New Haven’s Controversial First Hamburger
New England Legends Podcast
Jeff Belanger
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2023
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 302 Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger explore Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, home of (according to the United States Library of Congress), America’s first hamburger. In 1900, Louis Lassen operated a food cart in downtown New Haven. He served sliced broiled meats to hungry customers. But one day one of his regulars was in a hurry to get some food on-the-go, and a legend was born that became a global icon.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm starving, Jeff. I didn't eat breakfast today. Then it's a good thing. We're in downtown |
| 0:09.5 | New Haven, Connecticut, Ray, because there's plenty of food options. And we've been to New Haven before. |
| 0:14.1 | Sure. Yale University is in New Haven. We explored the Voynage manuscript. Right. We didn't go to Yale |
| 0:19.4 | as students, but we did go check out the Voyage manuscript. We checked out the story of that New Haven Ghost Ship, way back in episode 43. We did, for sure. Now, there's a lot going on in New Haven. Absolutely. We could spend a week here and not cover everything legendary. It's so true, which doesn't change the fact that I'm still hungry, |
| 0:37.7 | right? Right, right, right. That. Okay, so there's a great little place we simply must try, |
| 0:42.4 | and it's right up here on Crown Street. All right, this is the place. Louis Lunch, established 1895. |
| 0:51.5 | Ray, this controversial shop not only gave rise to a New England legend, |
| 0:55.5 | but an American legend. We're in New Haven, Connecticut, to witness the birth of the hamburger. |
| 1:06.5 | Hello, I'm Jeff Belanger, and welcome to episode 302 of the New England Legends podcast. And I'm Ray |
| 1:11.9 | Osier. Thanks for joining your towny buddies, Jeff and Ray, on a road trip through weird and |
| 1:16.5 | wonderful New England. Each episode, we explore tales of odd history, ghosts, monsters, |
| 1:21.6 | eccentrics, and all the other strangeness that makes this region like no other. And we're |
| 1:26.7 | glad you're with us, too. If you've |
| 1:28.4 | got a story you'd like to hear in a future episode, please email us through our website anytime. |
| 1:32.8 | We're going to feed Ray the nation's first hamburger right after this quick word from this sponsor. |
| 1:41.3 | Louis lunch is located inside a small one-story brick building here on Crown Street. |
| 1:46.4 | There are red shutter doors on the windows that lock up when the restaurant is closed, |
| 1:50.8 | and it's surrounded by a public parking lot. |
| 1:53.6 | It's not a big restaurant at all. |
| 1:55.5 | No, it's tiny, but it packs a lot of history inside. |
| 1:59.1 | This building has been around a long time, though this wasn't the original location. |
| 2:03.5 | The building was moved here in the 1970s. |
... |
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