In these waning “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” my thoughts ran to a old road commissioned in 1926. This road stretched 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica; it was not paved until 1937. Known by various names, “The Mother Road” and “Main Street of America,” the original Route 66 crossed eight states and three time zones. The classic direction of travel on Route 66 was toward the west. Some sections of the sacred concrete are still there for the adventurous traveler. Current maps do not include old Route 66. If one wants to trace the old road, special maps are available.
For those who don't know, Route 66 was glamorized on television in the early 1960s. Curiously, it took the stars of the show, Martin Milner and George Maharis, on the gloriously black and white show, four years to travel the “2,000 miles from Chicago to L.A.” in their oh-so cool Corvette. Route 66 was one of the few series in the history of television to be filmed entirely on the road. In 1960 the United States was a much more insular place. Many isolated communities still reflected the ethnicity of their founders. The show showed different people, different accents, livelihoods and ethnic backgrounds. So many people were born, grew-up and died in the same place. Route 66 shone a light on these unknown pockets of Americana.
The theme song, “Get your Kicks on Route 66” was written by Bobby Troup in 1946 and recorded by Nat King Cole. Who can forget the travelogue, “Now you go through Saint Louie; Joplin, Missouri; Oklahoma City is mighty pretty. You see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona; don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.”
I was fortunate to spend some time in one of the cities on the route. In Oklahoma City, consensus says the Split-T, a sports bar, had the best hamburger to be found in Oklahoma. In 1953 The Split-T, a sports bar was named for a football formation used by Bud Wilkinson's winning football team at Oklahoma University in nearby Norman. It is said the success of the restaurant followed the 47-game winning streak by the Sooners. In the 1970s and 1980s Oklahoma was football centric. Norman, OK, Barry Switzer, coach of the most winning teams in OU history, was known for a decade as "Switzerland".
The star of The Split-T was not its football spirit, but rather a very special hamburger — The Caesar Burger. A superior hamburger with no adornments, grilled over charcoal, served on a buttered bun, lightly toasted topped with cold, lemony, garlicky Caesar salad dressing was beyond sublime. Eating a Caesar Burger has been called “a handful of edible chaos.” Presented in a wax paper sleeve to contain all the bits and pieces of the burger, the scrumptious juices stayed in that paper sleeve only about half way through consumption. The paper wrapper began to disintegrate and the special juices begin a slow descent down onto one's pants or skirt. Add to this delicious burger some perfectly fried onion rings and delicious iced tea garnished with lemon, lime and orange and visions of Nirvana began to dance in one's head.
Unfortunately, The Split-T didn't survive several changes of owners, the economy and changing restaurant times; it was demolished in 1985. A sad day in burger history.
Taste memory is the ultimate time travel.
Caesar Burger a la the Split T.
(Serves 4 giant appetites)
• 4 8 oz. patties of pure Angus beef, patted gently into a 3/4' patty, seasoned with sea salt and pepper (2 lb. of meat), put a
• thumbprint into the center of the burger to prevent doming
• 4 large hamburger buns
Salad topping:
• 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved
• 2 tsp. Anchovy Paste, or to taste
• 2 level Tlbsp. mayonnaise (in the food police days we live in, raw egg yolks aren't PC)
• Sprinkle of sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Juice from a large lemon
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves of fresh garlic, mashed well
• 8 leaves of Romaine lettuce, stem removed, then torn into small pieces
In a bowl, put mayonnaise, anchovy paste, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Using a sturdy whisk, blend all together well.
Dripping it in slowly, add the olive to emulsify the dressing. Fold in the Parmesan and garlic. Mix in lettuce. Place in refrigerator to chill at least an hour or over-night.
To assemble:
Heat well buttered buns on the grill or flat-top.
Grill hamburgers until crusty and delicious - time will depend on your grill.
On the bottom of a toasted bun, place a burger and lots of CaesarSalad. Cover with top bun. Stick a large toothpick in to secure the burger. Eat slowly with lots of napkins.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
