The Bøfsandwich

This burger is sometimes referred to as the Danish gravy burger for obvious reasons. It may appear to be a stunt burger, but the gravy is actually integral to this burger’s history.

Before it migrated from Germany to the United States at the end of the nineteenth century, the Hamburg steak was served on a plate with gravy and slow-cooked soft onions. Today in Germany it’s known as a Frikadellen and in Denmark the Hakkebøf. As the story goes, a visiting Dane in the United States in the 1940s fell in love with the American hamburger. This checks out because, at the time, the burger had yet to leave US shores and was experiencing tremendous growth and popularity from coast to coast. The Danish visitor returned home to Copenhagen with tales of tasty burgers and excited Oscar Pettersson, who opened the first burger joint in Denmark in 1949. He and his wife, Anni, opened Oscars Bøf Bar in the world’s oldest amusement park, Bakken, just north of Copenhagen. Their version, however, was a cross between the traditional Hakkebøf and an American burger. Today, more than seventy years later, Oscars is still open and serving the same Bøfsandwich.