Paper Paraphernalia 2: Food Glorious Food

I went to George Motz’s new restaurant, Hamburger America. And took a souvenir (you’re allowed to take them there, unlike the one I stole from Harry’s New York Bar in Paris).

Motz is a true hamburger expert. He made a documentary about burgers, wrote a state-by-state guide to burgers throughout the US, came out with a burger cookbook, and hosted a TV show called Burger Land.

One of his favorites happens to be Winstead’s, a Kansas City, MO institution. I’ve probably eaten hundreds of their burgers over the course of my life—my mom grew up in KC, and when we visit my grandparents there Winstead’s is a must-visit.

I live a block or so away from the restaurant, which is on Houston & MacDougal. Over the course of many months, I kept passing this empty space with an image of some guy’s face stuck onto the window (see fig. 1 for said image). Lucky for me, I went on its first days, when hadn’t yet officially opened and they were still training employees.

It’s a classic coffee shop-style place, with a limited menu that you can read below, and bar seats to watch the team cook. I’m personally a huge fan of the guy that sticks potato buns onto a giant rotating cylinder of melted butter.

Upon exiting my second lunch there, I snagged one menu from a pile. I’m honestly not sure how much longer they’ll have the menu in that exact format. It’s a lot of paper!!

One thing I love in particular: the incorporation of the neighborhood’s businesses. You don’t see that too often, and it’s part of what compelled me to snag the menu. It’s a time capsule. It’s also a hallmark of the restaurant genre Motz loves so much that he decorated the walls with paraphernalia ( <3 ) from of his favorite burger places around the country.

I love the restaurant’s evocative-but-not-pastichey decor. And I LOVE paper goods! And I love burgers. Win-win-win. If you’re planning to go to Hamburger America, advice:

1. Do not go on a weekend, it will be busy

2. Wait for bar seats, don’t just get the food and sit at a table! You’ll miss the whole fun schtick of it all!

3. If there’s a line and you’re sick of waiting, some A+ food suggestions right down the street, yes literally RIGHT down the street:

   1. Emmett’s on MacDougal (GET THE “PEGGY O” PIZZA)

   2. Shuka (GET THE FRIED HALLOUMI or the fattoush salad, which has fried halloumi in it)

   3. 12 Chairs (get the schnitzel salad)

   4. Revelie (get whatever you want, it rules in there)

Finally, a parting & possibly NYC-specific q: don’t you think there’s been an uptick in “classic”-style diner/coffee shop places? Three new ones come to mind, two of which I have mentioned above: S&P Lunch in Flatiron, Revelie Luncheonette (from the team behind Raoul’s, which sits right across the street), Hamburger America.

For a bit more on the subject, see my little letter On Fun and Games, in which I discussed the New-York Historical Society’s exhibition on the Jewish deli. And S&P Lunch! Everything comes full circle.

I love you I love you, bye!