The Proper Way To Eat A Burger

The birth of the all-American hamburger may still be up for debate. It could have been Texan Fletcher Davis who invented it in the 1880s, or possibly "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen of Wisconsin, or maybe someone else entirely. But the proper way to eat one isn't up for discussion. Right? Right?! There's a top and bottom to a burger bun, and that should be enough information for us to determine the correct way to eat it. That's how it's always been done. Not so fast — there's a longstanding practice among some folks that's turned the burger world on its head, literally.

They insist we should be flipping them upside down to eat them. There have always been lots of tricks and tips for making a better burger, like adding a thumbprint to the center of the patty before cooking to help keep its shape and prevent moisture loss. But there are far less hacks related to the manner in which burgers should be consumed. The theory behind eating them upside down is that since the top bun is always thicker than the bottom, you're taking the stress off of the fragile bottom bun and preventing the meat juices from soaking it, helping to keep it from disintegrating. It's a radical idea and one that's gotten lots of pushback. And, we've learned, it's a practice that's been around for decades.

Back in the 1960s, TV commercials for Burger Chef, the defunct chain that made history with the first kid's meal in 1973, clearly showed diners flipping their burgers upside down before biting into them (discovered thanks to The Straight Dope Message Board). This burger-eating style would have remained a dark secret, but then the internet came along and blew this burger hack wide open. It started as a trickle, but by 2018, the idea was being hotly debated in the media by publications like Business Insider and The Takeout. The former was pro-upside-down burger and the latter anti, suggesting you'd look silly eating it that way in public. 

Then in 2021, TGI Friday's in the U.K. began promoting upside-down burger eating on social media with the #FlipItChallange and a promotional video, taking the debate international. If you've ever tried eating one of the casual dining chain's behemoth burgers, you'd be willing to try anything to prevent them from collapsing. The burgers are the antithesis of what the TV personality and chef Anthony Bourdain looked for in his sandwiches, which he believed should be able to be eaten with only one hand and give a representative taste of all its components. Whether you eat your burger right-side up or upside-down, it's a matter of personal preference. But if you're willing to possibly look silly in public, give your burger a flip and see for yourself.