Thoughts on National Hamburger Day

First, don’t confuse National Hamburger Day with National Burger Day.  The latter is in August and I assume includes burgers made from turkey and chicken.  Nothing against those other meats, but ground beef actually has flavor even before you add cheese and condiments!  As it happens, I’ve got a picture file of hamburgers and cheeseburgers.  I’ll be at a restaurant and be so pleased by the looks, I snap a photo and then send it to friends. 

You can see some of those burgers above.  Below you can see a couple of pictures from a woman with whom I work.  She has burgers between two grilled pieces of toast.

I’d say I’ve got a favorite burger joint but I’ve got several.  From McDonald’s to Depot Grill to the Garage Café.  Even that list isn’t really fair, because I’ve stopped at good burger joints all over the country.  I guess my mistake wasn’t writing all this down and then publishing a book with reviews.

When I go out to eat, it’s usually for a cheeseburger and fries or a pizza.  I can eat all the other foods at home.  You see, there are only a handful of variations for a garden salad.  Burgers and pizza are entirely different matters.  There is true variety and experimentation along America’s highways and I’ve been lucky with so many personal experiences.  A few weeks ago, I sat in the parking lot of the Wrangler and slowly chewed a cheeseburger as if each bite was like discovering a nugget of gold.

Put me in a French, Thai or Portuguese restaurant and all I’ll still want is a burger!