(photo courtesy of Roadfood.com)
The picture above is of a burger from Louis’ Lunch in New Haven. My friend Veronica and I were emailing yesterday about what else, food. Veronica used to live in Philadelphia (before my Philly road trip a few months ago she gave me an incredible and vast list of dining suggestions — she’s a walking Philly Zagat Guide). She lives in New Haven now, and asked when I was coming up to sample the city’s famous pizza. That led to this exchange:
Veronica: “And if you want you can also try the oldest hamburger in America which is TERRIBLE. The place is called Louis’ Lunch and it sucks… no seasoning, no toppings, no ketchup and the meat is terribly undercooked.”
Me: ”Um, I don’t think I want to try a place that’s ‘terrible’. You really didn’t sell it too well.”
Veronica: ”Well, the place sucks, but a lot of people who come here want to try it.”
That got me thinking (and hurriedly googling Louis’ Lunch): Why would a place that’s serving crap food continue to draw steady crowds?
The answer might be as simple as this: Louis’ Lunch has history. (To be fair, many of the reviewers did also rave about its burgers.) It’s the oldest hamburger restaurant in the U.S., operating out of New Haven since 1895. The burgers are still prepared in the original way, in the same antique gas stoves. Kind of cool. In our disposable culture the rarity of an establishment with a story, where you can actually say “This is the same way they did it 100 years ago!”… well, I understand the appeal.
Is Nathan’s Famous really worth a pilgrimage to Coney Island? Do Walter’s hot dogs justify waiting in a 20-deep line? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe we’re all suckers and these landmarks are capitalizing on our sentimentality; in a sense, we’re paying for the nostalgia.
So despite Veronica’s not-so-ringing endorsement of Louis’ Lunch, I probably will give it a shot the next time I’m in New Haven. Am I expecting to enjoy it? Not really. The burger looks pretty nasty in that pic. But that’s okay — at least I’ll be able to say I’ve eaten at the oldest burger joint in America.
Louis’ Lunch
263 Crown St.
New Haven, CT
203-562-5507
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Tags: burgers, louis' lunch, new haven