Today (September 18) is National Cheeseburger Day, and while most of these “holidays” usually don’t hold much emotional significance, there’s a special place in my heart for this one thanks to Bob’s Burgers.
The FOX animated series, which has won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, centers around the Belchers: Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene and Louise and their burger joint that always seems to be on the brink of closing. The writing is nothing short of brilliant, and the show’s golden heart beats with every “Uhhhhhh…” uttered by Tina, every random pop culture reference from Gene and every wiser-than-her-age one-liner from Louise.
It also happens to be the one show my husband, teenage stepson and I watch together as a family.
When it comes to entertainment, the three of us have very little in common. There are a lot of third wheel situations where two of us like something, but the third is just not feeling it. Bob’s Burgers is the lone TV exception.
Over the years, our collective fandom has grown. For starters, it’s the décor theme of our bathroom…
and more recently, it’s provided the inspiration for our Friday night dinners, thanks to the Bob’s Burgers Burger Book, which is based on Cole Bowden’s blog The Bob’s Burger Experiment that contains actual recipes for the punny named burgers featured on the show’s “Burger of the Day” board in the restaurant.
We cap off the week by making a burger out of the book and watch its corresponding episode. It’s become the highlight of my week, and why wouldn’t it? I get to sit down with my two favorite people in the world, laugh and have a delicious (and sometimes complex) burger. (See examples of the burgers my family and I have enjoyed below!)
Do you have to go all in on the show fandom to enjoy these burgers? No, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt. (The entire series is available on Hulu, BTW.) Who knows? It could bring your family together like it did for mine.
Erica Banas is rock/classic rock news blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.
