Louis' Lunch

Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, is the oldest hamburger restaurant in the United States. Opened as a small lunch wagon in 1895, Louis' Lunch is believed by some to be one of the first places in the U.S. to serve hamburgers and steak sandwiches [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CT/200002814.html] .

History

Louis Lassen, a butter dealer, operated a lunch wagon on Meadow Street as early as 1895 and served steak and ground steak hamburger sandwiches, made from scrap trimmings, to local factory workers. The population of New Haven doubled between 1870 and 1900. Tens of thousands of European immigrants flocked to the city to find work in the many factories located there at the time. According to family legend, one day in 1900 a local businessman dashed into the small New Haven lunch wagon and pleaded for a lunch to go. Louis Lassen, the establishment's owner, hurriedly sandwiched a broiled hamburger between two slices of bread and sent the customer on his way, so the story goes, with America's first hamburger being served. In 1907, Lassen moved the business to Temple and George Streets. After a decade there, he left his lunch wagon for a square-shaped little brick building that had once been a tannery. Forced to move to make way for development, Louis' Lunch moved to its fourth and present location, 263 Crown Street in New Haven, CT. The fourth generation of Lassens own and operate Louis' Lunch today.

Antique stoves

Louis' Lunch flame broils the hamburgers, the original way, in antique 1898 vertical cast iron gas stoves manufactured by the Bridge and Beach, Co., St. Louis, MO. The vertical stoves use hinged steel wire gridirons to hold the hamburgers in place while they cook simultaneously on both sides. The gridirons were made by Luigi Pieragostini of New Haven and patented in 1938.

Original hamburger and steak sandwich

Louis' Lunch hand forms their hamburger sandwiches from ground steak made from a secret blend of five different cuts of beef. The hamburgers and steak sandwiches are then flame broiled vertically in the original antique stoves. The hamburgers are prepared with cheese, tomato or onion as the only condiments or garnish; never any mustard, ketchup or mayonnaise. The hamburger sandwiches are served, the original way, on two square pieces of toasted white bread.

Endorsements

*The Library of Congress web site states that the first hamburgers and steak sandwiches in U.S. history were served in New Haven, Connecticut, at Louis' Lunch sandwich shop established in 1895 [http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/ct/burger_1] .
*Referring to the hamburger, James Trager wrote in his "Food Chronology", "the popular sandwich made its American debut in New Haven, Connecticut in 1900: Louis Lassen grinds .07 cent/LB lean beef, broils it and serves it between two slices of toast (no catsup or relish) to customers at his 5 year old three-seat Louis' Lunch".
*Referring to Louis' Lunch, Earl Steinbicker in his "Daytrips New England: 50 One-Day Adventures", claims this is the place where the American hamburger was invented.

ee also

*New Haven, CT
*Hamburger
*Steak sandwich
*Gridiron (cooking)

References

*cite book | author=Allen, Beth and Westmoreland, Susan | title=Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook | publisher=Hearst Books | year=2004 | id=ISBN 1-588-16280-X
*cite book | author=Elliott, Richard Smith | title=Notes Taken In Sixty Years | publisher=R. P. Studley & Co. | year=1883
*cite book | author=Price and Lee | title=New Haven (New Haven County) City Directory | publisher=Price and Lee Company | year=1899
*cite book | author=Riccio, Anthony V. | title=The Italian Experience In New Haven : Images And Oral Histories | publisher=SUNY Press | year=2006 | id=ISBN 0-791-46773-2
*cite book | author=Romaine, Lawrence B. | title=A Guide To American Trade Catalogs 1744-1900 | publisher=Courier Dover Publications | year=1990 | id=ISBN 0-486-26475-0
*cite book | author=Steinbicker, Earl | title=Daytrips New England: 50 One-Day Adventures | publisher=Hastinghouse/Daytrips Publishers | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-803-820089
*cite book | author=Trager, James | title=The Food Chronology: A Food Lover's Compendium Of Events And Anecdotes, From Prehistory To The Present | publisher=Owl Books | year=1997 | id=ISBN 0-805-033890

External links

* [http://www.louislunch.com/ Official Website]
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CT/200002814.html Library of Congress Louis' Lunch main page]
* [http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es/ct/burger_1 Library of Congress Louis' Lunch: A Local Legacy]
* [http://research.yale.edu/nhohp/content/the-collection/featured-interview/ken-lassen-on-rebuilding-louis-lunch New Haven Oral History Project:Ken Lassen Grandson of founder Louis Lassen]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/opinion/nyregionopinions/28CThorowitz.html New York Times Op-Ed: Louis' Lunch]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSRcre5qB8Q&feature=related Chronicle Restaurant Feature: Louis' Lunch]
* [http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/01/roadfood_louis_lunch_new_haven_connecticut.html Roadfood: Louis' Lunch]