Louis' Lunch

The Travel Channel had what they called a "Chowdown Countdown" the past few weeks in which they counted down the 100 best places in the country to "chow down." Now, granted, any list that doesn't include Salt Lake's Red Iguana is flawed, but we were intrigued when the #1 place in the entire country was in New Haven, CT - a short 60 mile trip up I-95 from us.

And so it was that we packed up on a Saturday in February to visit Louis' Lunch, allegedly the best place to chowdown in the country.

The reason that Louis takes the top spot is that they are, according to lore, the place that invented the hamburger. I have a hard time believing that nobody else had ever thought of placing meatloaf inside Earl of Sandwich's invention, but whatever.

Louis cooks their hamburgers in a broiler standing up. This is how they have done it since 1895, when they invented the hamburger. And they still do it the same way, with a hamburger patty placed between two pieces of white bread and your choice of limited toppings, including tomato, onion, and cheese.

Here's a picture of the broiler:



Here's Dawnell, the Dude, and the Boodle all waiting for their hamburgers. Louis is small. Very small. I realize it's the same building since the early 1900's, but still, a bit too small.



And here they are in front of the place...






Afterwards we stopped off at the New Haven Ikea and almost convinced ourselves to purchase a kid's bedroom storage system. I also feel in love with the Hopen bedroom collection

Beckett was exhausted after his long day and feel asleep on his soccer ball.



So, was it the best place to Chowdown? No, obviously not. The burgers were barely average, but it certainly felt like we were partaking of Americana. If you are truly looking for the "best" hamburger I've ever had, might I suggest Crown Burger or The Shake Shack.