dishes. At the restaurant Lunch Box Laboratory in Washington State, a pleasant waiter, and a former American football coach in Sweden, told us that in the menu, we will also find one of the ten best shakes in the USA. Similarly, in the Hawaiian restaurant Cheeseburger in Paradise, they suggest complementing every order with a solid portion of chili - cheese fries.

To me, one of the tastiest burgers did not come from a fine restaurant, but from the popular food chain Wendy's. It is known for its square beef patties, unlike the round patties of most burgers.  For foodies, Wendy's has introduced a new hit: Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger.

A few days ago I found a TV program called Burger Land, in which the field connoisseur George Motz tours America in the search of the tastiest burger. In an interview, he states that the burger is so popular because it is a truly American dish and its consumption inspires a feeling of American pride. Hamburger is a dish of freedom – it was created to be able to quickly and easily have a bite while stuck in a traffic jam.

Fast food is one of the largest sectors of the U.S. economy. Every day it serves around 50 million customers, employs 4 million people, and its annual revenues are comparable to a third of the Polish GDP. Of course, fast inexpensive food comes hand in hand with low wages. Recently there is a political movement to increase the minimum wage for fast food workers.

I hope that today you will find in your menu a place for some cheeseburger pleasure.

I am attaching a little review of my American culinary experiments.

Say happy cheeseburger day :)