Product Description

Whether you're an armchair traveler, a serious hamburger connoisseur, or a curious adventurer up for a road trip, Hamburger America will be your guide to reclaiming this precious slice of Americana.

No other food says "America" like the hamburger, and documentary filmmaker George Motz has made it his personal mission to save our nation's unique burger identity. He has traveled across the country in search of the best burger joints - those that have survived outside the fast-food mainstream - and has documented their rich histories and one-of-a-kind taste experiences.

This edition of the book includes George Motz's 1 hour documentary "Hamburger America" that profiles 8 burger joints across the USA.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #683270 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Format: Bargain Price
• 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

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

Essential Americana reading and a fantastic guidebook for the perfect food
I first saw Motz's documentary Hamburger America (which is included with the book) and was amazed on how he captured more than just places that serve a mean hamburger. Every place he went in the film gave you a look at different types of Americans, their history, their future and all held together by the love of America's favorite food. The book builds upon that. Each entry is written with admiration for the burger, the restaurant and the people that cook them. By visiting different cities, cultures, races, and histories of the many burger joints in this book, Motz is able to bring them altogether on one theme: they all make a great burger. And isn't that what America is about? This hodgepodge of cultures in one place looking for the dream, can all be united by ground beef in a bun. Forget the mass produced fast food chains. It's the local mom and pops, diners, decades old places that Americans hold true to their heart. It was written that if you don't claim your hometown greasy spoon as serving the best burger, then you're a wimp. Well this book covers many of those hometown favorites. Even if you do not especially like hamburgers, this book is essential for reading on American folk-life and its wonderful people.

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.

Hamburgers
I am partners in a small Hamburger joint here in Arlington Texas. I had to have this just to see what great gimmicks there are out there. I was greatly pleased with this book. Two of my favorite places back home in Columbus Ohio made the grade. As well as a place here in Ft Worth... But I don't think the one here compares at all with my criteria... must have been a money thing with them. But it's the DVD that came with the book that makes it all worth while. Wonderful DVD showing some of best and unusual places to be had across America.. Makes you want to do a rode trip.