Enter the Chicken Burger

Irving Berlin's favorite Stork Club order

I was reading a book on the history of the famed Stork Club recently, and in the back, there’s a list of some of the things the Manhattan nightclub served when it was open between 1929 and 1965. I was immediately drawn to the chicken burger à la Stork, first because you don’t really hear anybody shouting out their chicken burger, and second, because it mentions below the name that it was “a favorite of Irving Berlin’s.”

The Stork Club was the famous nightclub where many of the upper-echelon of New York City society spent their nights from 1929 until it closed in 1965. I see old Stork Club ashtrays pop up from time to time, usually in photos of the homes of various style people, but besides that and the 1951 accusations of racism leveled against the club for not serving Josephine Baker when she showed up, the name probably doesn’t mean much to people these days. There’s a slight chance you recognize it if you grew up watching Merrie Melodies that were likely made 40 or 50 years before you were born, it was one of the number of famous old nightclubs that made an appearance in the cartoons over the years.

I look at a lot of old menus, and Stork Club has always been one of the more fascinating ones to me, especially in New York City. I have some bias as to the sort of places I tend to look, I’m drawn to restaurants and lounges that served food to people who were either from or had a connection to whatever “old country” their family had come from. Generally Jewish, Italian, Chinese, German, that sort of thing is more interesting to me when I look at the food that was served throughout the first half of the 20th century. But the Stork menu has always stood out to me because it seemed totally unconcerned with foods that made anybody wistful for another time or place. Instead, they had French chef Gustave Reynaud bringing continental cuisine to the rich and powerful. You could get caviar or turtle soup as an appetizer, calf’s liver, or ragoût de boeuf maison with green noodles. There was steak, of course. And also a very basic wine pairing menu if that was the route you wanted. But one of the creations the place became most famous for was the chicken burger. I’ve seen the preparation attributed to one of the club’s most famous guests, the gossip columnist Walter Winchell. But I can’t really find any secondary sources claiming it was “his,” and the place I saw it was Irving Berlin’s favorite was Ralph Blumenthal’s book, Stork Club: America's Most Famous Nightspot and the Lost World of Cafe Society. It was from owner Sherman Billingsley’s archives. I also can’t find it on any old menus I’ve looked through for the Stork Club. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t on it at some point, I just wonder if it was sort of an IYKYK thing

I was intrigued by whatever the case was. I have always had a fondness for the other more famous poultry patty, and have been known to gobble down a turkey burger or two in my life. I’ve had friends make fun of me for this, but I think there’s something subtle about a turkey burger I enjoy, and I’ve always liked tricking myself into thinking it’s a little healthier than a beef version even though the cheese and condiments I load up on probably would cancel that out. But a chicken burger? That sounds like something that I *think* was a fad for a second in 1996 or sometime like that. It feels like it should have been. Like something your mom would have made you when the family was trying to “eat healthy,” and then you all gobbled down a box of SnackWell's after.

I made some chicken burgers when Emily was out of town. I just felt like it was a *me* thing, that she wasn’t going to get as excited over my fascination with old recipes from nightclubs of yesteryear. So I gathered the ingredients, and, I’ve got to say, I was actually shocked at how good it was. It…tasted like chicken, but also it’s a burger. It is exactly what you think, but it’s a nice change from the regular. The recipe didn’t specify what sort of bun, but I felt brioche was in order. I also made some sweet potato fries like the recipe called for but didn’t also serve myself with a side of fresh sweet peas. I put it on a plate and tried to arrange my fries and blob of ketchup accordingly. I took a cornichon out of the jar, stuck a toothpick through it, and stabbed it into the top of the bun. When I looked down at the plate, I was sort of ashamed for a moment because it looked so ugly. I don’t know if this is a hangup of mine, or if it’s just God’s honest truth, but I think everything I cook looks bad. It usually tastes wonderful, but I don’t know if I’ve put enough thought into how to make my home meals look incredible, and I’ve finally come around to thinking that’s OK. Food influencer culture has tricked me into believing everything has to look great when the truth is that I know I usually love food that isn’t so pleasing to the eyes.

So no. There’s not a photo of my Stork Club burger. If there was, it would only work if I found one of the club’s old plates that I see selling for crazy amounts, and I’d feel the need to arrange some elaborate set like I was actually at Stork Club for it to feel right. Just know that I really enjoyed it and I wasn’t transported to a night in Manhattan circa 1945 or anything like that. I simply had a different take on a burger and sometimes that’s all you need.

Recipe: Chicken Burger à la Stork

• Finely grind the meat from a five-lb. chicken

• Mix in a dash of salt, pepper, nutmeg

• Add 1 oz. soft butter

• Add 1/2 pint heavy cream

• Mix well

• Shape into patties

• Dip each patty quickly in melted butter, sprinkle fresh bread crumbs, and broil for about 10-minutes, turning and coloring both sides.

Serve with a hot tomato sauce, French-fried sweet potatoes, and fresh peas

Jason’s notes: I just whipped some hot sauce and ketchup together since I assume that’s what they were doing. Nice and simple. I also added bread and butter pickles and some sliced avocado on a burger and it was really tasty.