I have heard it said that the measuring stick that you will hold all pizzas to is the first slice you recall eating as a child. For me that would be the perfection that is Sammy's Pizza, a small Minnesota based chain that has graced Eau Claire with its presence for over 50 years. This is a burger blog and this is a burger post, so I won't go on and on about the manna from heaven that is a Sammy's House Special. Trust me, I could write countless posts on that one thing alone. But I am certain that if that is true of pizza, it also true of all foods we love. Fried chicken, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, and most definately burgers.
Growing up in Eau Claire was an interesting existence. Far removed from the nearest big cities, this pin prick of a town (pop. 50,000 or so when I was a kid) drew folks into it from surrounding communities far and wide. This created an atmosphere of commerce that drove the local economy, and warranted an amount of restaurants comparable to cities 2 or 3 times its size. Of course there was an inordinate amount of fast food to be had, but with the modern day behemoth chains the likes of Applebee's, TGIFs, Olive Garden, et. al. still light years away, the scene was ruled by locally owned and operated treasures. In Eau Claire, in the 70's and 80's, the Grand Poohbah that ruled all had to have been The Chicken Hut.
