Whopper Birthday
Some birthdays sneak up on you. Today happens to be the birthday of the Burger King Whopper, introduced in 1957 when a Miami burger stand decided America deserved something larger and more structurally ambitious than anything on the menu board.
James McLamore, one of the Burger King founders, noticed customers flocking to oversized burgers at rival drive-ins. His solution was simple: go bigger. Much bigger. The original Whopper sold for 37 cents and immediately rewired American expectations for how much beef should fit inside a bun. From there, fast-food evolution took over. The Double Whopper showed up because of course it did. The Angry Whopper arrived for people who needed emotional intensity with their lunch. The Brisket Whopper made a brief appearance to remind us that barbecue can be a personality trait. And then the Impossible Whopper landed in 2019, launching the plant-based arms race and proving that even vegetarians sometimes want a burger the size of a paperback novel.
This is my stack of Double Whoppers, photographed earlier. I didn’t have time to run out and buy new ones, but double is my personal preference anyway.
There is much more of my fast food project “Food From Bag To Background” on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0 You might find something to make you hungry, take a look. Thanks.
National Submarine-Hoagie-Hero-Grinder Day
Today is National Submarine-Hoagie-Hero-Grinder Day — a sandwich with many names and, apparently, many holidays. Depending on where you look, there’s also National Hoagie Day in May, National Submarine Sandwich Day in November, and even separate days for the Italian Sub, the Turkey Sub, and the Meatball Sub. Few foods have this many national observances, which probably says something about how much Americans love a good sandwich.
The submarine sandwich began with Italian immigrants in the Northeastern United States in the early 1900s, layering meats, cheese, and vegetables inside long rolls. The word “submarine” gained popularity during World War II because of its resemblance to the naval vessels, while “hoagie,” “hero,” and “grinder” each found favor in Philadelphia, New York, and New England.
In 1965, a 17-year-old named Fred DeLuca opened a small sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut — with funding from a family friend — and called it Pete’s Super Submarines. That would eventually become Subway, now one of the largest restaurant chains in the world. The brand helped turn the regional sub into a fast-food staple recognized everywhere.
The photograph here shows two of Subway’s most popular sandwiches, cut in half and photographed side by side on a black background — stacked with meats, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. Like all of my Food From Bag to Background series, they’re presented as-is, straight from the bag, with no styling or props.
You can find this and more in my Food From Bag to Background gallery at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
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