TEXARKANA - Friday was National Cheeseburger Day, a day when food fans celebrate an American classic.
Texarkana at one time was deemed "Burger Capital of the United States." One thing is certain, there are places to get good cheeseburgers in the Twin Cities.
On the Arkansas-side of Texarkana, for example, is Old Tyme Burger Shoppe, a burger eatery with 30 years of tradition that serves back-to-basics cheeseburgers, as well as variants to please a variety of fans.
"We use fresh meat on our burgers," owner Randy Thomas said. "And a key move of ours is the grilling of the buns. We deliver an old-fashioned burger, American-style."
Thomas noted the cheeseburger offers a complete meal in one sandwich.
"You get a bit of everything," he said. "Meat, dairy, bread and veggies, that is all in your base cheeseburger."
Thomas said the staying power of the cheeseburger is just a great mix of simple things, cooked to order.
"The kind of popularity of a cheeseburger speaks for itself," he said.
Down the street on Texas Boulevard, 30 Burger has carved out its own niche for the last several years.
"Our burgers are on a brioche bun, fluffy, flaky, which we cook, cut, butter, then toast," chef Isaac Montes-Resendiz said. "Lettuce, tomato, red onion, sharp cheddar with the patties. Each patty has a special signature 30 Burger marinade and seasoning."
Montes-Resendiz s that said this is the first place he has worked for that has a special marinade for the patties.
"Also, it is how we put on the cheese," he said. "Most places just put a slice of cheese on the burger, which can sometimes be cold. We make sure the cheese is melted."
The key is fresh ground meat, nice carmelization, a good amount of fat and juiciness, owner James Edwards said. "The burger is something people can eat every day. Not overseasoned, not overwhelming."
Some random facts about the cheeseburger:
No one knows who really invented the cheeseburger. There are several stories surrounding who was the first to slap cheese on the hamburger, the most famous being that sometime between 1924 and 1926, chef Lionel Sternberger in Pasadena, California, added a slice of cheese to a hamburger at the behest of a homeless fellow he was feeding. The item went on his menu and the cheeseburger was born.
At this time, the most expensive burger in America belongs to New York City food truck 666 Burger. They serve, you guessed it, a $666 burger that is wrapped in gold leaf and topped with lobster, caviar, truffles, foie gras and aged Gruyere cheese melted with steam from champagne poured on the hot griddle. The real kicker, though, is the burger comes wrapped in three greasy $100 bills.
The world's largest cheeseburger, according to Guinness, was cooked up by a casino in Minnesota in 2012 - and came in at a whopping 2,014 pounds. It took a specialty oven, a crane and a bun that baked for seven hours to complete it.
Americans eat nearly 50 billion burgers a year, which averages about three a week.
In Minneapolis, you can get a bacon cheeseburger served between two glazed donuts. Sides include deep-fried mayo, deep-fried mac and cheese, deep-fried green beans you get the idea. Head over to Eli's Donut Burgers' Facebook page at your own risk.
At the BGR The Burger Joint in Washington, D.C., you can order "The 9 Pounder" from their menu. Once you add two heads of lettuce, eight tomatoes, three red onions and four whole pickles, your nearly 15-pound burger is ready to eat. Better bring your appetite.
In 2008, fast-food giant Burger King unveiled their very own fragrance. Dubbed "Flame."
If you live in Sweden, you can buy cheeseburger in a can.
While canned cheeseburgers seem to be absent from the Texarkana marketplace, there is no shortage of places cooking them to order.
"A cheeseburger offers a wide range of configurations, and can be travel-friendly," Edwards said. "They are American classics, people love them."