Hamburger Mary's Serves Up "Hate-Free" Chicken Sandwich

Mark Thompson READ TIME: 1 MIN.

Hamburger Mary's is a popular bar and grill known for serving gourmet half-pound burgers with a "side of sass." With a flare for wit, Mary's is adding her voice to the increasing number of campaigns to counter Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's controversial public stance against marriage equality - by offering a southern-style chicken sandwich while advocating diversity.

Hamburger Mary's "hate-free" southern-style chicken sandwich starts with a fresh chicken breast, marinated and battered with Mary's secret recipe flour and spice mixture. It's then deep-fried and served with herb mayo and dill pickles on a bakery fresh bun. A portion of the sale of the chicken sandwiches will be donated to support equality causes.

The original Hamburger Mary's was the brainchild of a small group of hippies living in San Francisco in the early 70's. It was founded as "an open-air bar & grille for open-minded people."

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Hamburger Mary's is well known throughout the gay & lesbian community, with twelve locations nationwide (and growing!) In addition to gourmet burgers, Mary's offers a full menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees & desserts (including deep-fried Twinkies and 'Mary Tyler S'Mores). There are also weekly events like charity "HamBingo Mary's," drag shows and MaryOke.

Mary's is hoping that the August "burger"-of-the-month will bring a positive spin to the controversy over Dan Cathy's comments, and let people know that a "hate-free" chicken sandwich option is out there.


by Mark Thompson , EDGE Style & Travel Editor

A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.

Read These Next