There’s a uniquely American form anxiety that crops up at bar-b-ques when the person grilling asks: “Hot dog or hamburger?” Because there’s probably some law in the Constitution that says you can’t have both. So you choose one, throw up a prayer to the Lord, and hope you made the right decision. But now, an Australian who has no respect for American values has created a bun that lets you eat a burger and a dog simultaneously.
Back in 2004, Australian Mark Murray had a divine revelation while vacationing in America. “I had the idea on holiday when I was leaving a bar in Nashville,” he told CNBC. “I grabbed a burger and a hot dog as I was really hungry. I was sitting in the car eating them both at the same time and my wife was looking at me like I was an idiot.” So this mad culinary scientist got to work and created a bun that accommodates both meaty delights and named it the Hamdog.
Murray would eventually patent his creation in 2009, and two months ago, the Hamdog made its debut Down Under to a stunning success. Now, Australians can find the Hamdog—complete with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup—at sporting events and it’s coming to the U.S. next year. “America’s a bloody big place, they consume around 50 billion burgers a year,” Murray told CNBC. “If we pick up even one percent of that market, then that’s still around $2.5 billion a year.”