How-to's, Recipes, Behind the Scenes
PrintHamburger America: Steamed Cheeseburgers
A cloud of steam billows from a small metal chamber as Paul Duberek removes one of many tiny pans from its interior. He scoops a meaty leaf of ground beef from it onto a waiting kaiser roll. A second tiny pan cradles the gooey white cheddar that tops the famed steamed cheeseburger at Ted's Restaurant in Meriden, Connecticut. Travel with Hamburger America for a visit.
Steamed cheeseburgers are a regional specialty in south central Connecticut, and are limited to roughly a 25-mile radius centered on Middletown. Ted's Restaurant, in Meriden, is now thought of as the home of this burger style, but it was created at the now-defunct Jack's Lunch in Middletown. Until late 2006, O'Rourke's Diner was one of a handful of steamer joints serving these burgers, but it burned down, which is a shame, because, according to Jason Perlow on eGullet.com, it was the legitimate heir to Jack's sandwich—Jack's son, Brian O'Rourke, owned the place.
TED'S RESTAURANT
Address: 1044 Broad Street, Meriden CT 06450 [map]
Website: steamedcheeseburgers.com
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
This video is an excerpt from Hamburger America by George Motz. We like George because of his tireless passion for all things hamburger and the simple but thorough way he tells the story of America's best burgers through film. The full-length DVD is available on his website.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Hot Topics
Sponsored Link
Recipe
Mango Bean Salad
Fresh fruit and hearty beans make a refreshing side for our Morningstar
Farms® Southwestern Style Veggie Cakes.
Get this recipe »
1 Comment:
O'Rourke's is planning to reopen. The community has rallied around Brian O'Rourke, holding fundraisers to cover the $350,000 or so he needed to rebuild the great old diner after the fire. No info on an opening date, but much of the money is already raised. I can almost taste that burger!
Paul at 1:20PM on 04/05/07