This self-published pile of trivia was for some reason the selection of my culinary reading group this month. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the meeting. Unfortunately, I did buy and read the book.
If for some reason you do want to know the details of the founding of some huge number of hamburger chains in twentieth and twenty-first century America, you will find it here. From White Castle to Shake Shack, from Hardee's to Five Guys, not missing In-N-Out, Culver's, Whataburger, or special ethnic and regional burgers like the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger or the Miami/Cuban Frita.
Doesn't it sound interesting? Sorry, it's just a compendium of miscellaneous facts, presented in a formulaic way. Who, where, how many, did they have pickles? There's a ton of detail. The author also covers various advertising campaigns and rivalries from MacDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and so on, but I found a lack of any perspective on public reactions -- sometimes he says they failed, sometimes they brought in customers, but there's no insight.
In fact, that's my reaction to the whole book: it lacks insight. Yes, the man loves burgers, and he's tasted a humongous number of brands and types of burgers. That's all, folks.
This review is by Mae Sander for maefood dot blogspot dot com.
If you read it elsewhere, it's been pirated. © 2020 mae sander.
14 comments:
Sorry that the book was a disappointment. Thanks for the review, Mae.
Thanks for the review!
It's too bad he didn't make the book a little more entertaining.
Ha! That’s a great review, it wouldn’t be one I’d pick up and probably get tired of the trivia if it’s reported that way.
I think I can live without this one! But thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I think our book club agreed with your review. However, we had a great conversation reminiscing about our favorite burgers and fast food experiences. We wished that the author had gone deeper into what makes a great burger. Some of us voted for the perfectly cooked rare burgers at Knights in Ann Arbor, but there was also a vote for Marcs Uptown Coney's perfectly burnt on the outside swill and ham burger. I think we all left our meeting hungry.
I really don't like the hamburger ...
Well, I'm a European! LOL
What I really love are the meatballs (sort of!) that my mother taught me to make!
Thank you for visiting!
Wishing you a nice weekend!
Thanks for your visit on my blog, much appreciated. Sorry you were disappointed i the book. Hamburgers are not my fave food, that's for sure! Have a great weekend, Valerie
Too bad you actually bought the book and was so disappointed! Sounds like it lacked the " meat " you were looking for.,
Trivia can be fun, but maybe too much in one place?
I do love a good burger, but it is a rare find!
Too bad it was a disappointment.
So, definitely not a book to rush out and get then.
Guess (?) you´ve read "Grinding It Out: The Making of Mcdonalds" by Ray Kroc? Liked that one.
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