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Sandwich Monday: The Roman-Style Burger

During World War II, bun rationing meant that burger joints had to find replacements to hold their ground beef patties.

One of the more creative solutions — using grilled cheese sandwiches — lives on at M Burger in Chicago. It's called the Roman-Style Burger, and it's a secret menu item.

Peter: Why it is called Roman style? Is it because like Gaul, it is divided into three parts?

Miles: We came, we saw, we were conquered.

Ian: This sandwich wasn't digested in a day.

Robert's spirit briefly possesses Peter.
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NPR
Robert's spirit briefly possesses Peter.

You can order any sandwich at M Burger "Roman-Style." We went with the Hurt Burger, which has spicy barbecue sauce, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.

Ian: The fractal nature of using sandwiches as bread for sandwiches makes this sandwich especially delicious for nerds.

Miles: If you replaced the burger with another grilled cheese, this would be the perfect sandwich.

We eat "outside," a strange place also used for something called "exercise."
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NPR
We eat "outside," a strange place also used for something called "exercise."

Peter: I like that we're eating this outside. Tourists will think that's just how we roll. "Oh, yeah, we use grilled cheese sandwiches to pick up everything around here."

Ian: This sandwich is great, because it's so important to get your recommended three meals a meal.

With this cross-section of the Roman-style, we've exceeded our weekly hyphen allotment.
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NPR
With this cross-section of the Roman-style, we've exceeded our weekly hyphen allotment.

Miles: When in Rome, do as the Romans do: Die young.

Peter: This should come with a vomitorium.

Ian: I ordered mine Roman Mars style but the hot sauce stains on my shirt still appear to be 100 percent visible.

Ann: Next time, we order it Greco-Roman style, two large wrestlers with a grilled cheese in the middle.

[The verdict: More than just a stunt, it's actually a really fine sandwich and the grilled cheese adds a nice buttery note to the spiciness of the burger. And for the record, it actually gets its name from a guy named Roman: the M Burger employee who invented it.]

Sandwich Monday is a satirical feature from the humorists at Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Ian Chillag
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