The Case For Eating Your Burger With A Fork And Knife

New expectations for a big burger world

Traditional restaurant burgers—whether from fast food chains or upscale eateries—have not been designed for easy handheld consumption for many years. In fact, they've become so oversized that it's nearly impossible to find places that follow Anthony Bourdain's guideline of the one-hand burger. Even in the realm of supposedly smaller smash burgers, you're still faced with a two-handed challenge that will likely leave both hands messy at best. Aside from sliders, smaller burgers have become the exception rather than the norm, unless you're making your patties at home. In other cases, if the patty isn't too tall, it's too wide, or it's overloaded with toppings that, while delicious, make the burger unwieldy. And that's before you have to practically unhinge your jaw to take a bite. Over the years, burgers have transitioned from being portable food to something that’s best enjoyed on a plate.

As a result, using a knife and fork to eat your burger keeps your hands cleaner (which also reduces waste from paper napkins or towelettes), allows your joints to stay relaxed, and, most importantly, lets you enjoy each bite in the proportions you prefer. Utensils enable you to control the amount of meat, cheese, vegetables, and condiments in every forkful. We've been doing this for years, and no one has laughed at us yet. How could they? They're all busy trying to manage their own burgers.