Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25084 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In the 2005 documentary of the same name (included with the book), Motz documented eight classic hamburger joints across the country. In the ensuing years he's broadened his horizons but not his tastes; here he presents a hundred hamburger spots in 39 states, each profiled with love and accompanied by mouthwatering full-color portraits. From Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Conn.-allegedly the oldest continuously operating hamburger establishment in the U.S.-to Olympia, Wash.'s Eastside Big Tom, Motz talks with the owners, employees and customers who keep the cuisine alive and eclectic. In addition to the traditional, Motz introduces readers to regional spins like Iowa's Maid Rite sandwich, a kind of sauceless Sloppy Joe; the green chili-topped burgers of Santa Fe's Bobcat Bite; and Sedalia, Missouri's "Guberburger," dressed with melted peanut butter. Motz limits his selections to independently owned operations that use fresh, not frozen, meat, the most shining example of which is Oklahoma's Joe Maranto, who raises longhorn cattle for eating at his nearby restaurant. Those with a soft spot for Americana, diner cuisine or delicious burgers will delight in this bright, quirky love letter to the American everyman staple, complete with contact information and recipes.
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Review

"A fine overview of the best practitioners of the burger sciences."—Anthony Bourdain

"As a French Chef who took an unexpected approach to the American burger, I'm glad that George has put together this fantastic guide to 100 of the classics."—Daniel Boulud  

About the Author
George Motz became a hamburger expert after his acclaimed documentary “Hamburger America,” featuring eight classic burger joints, premiered on the Sundance Channel in 2005 (DVD is included with this book). The film received a nomination for a James Beard Award, and George found himself teaching a course in hamburgers at NYU. Hungry for more, he became obsessed with finding 100 of the best burgers in the country. The book Hamburger America is the result of endless research, many long drives, short flights, belly-busting taste-tests, and thousands of photographs. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his vegetarian wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Great find.
I got this book for my husband for Father's Day. He has been on a little search of his own for the best burgers around. He loves the book and we can't wait to try some of these on our travels this summer.

George Motz is an American Hero!
I love this book! I've been obsessed with Hamburger America since I saw the documentary on the Sundance Channel. The documentary makes most of the content tackling similar subjects on the Travel Channel, Food Network, History Channel, etc., seem like insipid, dumbed-down crap. It is beautiful to watch the small-time, low-key purveyors of American tradition talk about the simplicity of what they do. The book is a great read, with beautiful photographs and loving tributes to a vanishing America that's rapidly becoming standardized, corporate-ized,bland-ized, Wal-Martized, Starbucksized, Bush-ized, and stupid-ized. I keep it on my bedside.

I am tempted to take off a star because this sampling of American tradition was actually printed IN CHINA! Nothing against the Chinese, but this seems sad, in a way.

Reading the book and watching the video makes me hungry, but if you eat enough of this stuff, it will probably kill you.

Very entertaining and informative
this book was really fun to read and so much information about the best hamburger places in the country. Makes you hungry the minute you start flipping through it. The DVD that came with it was a great bonus and very entertaining. This is a great buy.