History of the hamburger in the United States History of the hamburger in the United States A hamburger (or burger) is a sandwich that consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed between halves of a sliced bun or between slices of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup, and other options including lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and cheese. The Texas historian Frank X. Tolbert attributes the invention of the hamburger to Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas. Davis is believed to have sold hamburgers at his café at 115 Tyler Street in Athens, Texas, in the late
History of the hamburger the employees to improve the sale of the burgers with a simple idea: to be able to prepare burgers rapidly so anyone could purchase and eat them anytime and anywhere. Instead of waiting for half an hour to be served at a traditional restaurant, the White Castle System provided rapid service and a menu centered around the hamburger. At the time, the hamburger was typically served with coffee. Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" had already caused public outrage over the safety of processed meat, so by the 1920s, the general public had come to expect a clean and hygienic hamburger. In