George Motz Brings Famous Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger To Eckart's In Westhampton Beach

COVID-19 paused George Motz’s plans to open his first restaurant, so the food author and burger chef is bringing the burgers to the people.

While still at his home in Brooklyn, Mr. Motz — who is originally from Quogue — started to distribute burgers from his window. Those interested would prepay and sign up for a time slot to come pick up their burger, and Mr. Motz would put it in a bag, and slide it down a 6-foot-long slide out his window to his customers.

Mr. Motz hosted a similar event last Monday at Eckart’s Luncheonette in Westhampton. He wanted to set up that same slide, even including a fake window, despite the fact that he was cooking and distributing all the food outside, to pay homage to his original idea. Customers could sign up online for a time slot for a burger, and call in to order additional sides from Eckart’s.

“The idea was to keep the brand alive,” Mr. Motz said. “I was in the process of opening a restaurant. We were looking at real estate and everything came to a conversation with screeching halt, so this has definitely kept the brand alive and kept people thinking about my burgers which are very unique. This is actually the second time we’ve done the burger slide. The first was sold out in about 18 hours. This one filled up pretty much in about 24 hours.”

The pandemic slowed his burger production. Mr. Motz used to be able to make over 250 burgers an hour with his equipment and assistants, but for these events, with the equipment he has available and the need for 6-foot spacing, he can only make around 50, which makes the time slots go quick.

In previous summers, Mr. Motz distributed burgers at the Surf Club of Quogue, making his burgers relatively well-known in the area. This time, Mr. Motz chose Eckart’s to sell from because he feels it’s a forgotten Westhampton institution. Eckart’s has been in operation for 110 years, but closed during the pandemic and recently started an outdoor re-opening.

Mr. Motz only sells one type of burger, the Oklahoma fried onion burger, in both a single and double patty format. The burger is made by working sliced onions into the patty before cooking it, and then adding American cheese and pickles. The burger was in Mr. Motz’s burger cookbook, “Hamburger America: A State-By-State Guide To 150 Great Burger Joints,” and since it was one of the easiest burgers to make, he decided to make it his signature Motzburger.

“I was going onto TV shows and making burgers on TV shows,” Mr. Motz said. “A producer asked me to make some burger from my book on the air live. They said ‘What can you do in five minutes?’ and I thought about it, and I said I can make an Oklahoma fried onion burger. And that became known as my burger.”

Mr. Motz is partnering with restaurants in Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Manhattan in the near future to continue selling burgers, he said.