Hamburger Archives - Chris Carosa

My Life With AI—Part V: Why GenAI (And All Search Engines) Fail

By Chris Carosa on October 21, 2025

When generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) platforms first appeared, I tried them all. GenAI fails—but not in the way you’re thinking. They failed to collect the data I requested. Quite simply, the platforms couldn’t search the internet that well.

Ah, 2024. Those were the good old days…

Code that tapped LLMs did achieve—a bit—what I wanted, but the inconsistency drove me Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part V: Why GenAI (And All Search Engines) Fail”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Media, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged AI, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Claude, Eddie Valiant, Gell-Mann Amnesia effect, Gemini, GenAI, GIGO, Google, Grok, Hamburger, Hamburger Dreams, Jessica Rabbit, Large Language Model, LLM, Michael Crichton, New York Press Association, Perplexity, The New York Times, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Wikipedia

From Beef Country To Hamburger Dreams

By Chris Carosa on September 2, 2025

Beef Country lay far beyond the horizon behind us, but as we progressed through the Crossroads of America, hamburger dreams filled our heads. We thought it was just a craving for food. But it was more than that. It was much like the hunger of the hometown fans who crowded the bar under the massive television screen in the spacious hotel lobby, where we ate a late dinner.

We arrived at the Indianapolis Marriott East for our concluding night of vacation. Too tired to find a restaurant, we settled for the meager menu offered by the hotel itself. Only one other family made the same choice. For them, food was secondary. They, like the dozens of others, had their eyes glued to the TV. It was the last game of the NBA Finals. The hometown fans watched their beloved Indiana Pacers lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was a bitter loss. The Pacers, after winning three ABA titles in the early 1970s, have yet to win an NBA Finals title. In a way, Indiana fans have a hunger similar to that of Buffalo Bills fans. Like the Pacers, the Bills remain winless in Super Bowls, though they did win back-to-back AFL championships.

We’ve seen this same regional pride across America. In Beef Country, you might call it Continue Reading “From Beef Country To Hamburger Dreams”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged Akron, America the Beautiful, American Spirit, Badlands, beef, Beef County, Buffalo Bills, cattle, Charles Menches, Chicago, Colorado, cowboy grit, Crossroads of America, emory, erie county fair, Exit from the East, experience, Frank Menches, Gateway to the West, Grand Prismatic Spring, hamburg, Hamburger, Hamburger Dreams, Hoosier, hot dog, Indiana Pacers, Kansas, Katharine Lee Bates, meaning, memory, Menches Brothers, Moulton barn, Mount Rushmore, Ohio, Pike Peak, Portillo's, resilience, Sallie Skinner, St. Louis, St. Louis Arch, steak, Wall Drug, Willam Skinner, Yellowstone

Tourist Traps to Timeless Landscapes

By Chris Carosa on July 22, 2025

Not all tourist traps are alike. At some point, a tourist trap transcends its label, becoming a “must-see” simply for being so over the top. I can’t remember when we saw the first Wall Drug roadside sign, but its fame far exceeded its actual appearance.

We’d long left Chicago’s skyline behind for the flatlands. Of course, before the wide-open spaces, we traversed Wisconsin and Minnesota. It’s kind of arbitrary, but somehow poetic, to declare that crossing the Mississippi River truly makes you feel “out West” for the first time.

I-90 crosses the Mississippi on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border immediately south of Lake Onalaska. Yeah, they call it a lake, but it looks like it’s part of the river. Stretching 4 miles across, this is the widest span of the Mississippi River (if you include the Lake).

Oddly, crossing the Mississippi didn’t immediately scream “out West.” Instead, my brain went Continue Reading “Tourist Traps to Timeless Landscapes”

Posted in History, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Advertising, American Dream, Bandlands, Betsy, billboard, bison, Catarina, confidence, consecrated Americans, dinosaurs, Dune, E Pluribus Unum, Emma Lazarus, erosion, Faith, fossil, Founding Fathers, France, freedom, geology, Gutzon Borglum, Hamburger, hope, I-90, Italian, Italian American, jackalope, kitsch, Lake Onalaska, liberty, Lincoln Borglum, Luigi Del Bianco, marketing, McDonald's, melting pot, Minnesota, Minuteman Missle Silo, Mississippi River, Mount Rushmore, Peter, photography, prairie dogs, quarter pounder, Rapid City, Reptile World, roadside sign, sedimentary stone, South Dakota, Space Invaders, spirit of America, statue, Statue of Liberty, strata, sweet light, tourist trap, Wall Drug, William Andrew Burkett, Wisconsin, wretched refuse

Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?

