Hamburger America: Rossi’s Bar & Grill in Trenton, New Jersey

Posted by Hamburger America, July 24, 2009 at 10:15 AM

Editor's note: Burgermeisters! Here's another excerpt from George Motz's book Hamburger America. George and his publisher were kind enough to allow us to run them here, along with George's beautiful photos. Eat up!

"Now we’ll see if he knows how to eat a Rossiburger!" Sharon Jemison, part owner and Rossi family member, was heckling me and warned, "If you cut it in half, you’re a wuss." As I stared at the enormous, inch-thick burger, I did the smart thing—I put the knife down.

Most great burger joints have their share of multi-generational family pride, but few are as proud as Rossi’s. Throw in an Italian-American pedigree and you have a recipe for burger born of unrelenting pride.

There's only one burger to order at Rossi's and it is very large and only comes in one size. "That’s the million-dollar question, 'can we get a smaller burger?'" Sharon told me, "Nope."

Don't be put off by the enormous mound of meat in front of you though. Despite its size, the burger at Rossi's is moist and loosely packed, its center almost pebbly. It's actually a breeze to eat, especially if you are hungry.

Rossi's gets a delivery of fresh ground 87/13 chuck daily and can go through 250 pounds over the weekend. The burgers are unmeasured but each around a half-pound. They are loosely hand pattied by Rossi family member and head chef Ted, and cooked by indirect heat in a steak broiler. Nothing is added, no salt, no pepper, and it’s served on a freshly baked Kaiser roll with nothing but a slice of raw onion.

Patriarch Al Rossi worked at Rossi's right up until the day before he died in 2007. "He loved it," Sharon recalled of her father. "People came here just to talk to him." Al was involved with the business right up to the end and, according to Sharon, "He’d see a pasta dish go out that wasn't right and he'd send it back."

Rossi's Bar & Grill

501 Morris Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08611 (map)
609-394-9089
Mon. to Sat. 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.- 10 p.m.; closed Sunday
rossiburger.com

Hamburger America is available at Amazon and comes with a DVD of George's movie of the same title.

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Tags: Austin, George Motz, Hamburger America, New Jersey, reviews, Rossi's Bar and Grill, Trenton