Ahhh, the joys of summer. Sun, pools, short shorts (not on me), warm nights, excessive lounging and, of course, barbecue -- that pit of fire and smoke that has sustained people around the world for thousands of years. The historical and social importance of the barbecue may be too long and boring to divulge in this article, but I have come to put another argument to rest.\nAs I sat around the flames last weekend listening to the griller tell me about how he grinds his own meats, stuffs his own hot dogs and makes his own hamburgers, the argument about what makes the best hamburger came up. Whether it is Scotty's Brewhouse's MoFo burger, a cheeseburger from Smokin Jack's Rib Shack or any assortment of homemade, there seems to be no consensus on which burger is best -- and there never will be. So instead, maybe a return to the classics, the basics, the days when a burger was something a little different may enlighten our minds, or simply entertain us while waiting for class to start.\nMaybe the place to look is where hamburgers originated. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people who want to take responsibility for creating the platform for this American cuisine. Chefs like Larry Forgione of restaurant American Place and Alice Waters of restaurant Chez Panisse all stake their claim. But the burger, perhaps the cornerstone of American food, however, has an origin in Hamburg, Germany.\nThe story goes that in 1891, a man named Otto Kuasw was a cook in a restaurant on the waterfront in Hamburg. He mainly served sailors coming through the port looking for a quick meal along the way. Kuasw had a sandwich on his menu that the sailors liked very much. It was made with a thin patty of ground beef sausage fried in butter. A fried egg was placed on top of the meat and then put between two slices of lightly buttered bread. This sandwich was known to the sailors as "Deutsches Beefsteak."\nIn 1894, sailors who had been to the port at Hamburg and visited the port of New York told restaurant owners about Otto's great sandwiches, and the restaurants began making the sandwiches for the sailors. It is said that all the sailors had to do was to ask for a "hamburger" when they came to dine.\nSo this grilling season, go to the store pick up some charcoal, some beef and buns, and follow this simple recipe to recreate my beefed-up version of Otto's Hamburger.
The Kanter burger
2 pounds ground sirloin beef\n1 small yellow onion, chopped\n1 tablespoon salt\n1 teaspoon ground black pepper\n8 strips bacon, preferably thick cut\n4 eggs\n8 slices yellow American cheese\n8 slices crusty white bread or 4 hamburger rolls
Mix ground beef with onion, salt and pepper. Form into four patties and grill until desired doneness. Meanwhile, in a pan, cook bacon until crisp, remove, and fry egg in bacon fat until the white has set and the yolk is runny. Toast bread and assemble all components into sandwiches. \n--Sarah Kanter contributed to this article.
