Christopher Hirst writes about his pursuit of the perfect hamburger for London’s The Independent.  Along the way he throws in a good deal of history and research.  Some of the keys to a good burger: lots of fat, and added water.  Did you know that a third of Americans will have eaten ground beef in the previous 24 hours?  And that, in Great Britain, Burger King serves something called The Burger, which consists of Japanese Wagyu beef with white truffle, onion tempura prepared in Cristal, and Pata Negra ham?  It will run you £95.  Now that’s a Whopper!

Pictured above is a hubcap burger from Cotham’s Mercantile in Scott, Arkansas, from Michael Stern’s Roadfood.com review.