Marcus Hamburgers | Working-Man Lunch Counter | Detroit

Review by: Maggie Rosenberg & Trevor Hagstrom

Muscular Motor City’s Unique Hamburger

If you appreciate an old-time working-man lunch counter, look for Marcus Hamburgers in an industrial section of Detroit near a giant junk yard. You’ll meet a friendly, talkative staff and can enjoy a good diner breakfast or a nice lunch with all the trimmings for about five dollars. But the main reason we recommend Marcus Hamburgers as great Roadfood is its unique burger.

The cook steams a long tube of coarse-ground beef in a hot dog bun. He then enhances it with cheese on top. But it isn’t only unusual shape that makes this burger special. Coarse-ground beef, grilled into logs, offers texture like Salisbury steak. It holds on to most of its pan drippings and juices when it goes into the hot dog bun. When they steam it into a burger-dog hybrid, they redefine the term tube steak. Dress it yourself with relish and onions arrayed on the counter. With relish applied, the Marcus Burger looks even more like a hot dog. This unique hamburger was invented by Charles Marcus in 1929. We don’t know of anything quite like it.

Chat ‘n’ Chew

One of the most charming aspects of this working-man lunch counter is where you sit. A meandering bar fits groups and solo diners and encourages socializing. We cannot imagine having lunch here without getting into a friendly conversation with a fellow burger aficionado.

You Will Not Leave Marcus Hamburgers Hungry

If you seek something more substantial than a couple of hot dog-sized burgers, have a Hamburger Steak. That’s two burger logs between Texas toast, drowned in gravy. With canned green beans and mashed potatoes on the side, the plate eats like a cafeteria meal. Bean soup that comes before the plate probably would have been enough hearty eating to sustain us through the afternoon.

What To Eat

Marcus Burger w/ Cheese

DISH
Hamburger Steak

DISH
Bean Soup

DISH

Marcus Hamburgers | Working-Man Lunch Counter | Detroit Recipes

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