"I believe that the great American hamburger is a thing of beauty, its simple charms noble, pristine. The basic recipe--ground beef, salt, and pepper, formed into a patty, grilled or seared on a griddle, then nestled between two halves of a bun, usually but not necessarily accompanied by lettuce, a tomato slice, and some ketchup--is, to my mind, unimprovable by man or God. A good burger can be made more complicated, even more interesting by the addition of other ingredients--like good cheese or bacon.....relish perhaps, but it will never be made better." - Anthony Bourdain, from the chapter entitled 'Meat', in his book Medium Raw.

October 22, 2010

Hudson's Hamburgers (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)

So we know it's very unlikely that we will travel all the way to Coeur d'Alene for lunch, but while there for work we stumbled across an amazing burger. And we do mean amazing.

In a little tiny shop on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene is Hudson's Hamburgers, which has been in operation there since 1907.

We liked it so much we ate there four times during the week we were in Coeur d'Alene. Yep, four times.
















Hudson's is so tiny it only has 17 seats at a counter. No tables. No servers. No hostess. But always a line up of people waiting for a burger. They have the most perfect business model. Burgers, drinks, pie, and nothing else. No chips or fries with that burger. A hamburger costs $2.20 and a double cheeseburger is less than $5.00. They take a handful of ground beef and form the patty right there at the grill. Nothing is frozen.




















They have two sauces for which they are famous. One is a spicy mustard and boy was it spicy. Too spicy for S. but V. sure enjoyed it.
















After you finished your burger they asked you if you wanted a refill. That's right, another burger. The record is nine double cheeseburgers. Where else can you get a refill on your burger?

nd the way they sliced pickles is beyond description. S. only wishes she had dared to ask them to let her videotape it.

















Burger heaven and oh so simple: beef, onion, pickle, and cheese.
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