Look, I’ve eaten a lot of hamburgers. I mean, a lot of hamburgers.
The hamburger is the quintessential American food insofar as how it’s not even really an American food. Hamburgers themselves trace their lineage back to Hamburg, Germany in the 1780’s as a meat product served without bread or a bun; those came later.
The hamburger itself is as we know it is of mysterious origin. Louis Lunch in New Haven, CT claims to have been the birthplace of the hamburger. I stopped once to eat at their current location, with a burger cooked on an 1895-era stove and toasted bread made in a 1920’s toaster. It was good. Not great, just good. If you’re into historical food tourism, eat there.
I’ve eaten hamburgers across the country and across the world. I’ve had all the famous ones: McDonald’s (including the one in Moscow’s Red Square), Burger King, Checkers, In-n-Out, Shake Shack, Jack in the Box, Five Guys and Whataburger. I make a beeline for my favorite burger joint Hodad’s whenever I’m in San Diego.
But this best burger I’ve ever had? I got it here.
That is VJ’s Drive Inn and it is located in the last place you would ever think would have the greatest of all hamburgers.
Yes, that is Winnipeg, Manitoba. The greatest hamburger I’ve ever had was in Canada.
Yes, the place is a small building on the corner of a busy street in downtown Winnipeg that has only picnic tables.
But behold this thing of beauty.
It is a simple hamburger. Cooked to perfection. A fantastic sesame seed bun surrounding lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and cheese, with a healthy amount of mayonnaise. I’m not really a mayo person, but the addition here really brought the entire burger together.
Topped off with a fantastic chocolate shake, and it was the perfect meal. The only thing the joint gets wrong is by selling Pepsi instead of Coke.
The burger at VJ’s is like really some of the best burgers that you or I have ever head. They lack pretentiousness. You’re more than likely to get a great burger at some hole in the wall like VJ’s or similar places across North America than you are at the “modern restaurants.” Because at places like this, they do things old school. Simple toppings, simple cooking methods, and simple packaging.
Too many places now top burgers with all sorts of crazy stuff. Some of them are very good. There’s a place near us that does a burger topped with delicious crab dip. It’s a good burger in aggregate. But is the burger itself that great? Who knows, because it’s buried under a mound of toppings. Sometimes, those types of burgers hit the spot.
But sometimes, you just want to a good old fashioned hamburger. And places like VJ’s are where you can get one.
Ever visit VJ’s? Have a favorite old-fashioned burger joint? Leave a comment and I’ll try to visit there someday.
It doesn't look that impressive, to be honest. It must have been fabulous.