Ted's Restaurant is a

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

restaurant established in 1959 that is known for its steamed cheeseburger. Its original location is in Meriden,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It also operates a

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van or multi-stop truck) or trailer equipped to store, transport, cook, prepare, serve and/or sell food. Some food trucks, such as ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food, but m ...

and a

concession stand A concession stand, or refreshment stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, f ...

Early years

The

steamed Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American Southwest, steam pits used for cooking ha ...

cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger with one or more slices of melted cheese on top of the meat patty, added near the end of the cooking time. Cheeseburgers can include variations in structure, ingredients and composition. As with other hamburgers, ...

, also referred to as a "steamer" or "cheeseburg", is believed to have been invented at a restaurant called "Jack's Lunch" in Middletown, Connecticut, in the 1930s. However like many restaurant food icons the origin is somewhat unclear, but despite this it is undisputed that Ted Duberek opened his namesake restaurant serving the steamed burgers in 1959 in Meriden, catering to the then significant local factory worker population. Early on, as the local factories were working around the clock, Ted's would stay open until 4:00 A.M.

Steamed cheeseburger preparation

Instead of being fried in a pan or grilled on a grill like typical cheeseburgers, the steamed cheeseburgers at Ted's Restaurant are cooked via steaming in a stainless-steel cabinet which contains small trays that hold either an individual hamburger patty or a chunk of cheese. This method of cooking causes the fats in the meat to melt away and they are then drained from the tray once the patty is fully cooked. The end result is a moist, juicy burger which is then served by scooping the meat onto a bun and then pouring the melted cheese over the meat. The burger comes with a choice of customary toppings.

Changes in ownership

Over the years the local factories began moving their manufacturing overseas, yet Ted's remained in business, though with shorter hours. After Ted Duberek died in the early 1970s, his son Paul Duberek took over, running the business until 2007. That year, Paul sold the business to his nephew Bill Foreman who had worked at Ted's while he attended high school and college. Bill has continued running the business with few changes and the steamed cheeseburger remains the featured menu item.

Expansion attempt

Ted's expanded in the 2010s with the addition of two more restaurant locations in

Cromwell, Connecticut Cromwell ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, located within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 14,225 at the 2020 census. History The land where Cromwell is now located, was once na ...

and

North Haven, Connecticut North Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States on the outskirts of New Haven. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 24,253. North Haven is home ...

but by 2018 they had both been closed.

In the media

Ted's was featured on a second-season episode of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...

's ''

Man v. Food ''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big foo ...

'' in December 2009. Then in June 2013 it was featured on another Travel Channel show, ''

Burger Land ''Burger Land'' is an American food reality television series that premiered with two special episodes airing back-to-back on September 2, 2012, on the Travel Channel. The series is hosted by food author/filmmaker and hamburger enthusiast George ...

''.

"Steam Machine" food truck

Ted's operates a food truck named the "Steam Machine" and it sells steamed cheeseburgers at

Bushnell Park Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut is the second oldest publicly funded park in the United States, after Boston Common, which was established in 1634, and converted to a park in the 1830’s. Bushnell Park was conceived by the Reverend Hora ...

in downtown

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, at the

Xfinity Theatre Xfinity Theatre (originally known as the Meadows Music Theatre) is an outdoor/indoor amphitheatre located in Hartford, Connecticut, owned by Live Nation. The capacity of the venue is 30,000. The indoor area holds 7,500 and the outdoor lawn area h ...

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

also in Hartford, and at

UConn Huskies football The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an independent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896 and ...

games at

Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is a stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. It is primarily used for football and soccer, and is the home field of the University of Connecticut Huskies (UConn). In 2010, it was home to the Hartford ...

East Hartford, Connecticut East Hartford is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from ...

PeoplesBank Arena concession stand

Ted's sells steamed cheeseburgers at a

located behind section 101 in the

PeoplesBank Arena The PeoplesBank Arena, (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center and formerly as the XL Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the qu ...

arena in Hartford, Connecticut.

Hartford Yard Goats promotion

In August 2018 Ted's was the featured food vendor during a special promotion by the

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team. For one home game the Yard Goats changed their name to the "Hartford Steamed Cheeseburgers" and wore special one-off uniforms resembling the food item. Ted's sold made-to-order steamed cheeseburgers to fans at the "Hartford Neighborhood Flavors Cart" that was set up at the stadium.

References

External links

* {{coord, 41.5468, -72.7832, display=title Restaurants in Connecticut Hamburger restaurants in the United States Buildings and structures in Meriden, Connecticut Tourist attractions in New Haven County, Connecticut Restaurants established in 1959 American companies established in 1959 1959 establishments in Connecticut