Louis' Lunch

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"Louis Lunch" redirects here. For the Ithaca, NY lunch truck, see Cornelliana#Hot_Truck_and_Louie's_Lunch.
Louis Lassen 1907-1916
Louis Lassen 1907-1916
Louis' Lunch Landmark building
Louis' Lunch Landmark building

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[1].

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 [2].
  • 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 locally patented hinged steel wire gridirons to hold the hamburgers in place while they cook simultaneously on both sides.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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