Buffalo Chicken...Burger???

In My Humble Opinion
1

So tonight I’m at our local Denny’s with some friends and one of them orders the ‘Buffalo Chicken Burger.’ It occurs to me mid-order that it seems strange to me to call a chicken sandwich a ‘burger.’ So I bring it up. And the most terrific debate ensues.

My point: The phrase ‘burger’ is short for hamburger, which specifically refers to a beef (cattle) patty on a bun. A sandwich would refer to any other kind of meat between bread (bun or loaf). Someone said, ‘Well, what about veggie burger?’ My counter was that it’s specifically a beef substitute and therefore can be called a burger.

This became a big debate and I’m wondering is this a sectional thing? I’d never heard anyone use the phrase ‘chicken burger’ before tonight. Although, come to think of it, I have heard of a ‘turkey burger,’ although that seems as equally silly to me.

Any ideas?

2

A turkey burger, however, is usually made from ground turkey, so it is also something of a “beef” substitute, at least as far as burgers go. The Denny’s chicken burger features (if memory serves) a fileted chicken breast. Therefore, the burger nomenclature does not really hold, and should not be used. Denny’s is a blight upon the national landscape, and now it is a blight upon the English language. Down with Denny’s!