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In the early 19th century, the inhabitants of Hamburg<\/b>, Germany, ate Hamburg steak<\/i>, a steak made from ground beef, sometimes smoked or salted<\/b>. Popular with sailors for its shelf life, it crossed the Atlantic with German immigrants in the 1840s, arriving in New York, where it found its way onto menus… but often without bread, as a simple dish on a plate.<\/p>\n
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The fast-food boom<\/h2>\n
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Several restaurateurs claim to have invented the modern burger<\/strong>: two slices of bread enclosing a grilled hamburger patty, easy to eat by hand. Among them were the Menches brothers, Charlie Nagreen, Louis Lassen, and Fletcher Davis.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1921<\/b>, White Castle<\/b> opened the first chain specializing in hamburgers, democratizing the dish with uniform portions, a fixed recipe, and affordable prices for the working class.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two decades later, Richard and Maurice McDonald<\/b> revolutionized the concept. Their restaurant proudly displayed \u201chamburgers\u201d on the front window, with a limited menu, flame-grilled steaks, and simple packaging<\/b>. Customers placed their orders at the counter and took their food away with them. Ray Kroc transformed McDonald’s into a global franchise in 1955<\/b>, helping to make the burger a symbol of the American way of life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The burger also appealed to more upscale circles<\/b>. Hamburger Hamlet<\/b>, founded in 1950 in Los Angeles<\/b>, attracted celebrities such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Elizabeth Taylor<\/b> to its comfortable setting. According to urban legend, in the 1950s and 1960s, some Hollywood stars could even order a \u201cspecial\u201d burger in fancy restaurants<\/b>, proof that the sandwich already had a special aura.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"burger\"](\"https:\/\/luxus-plus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/burger-scaled.jpg\" "\\"burger\\"")