By Chris Carosa on July 19, 2022

July 20^th is National Hot Dog Day. It’s a perfect time to consider this intriguing question asked by Paul Freedman in his book The Restaurants That Changed America while describing the impact of the fast-food industry on Howard Johnson’s: “Why did the hamburger triumph as opposed to the hot dog?”

He points out, “Frankfurters are also easy to eat in the car and historically they were the food item most closely identified with the United States in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century… it’s clear from the lack of mammoth national hot-dog chains that even now there is something about the frank that doesn’t lend itself to the industry.”

Why are hamburgers and not hot dogs the more popular/sustainable fast food business model? This is all the more interesting because hot dogs arrived on the scene well before hamburgers.

Search newspaper archives from the mid-nineteenth century and you’ll see plenty of Continue Reading “Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 1904 World's Fair, apple pie, Barry Popik, baseball, Bruce Kraig, Burger King, Charles Menches, Chevrolet, Chicago, Chicago World's Fair, Coney Island, Dan O'Connell, David Edgerton, David Shulman, fast food, football, Frank Menches, frankfurter, Gerald Cohen, hamburg, Hamburger, Harry Truman, hot dog, Howard Johnson's, In-N-Out, James McLamore, Madison Square Park, McDonald's, Menches Brothers, Nathan's Famous, National Hamburger Week, New York City, Pamela Vaccaro, Paul Freedman, Shackburger, Shake Shack, St. Louis, White Castle, wiener, World' Largest Hamburger

First Hamburger: The Top Ten Myths About Who Invented It

By Chris Carosa on May 24, 2022

For some reason (and probably a good one if you think about it), the powers that be have decreed May 28^th as “National Hamburger Day.” This coincides nicely with the month of May either being “National Hamburger Month” and “National Burger Month,” depending on whose press release you read.

As a result, no doubt you’ve read, listened to, or watched something about the almighty burger at your favorite news outlet. The question you should ask (but won’t know to) is whether what you’re reading, hearing, or seeing is true. Unfortunately, in all likelihood, probably not.

To help set the record straight, here are the top ten myths about the origin of the first hamburger:Continue Reading “First Hamburger: The Top Ten Myths About Who Invented It”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1885, 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, Athens, beefsteak tartare, boulette, Buffalo, Charles Menches, Civil War, Clint Murchison, cotton candy, Dallas cowboys, Dallas Morning News, erie county fair, Fairy Floss, Fletcher Davis, Frank Menches, frikadelle, Germany, hamburg, Hamburg Fair, Hamburg Steak, Hamburger, James H. Salisbury, John C. Kunzog, Louis' Lunch, Menches Brothers, National Burger Month, National Cheeseburger Day, National Hamburger Day, New Haven, Ray Kroc, Salisbury steak, September 18, Tartars, Texas, World War I, World War II, Yale

Confessions of a Hamburger Historian

By Chris Carosa on May 19, 2021

Have you ever eaten something so delicious you just can’t wait to get your hands on the recipe? You know how the next question is always, “I wonder who was the first person to make this delicious dish?”

Well, if you haven’t guessed by now, I show hungry hamburger enthusiasts the answer to who sold the first hamburger in my book Hamburger Dreams. Indeed, for the past three years, every May (National Beef Month) and, in particular, every May 28^th (National Hamburger Day), I’m invited to appear in media across the country to explain how I used classic crime solving techniques to crack the case of America’s greatest culinary mystery.

Do you want to know what I’m asked most often?Continue Reading “Confessions of a Hamburger Historian”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Best NY Burger, Cooking-n-Booking Digital Chef Competition, Hamburger, historian, hot dog, mom, New Haven Register, New York Beef Industry Council, Sharon Jenkins, taste buds

Why the Hamburger is Who You Are

By Chris Carosa on January 21, 2020

I had the most enjoyable of times a couple Thursday evenings ago. Perhaps a bit too enjoyable.

I was honored to have been invited to speak to the Mendon/Honeoye Falls Historical Society about a subject near and dear to my heart: the history of the hamburger. Not only is it the topic of my most recent book, but I have been lucky enough to talk about my research at events across the nation.

You can understand why I may have enjoyed myself just a tad more than I should have during my Historical Society presentation.

Oh, I tried and tried to maintain my sober scholarly best. But, as is wont to occur when I talk about matters I’ve pursued down rabbit holes of research with extreme vigor, passion inevitably gets the better of me. And when that enthusiasm inspires audience interest, it Continue Reading “Why the Hamburger is Who You Are”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Hamburger, success, the meaning of life

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!”

