Hamburger America (48 page)

Mississippi native Elmer Dyer opened Dyer’s Restaurant in 1912 in the midtown section of Memphis. The burger shack proudly served both blacks and whites, though in the Southern tradition before the civil rights movement, they had to enter though separate doors. At some point, Dyer’s moved around the corner to Poplar and North Cleveland, and from there made its historic move to Beale Street. The North Cleveland location became a Vietnamese restaurant that curiously continued to sell deep-fried burgers among a selection of traditional Vietnamese dishes.

The Dyer’s of Beale Street comes off as a tourist trap, but maintains the fabled grease and uses only fresh ground beef for the burgers. If you want to broaden your horizons, order the second most popular sandwich at Dyer’s—the deep-fried bologna sandwich. Previous owner Tom once told me bluntly, “If you are watching your health, I recommend going next door.”

 

 

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sk any current or former Nashville area college student about Fat Mo’s and most likely they’ll tell you they’ve been there. That may be because in the Nashville metro area there are eighteen Fat Mo’s locations. It also may be because people in Nashville love burgers and Fat Mo’s makes one helluva burger.

At first glance, anyone of the Fat Mo’s outposts look like a standard roadside burger joint, some of them nondescript, brightly painted cinderblock boxes near highway interchanges. But to those who know Fat Mo’s, there is something entirely unique at play here. Opened in 1991 by Iranian husband and wife Mohammad Ali and Shiva Karimy, the burgers at Fat Mo’s have a very distinct flavor that is unmistakably Middle Eastern.

The story of how Mo and Shiva came to found a burger empire in Nashville is right out of a storybook. After the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979 the lives of any remaining supporters of his regime were in danger under the new ruler Ayatollah Khomeini. “After the revolution I escaped,” Mo told me, “I was for the Shah and if I had stayed I’d be killed. They had no mercy.” Mo was a prominent businessman in Iran prior to the revolution and owned a number of restaurants, four of them burger joints.
Inspired by the success of McDonald’s in his country Mo saw potential in the burger business. He opened his own burger joint and called it “Mamad Topol,” which translated from Farsi means “Fat Mo’s.” “The Iranians loved American culture,” Mo explained, “and they still do! Don’t believe what you see on the news.”

Mo and Shiva have made their name with a unique twist to the all-American hamburger. The basic construction of the burger is the same but a very important step in the cooking process sets these burgers apart from the rest. When you bite into the half-pound Fat Mo you’ll be struck by the subtle spices at work. Black pepper, salt, and garlic are all present, as well as other spices, but none of this overwhelms the beef-and-cheese profile of the burger. The secret is in the marinade, an old family recipe.

All of the burgers at Fat Mo’s come from bulk fresh ground beef that is hand-pattied daily. “We weigh it on a scale then flatten into patties on a hard surface,” Mo explained. The burgers are cooked on a flattop griddle, and just before they are finished, the patties are dipped into the marinade then returned to the griddle. “That’s how we do it,” Mo explained proudly. “But the marinade is a secret. I cannot tell you what is in that.” Whatever it is, it makes the Fat Mo one unique, tasty burger.

The menu is vast but the burger options are pretty basic at Fat Mo’s. The biggest seller is the “Fat Mo,” which is a half-pound patty on a toasted sesame seed bun. Unless you specify what
you want on your burger the Fat Mo comes with everything, which is shredded lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickles, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and American cheese. Mo’s personal favorite burger on the menu (and coincidentally mine as well) is the half-pound Double Mo. Instead of one large half-pound patty the Double Mo comes with two quarter-pound patties, more griddle char, and an extra slice of cheese. There’s also the Little Mo, a quarter-pound burger that Mo says, “Most of the ladies get that one.” If you are feeling adventurous (or really hungry) go for the Super Deluxe Fat Mo, a twenty-seven-ounce patty that comes with everything plus grilled onions, barbeque sauce, bacon, and jalapeños. It may be your only meal of the day.

Fat Mo’s Locations are a mixed bag of restaurant types because each location is an independently owned franchise. A handful of them are sit-down restaurants with drive-thrus, a few are sit-down with no drive-thru, and some are tiny roadside drive-up windows. Five of these have a curious double drive-up system with two lanes, one on either side of the building. When you pull up to the large menu in the parking lot there is no speaker asking you for your order. You make a selection and drive up to a window to order, or an employee will emerge from the rear of the restaurant to take your order to bring to the kitchen. It’s all very low-tech but everything is made to order and very fresh.

Although most of the locations have been franchised, Mo and Shiva have retained the Smyrna location for themselves. They spend much of their time in the restaurant because as Mo put it, “People in Nashville want to see me, see that I’m alive, that I exist.” Mr. Mo, as he is affectionately known, most definitely exists and so do his amazing burgers.

 

 

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ashvillians are proud of Rotier’s and the burger that is served there on French bread. At first glance, the burger looks impossible to eat, a tower of edible elements that defy gravity, thanks, only to those, feathery sandwich toothpicks. And that bread—why the big loaf of French bread? “My father ordered some loaves of French bread from Sunbeam one day in the ’40s to serve with our spaghetti,” owner Margaret Crouse told me. One thing led to another and the famous Rotier’s cheeseburger on French bread was born. Despite how tall the burger looks, it’s a breeze to eat and the supersoft bread cradles the burger patty and condiments perfectly.

It should be a good burger. It has been on the top of every best burger list in Nashville for decades. Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill are all fans of the cozy dive. Jimmy Buffett
used to sit at the bar and write songs and eat burgers regularly back in the late ’60s when he lived in Nashville, prompting many to assume that he penned the famous “Cheeseburger in Paradise” at Rotier’s. Alas, he did not.

Evelyn and John Rotier opened their tavern and restaurant in 1945 just steps from the esteemed Vanderbilt University. Today, the giggly, effervescent Margaret Crouse, daughter of the Rotiers, owns the dark, comfortably broken-in tavern with her brother, Charlie Rotier. “I’ve worked here for 38 years,” she told me, but many of her employees can boast similar claims. Pamela has been in the kitchen for over two decades. Her mother gave her the job after she had flipped burgers there for over 30 years, starting in 1951.

There are three burgers on the menu at Rotier’s and the descriptions can be somewhat confusing. The well-known “cheeseburger on French bread” is self-explanatory, but order a grilled cheeseburger and it comes on white or wheat toast. Order just a cheeseburger and you’ll get the same patty on a white squishy bun. The six-ounce burgers are hand-pattied every morning from over 200 pounds of fresh-ground chuck. A burger with everything comes with lettuce, onion, and tomato. Order a “half & half ” and you’ll get a plate with both fries and onion rings.

Other than hamburgers and the surprisingly good spicy fried pickles, Rotier’s is also known for its plate dinners that come with Southern sides, like lima beans, broccoli casserole, and fried okra. And don’t miss Eddie Cartwright’s Lemon Ice Box Pie, a tangy, creamy dessert similar to key lime pie with a buttery graham cracker crust. Jack-of-all-trades Eddie and his pie recipe have been at Rotier’s for over twenty years.

My good friend from Nashville, Vadis Turner, told me once, “My dad took me here for my first burger. It is the kind of place where you bring your kid to get them their first real hamburger.”

Pamela, taking a break near the bar, smoking a cigarette, and waiting for the next rush told me, “This place is a home away from home for a lot of people. Once you sit down, you don’t want to get up.”