This post continues my (non-competitive) efforts to highlight a cross-section of food, books, and libraries, previously detailed in Hamburger America: Burgers and Books (Part 1).
Page in the book signed by the owner and creator of Ottoburger, Otto Zizak
Our Hamburger Story (cont’d)
While reading The Great American Burger Book written by George Motz, it was Korzo’s Deep-Fried Lángos Burger in New York City that caught my husband’s attention on page 278, listed under New York hamburgers. If this name doesn’t ring the bell, you are not alone. My secret advisor and hamburger expert at home tracked down the source – Korzo’s restaurant, which had closed in New York but was reinvented in Hopewell, NJ. The establishment is now called the “Ottoburger” named after Otto Zizak, who owns the place with his wife, Maria. Long story short, we first visited the restaurant last year as a start to what may become a hamburger discovery across the country.
The burgers were excellent, the ingredients all came from local, sustainable sources, and it was definitely worth the drive. Circling back to the burger listed in the book, the specialty of this place is something culturally close to me, called lángos (pronounced lahn-gush). Rather than served on a hamburger roll, the Ottoburger comes in a lángos crust. For etymology buffs, the word láng in Hungarian means “flame, the suffix -os creates an adjective, meaning “with flame,” referring to its original method of cooking: over flame in the brick oven.
A special order: hot dogs in lángos, not in any cookbook yet!
Just like hamburgers were originally staples for the poor, lángos used to be food for poverty-stricken village people in Hungary. Cheap, easy to make from scratch, and originally baked along with bread, nowadays lángos is often sold overpriced as a special culinary experience for people on vacation or at fancy events in Hungary. Topped with sour cream, grated cheese, and garlic and served hot, this flatbread uses basic ingredients including flour, water, yeast, and oil. Sounds familiar? Similar to the ingredients in another affordable, inexpensive food –pizza, which became the hype and consequently, quite overpriced too.
Again, it will never make the podium in the most nutritious food category, but once in a while, the Ottoburger is worth the risk. For the nutritionally conscious or vegan customer, there is the so called “beatnik,” a kind of beetburger or beanburger, as it is made with beetroot and black-eyed beans (see recipe at the end of The Great American Burger Book). Kudos to the chef, who, last time we were craving the Ottoburger, was also willing to experiment and made the “Korzo’s Deep-Fried Lángos Hot Dog” (I just came up with this name, it actually doesn’t exist!) upon request.
The Free Lounge Library in the Ottoburger Restaurant in Hopewell in Spring 2024
A Little Free Library in the Restaurant!
On our next trip to Hopewell in early 2024, the food was once again excellent and the restaurant had been redecorated with dazzling artwork and cookbooks for sale. For the librarian, it was a pleasant surprise to discover a version of the popular Little Free Library, which the restaurant called a “Free Lounge Library.” With only a couple of books, the shelves inviting people, especially children, to read while they are waiting for their food is admirable. Books We Read, with our own Little Free Library in Foran Hall on the Cook Campus, wanted to give a shout-out to the owners, Otto and Maria, for reopening with this new initiative.
Sharing is caring – take a book, bring a book, and I am a librarian running a Little Free Library. It was inevitable I’d show up before the July 4th hamburger book posts with a backpack full of books. This time, in addition to the children’s books, the shelves also invited hungry visitors to play with several board games for all ages.
We brought books!
After taking care of the irresistible urge to tidy up the shelves a bit that comes with the MLIS territory, there was enough room on two shelves to place fifteen new books there. It’s appropriate that a Little Free Library in a New Jersey restaurant should feature a New Jersey author, who religiously chooses New Jersey locations as the backdrop of his books: the three Harlan Coben books, as perfect summer reading, took the top shelf, followed by some mysteries on the second. The children’s books went to the bottom shelves, for easy reach.
Fingers crossed that more guests will discover this gem in New Jersey soon and have the chance to enjoy their tasty burgers. I will keep them in mind as a book exchange source, collecting more titles that would fit into this environment. Short stories? Anthologies? Poetry? Trivia? Jokes? I am not sure.
However, I’m confident that next time we return, we will contribute to this Little Free Library with more new or previously loved books.
Acknowledgments: Books We Read thanks Otto and Maria Zizak for the permission to take photos in the restaurant and share them on social media.
Related Books from Rutgers University Libraries
- Ozersky, J. (2008). The hamburger: a history. Yale University Press.
- Smith, A. F. (2008). Hamburger: a global history. Reaktion.
- Tennyson, J. (1993). Hamburger heaven: the illustrated history of the hamburger. Hyperion.