By Chris Carosa on September 11, 2018

(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

– Walter Cronkite, at the conclusion of each episode of the CBS Series You Are There

On this day, September 18^th, 1885, the last day of the Erie County Fair, Hiram P. Hopkins woke up to threatening skies. While the weather appeared ominous, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t see the clouds as presaging rain. Rather, he saw the southwesterly breeze as ushering in unusually warm temperatures. In exchange, he’d accept the oppressive humidity.

In the early morning, before the expected thousands of fairgoers arrived, Hiram strolled the grounds. Just a day earlier, the place was packed, the crowd so dense it was difficult to move. This morning the only people Hopkins could see were the many vendors prepping their booths for the final day. Popcorn, peanuts and candy sellers had a brisk business the day before. The same was true of those selling lemonade, pop, and sandwiches.

As he passed close to the grandstand, he noticed two young men fretting about. It was Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!””

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Andrew Stein, Charles Menches, erie county fair, Frank Menches, hamburg, Hamburg Fair, Hamburger, Hiram P. Hopkins, Menches Brothers

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.

By Chris Carosa on September 5, 2018

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

– Henry David Thoreau

And then there was one. Charles and Frank Menches were born in Canton, Ohio. Their father, Jacob Menches, an engineer in Prussia, immigrated to America and became a grocer in Canton. Their mother, Charlotte Hahn Menches, was originally from France. As young men, both boys were quite athletic. Charles as a well-regarded gymnast who travelled with a popular circus as a trapeze artist and high wire walker before he turned twenty.¹ Frank, six years younger than Charles, was an award-winning bicycle racer.^2,3

While the brothers’ lives contain several amazing stories, our focus here is on only one: Their role as (potentially) the first to sell a hamburg sandwich. How this story became known is itself a story. The brothers’ claim was widely known (the headline of Frank’s 1951 obituary reads “‘Inventor’ of Hamburger Dies.”⁴ The real story, however, lay hidden for half a century and was published decades after the brothers had passed away.Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1885, and Ice Cream Company, Andrew Klein, Andrew Stein, Charles Menches, Corn, Crackerjack, Dan Rice, Domestic Hall, Erie County Agricultural Society, erie county fair, Frank Menches, Gee Whiz, grandstand, Hamburg Fair, Hamburg Sandwich, Hamburger, James Swinnich, John C. Kunzog, Liberty Theater, Menches Brothers, Octagon Building, Premium Candy, Tanbark and Tinsel, Waffle Cone, William M. (Pop) Robinson

Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)

By Chris Carosa on August 14, 2018

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Illustration from the Monday, July 23, 1894 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle

Thus spoke crime fighting sleuth Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s second novel featuring his most-popular character, as published in the February 1890 issue of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. By coincidence, the most noted hamburger origin stories occurred within a few years on either side of this date. It’s fitting, then, that we employ the deductive techniques of the Baker Street mastermind in attempting to solve one of histories greatest culinary mysteries: Who sold the first hamburger?

First, as in all good police thrillers, let’s take a look at our line-up of suspects (in reverse chronological order). In each case, their hometowns have created what amounts to a shrine to their claims. We count them as four and a half because two are inexorably tied together. Still, for our purposes we’ll untie them. Here’s the line-up:Continue Reading “Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Athens, Barny's Saloon, Charles Menches, Charles Nagreen, Davenport Republican, Eliminate the Impossible, Fletcher Davis, Frank Menches, Frank Tolbert, hamburg, Hamburg Sandwich, Hamburg Steak, Hamburger, Hamburger Charlie, Iowa State Bystander, John Kunzpg, Louis Lassen, Louis' Lunch, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, Menches Brothers, Moulton, New Haven, New Haven Preservation Trust, New York Tribune, Princeton-Clarion Leader, San Francisco Chronicle, Seymour Fair, Sherlock Holmes, Shiner Gazette, Sir Arhtur Conan Doyle, St. Louis World's Fair, Tambark and Tinsel, The New Lunch Room, The Poultney Journal, The Shine of the Four

My Life With AI—Part V: Why GenAI (And All Search Engines) Fail

From Beef Country To Hamburger Dreams

Tourist Traps to Timeless Landscapes

Why Are Hamburgers The Fast Food King Instead Of Hot Dogs?

First Hamburger: The Top Ten Myths About Who Invented It

Confessions of a Hamburger Historian

Why the Hamburger is Who You Are

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part VI: A Day In Hamburger History – September 18, 1885 – Everything is the Same, Except, “You Are There!”

(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

Hamburger WhoDunIt Part V: CSI: Hamburg(er), N.Y.

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

Hamburger WhoDunit Part II: The Shrine of the Four (and a half?)

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

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(The sixth part in a series of seven)

“What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times… all things are as they were then, and you were there.”

(The fifth part in a series of seven)

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk..”

(The second episode in a series of seven)

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?”

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

Categories

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