Today is the 120th birthday of the hamburger, which as we all know was invented here in Connecticut at Louis' Lunch in Downtown New Haven.
Photo: Getty Images
From the Office of the State Historian:
July 28, 1900 was shaping up to be an average summer day for lunch wagon owner and German immigrant Louis Lassen, who was serving sandwiches and other hot meals to factory workers in New Haven during their lunch breaks. Suddenly, a local businessman, Gary Widmore, rushed up to Lassen’s wagon and desperately asked for a quick and delicious lunch he could take on the go. (According to Lassen family lore, Widmore exclaimed, “Louie! I’m in a rush, slap a meatpuck between two planks and step on it!”) Lassen then took some ground-up steak trimmings, quickly cooked them in a vertical broiler, and served them between two pieces of toast — and thus, the hamburger was born.
Happy Birthday to the hamburger from all of us at KC101.