Holy Hamburger!

It struck me today, as I contemplated what grilled deliciousness I should have for dinner, that there's a very apparent and yet rarely spoken of difference in nomenclature in the burger world.  While most of the masses would probably shrug their shoulders and move on from this realization, I had to conduct some research and satisfy my own curiosity on the matter.

In more recent years, the burger world has greatly diversified.  We now have chicken burgers, turkey burgers, buffalo burgers, veggie burgers, etc.  The commonality among all of those I list here is that their names include reference to their source and then "burger."  However, the classic hamburger is strikingly different.  It's not made of ham, derived from the pig, but rather made of beef, from a cow.  So, why is it called a hamburger? 

In researching the etymology of the word hamburger, there is no real answer to the question of why it was so named other than the rather boring theory that they originated in Hamburg, Germany.  Another blogger also posted results of this same research, conveying the same sense of disappointment that I felt at the results of my research.  More than a sense of disappointment, though, I guess I find it to be pretty ironic that there's almost no other meal more "American" than a juicy hamburger and serving of french fries.  The fact that this particular meal is actually a melting pot of global foods is appropriate and yet a little deflating.  If hamburgers and french fries are not truly American culinary relics, then what foods are?  Do we have any?

Amazing how pondering a simple dinner menu can lead to such interesting thoughts.