Surfin’ Betty’s Burger Bar recently opened on Garfield Parkway in Bethany Beach. The restaurant, which started in Ocean City, is in good company.
In nearby Ocean View, Flavor specializes in gourmet burgers made from short rib and brisket.
Melissa Hekl recently took over the restaurant inside Dickens Parlour Theatre. It is by Good Earth Market, which she also purchased. Farther north, Hammy’s Burgers & Shakes in the Safeway shopping center fires up the grill for freshly patted meat served with hand-cut fries. The newcomers join burger “kings” like The Summer House in downtown Rehoboth Beach, whose menu proudly notes that the Angus beef burgers are “famous.”
A CUT ABOVE
Like the hotdog, the burger was born in Germany. It started as a cooked take on the raw minced beef that German sailors sampled in Russian ports.
In the late 1800s, the Hamburg-America Line (also known as the Hamburg-American Line) served Hamburg steak on bread to German immigrants. By 1904, the New York Tribune noted that many concessionaires served “hamburgers” at the St. Louis World’s Fair. For decades, the burger was a fast-food star — White Castle opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. As more beef cuts and breeds came on the market, restaurants could justify various prices depending on the quality.
Black Angus is familiar. The trendier wagyu is from Japanese breeds raised under strict standards. Harvest Tide Steakhouse in Lewes sells a $27 wagyu burger with crispy onion, gouda cheese and baby kale.
Bramble & Brine at The Buttery in Lewes gets USDA Prime beef from its sister restaurant, Houston White Steakhouse in Rehoboth Beach. It’s served with provolone, melted onions, bacon, tomato jam, Green Goddess dressing and bibb lettuce on brioche.
Dry-aged beef is kept in a controlled environment until enzymes break down the tough muscle and tissue. Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach uses dry-aged Black Angus beef for wood-grilled burgers.
Some burgers are a mix. For instance, Chef Ian Crandall uses a specialty blend of chuck and short rib for his half-pounder at Kindle in Lewes.
STYLE & SUBSTANCE
Over the past two years, American diners have fallen in love with the smashburger, a ball of meat smashed on the grill. The Maillard reaction creates a dark, caramelized crust that seals in juices. Because a smashburger is well done, there’s no need to accommodate a plethora of temperature preferences. “We can cook it quickly and get it out quickly,” says Vince Sapia, Surfin’s Betty’s co-owner. Like Dogfish Head, Surfin’ Betty’s buys from Roseda Farms in Monkton, Maryland, “It grades out at the upper two-thirds of Choice into Prime,’ Sapia explains. “It’s pasture-raised, and they practice sustainable farming.”
The Pines in Rehoboth Beach dresses its smashburger with lettuce, tomato, Cooper sharp cheese, spicy cucumbers and black pepper aioli.
Given that the burger is flattened and thin, many restaurants slide two patties onto the bun. That’s the case at Fish On in Lewes, whose 5 Points Burger comes with cheddar, lettuce, red onions, sweet-and-sour mayonnaise and pickles.
Thompson Island Brewing Company near Rehoboth Beach and Crooked Hammock Brewery near Lewes also smash two patties.
Crooked Hammock, however, demonstrates why the burger can be cutting-edge. The Papa Pig Burger is topped with pork, pimento cheese, smoked bacon, fried onions, honey barbecue sauce and garlic mayo. Decadent? No doubt. But no customer will leave wondering, “Where’s the beef?”
