Happy National Hamburger Day

Although hamburgers originated in Hamburg, Germany, eating a burger on a bun is actually an American tradition. The hamburger as we know it was most likely invented in Seymour, Wisconsin. Each year, the city hosts a hamburger festival called Burger Fest. That is where the world's largest hamburger made its debut in 2001 – it weighed 8,266 pounds!

Haven't you also wondered where the "ham" came from? Calling it a hamburger doesn't imply it has beef in it and certainly most aren't made with ham. With this being said, feel free to eat a beef burger, turkey burger or even veggie burger today.

The facts about hamburgers are crazy! PBS.org states that Americans approximately consume roughly 50 billion burgers a year! The site BurgerWeb.com says that the hamburger business pulls in 73 billion dollars a year with over 50,000 burger joints located across the country. That's approximately 7.5% of all US restaurants.

Americans go nuts for hamburgers! In fact, If you're in or around Memphis today, Belly Acres restaurant is celebrating with a $100 hamburger with proceeds going to a local charity.

Or if you have more money than sense, New York City’s 666 Burger food truck has just the thing. For just $666 you can have the monstrosity know simply as the Douche Burger. It's a foie gras-stuffed Kobe patty covered in Gruyere cheese that’s been melted with champagne steam and topped with lobster, truffles, caviar, and a BBQ sauce made with Kopi Luwak coffee beans. As if that wasn't enough, the whole thing is served in a gold-leaf wrapper.

We don't have anything like that here in Tuscaloosa but we do have quality restaurants building fantastic burgers. Here are a few of my favorites, In no particular order.

Avenue Pub – So exquisite it’s served on a cutting board! Add bacon and be treated to one of the most sinful burgers you’ve ever had! Avenue Pub’s fries are on point to!

Mugshots Grill & Bar - At Mugshots, I almost always roll with ‘Will’s All-American’ cheeseburger topped with a runny fried egg!

Five Guys – I always get the ‘Cheeseburger,’ NOT the ‘Little Cheeseburger.’ Go big or go home I say and then bite into one of the juiciest, double stacked, cheese-covered beef patties ever!