About Ollieburger
Ollieburger is a blog written by a 30 year veteran of the restaurant industry.
Over the years I have picked up, created and reverse engineered many proprietary recipes, including the one this site is named after.
I hope you will enjoy using them as much as I do.
Remember, a cook is only as good as the number of people who like his food.
If a recipe doesn’t work for you or you see a way to improve one of Ollie’s creations, please write to the following email address. I promise you’ll receive a fast reply.
ollieburger@comcast.net
All Brand names mentioned in any of the recipes is the soul property of their respective companies and is not to imply any connection with this site.
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I am looking forward the obtaining the receipe for the Ollieburger. I used to live in the Miami Beach area in the
mid 1960’s. I have eaten the Ollieburger at his diner and
at Lums. It was the best. Last week I sent an e-mail Guy
from the Food Channel’s Diners, dives and drive inns about
the great burger. Please add me to your e-mail list.
Edward Taman - October 28, 2007 at 6:32 pm
bibomedia.com - March 8, 2008 at 1:35 am
I just met you and very curious as to the recipes that I am ready to use! Thank you for sending me to your site!
Keep me in your loop!
amy - April 13, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Ollie, I’ve written to you before with praise about the Ollieburger recipe. I ordered the Texas Joy seasoning you recommended for the fries but I don’t believe that’s it. After spending at least a hundred hours looking for sources on the web (that’s how I found you.) I got in touch with they former operations namagers of the Lum’s chain. He is retired down in Florida but he still has contacts with the company that supplied the spices. He sells both the red and the blue spices as a non-commercial product for $8.99 a pound. I ordered a couple pounds of each and found the red sauce to be the EXACT thing. I cook Ore-Ida Shoestrings in the deep dryer and put the red sauce on them and ou can’t tell a difference. I haven’t tried the “real” recipe for the marinade or the Ollie bun sauce yet because i like our version so much. As I get time I will try those versions though and report back.
Oh, his name is Dennis (can’t recall his last name) and his e-mail is Dennisdb61@aol.com.
Thanks,
Chuck
Chuck Williamson - June 20, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I AM WRITING HOPING THAT SOME ONE CAN GUIDE ME TO THE RIGHT PLACE TO ORDER THESE SPICES THE TEXAS JOY SAUCE THE BLUE SAUCE AND ALL THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME
MY DAD USED TO EAT YOUR BURGERS ALL THE TIME HE HAS CANCER HE HAS ABOUT 2 MNTHS LEFT W/US AND ALL HE TALKS ABOUT IS OLLIE BURGER I WOULD LOVE TO GET THE THINGS I NEED FOR OLLIE TO MAKE HIM ONE HE WOULD REALLY LOVE THAT YOUR HELP IS APPERICATED
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME
NIKKI [804]218-1994
nikki - August 13, 2008 at 4:28 am
Ollie, I saw in your recipe that you need 2 tbsp of Ollie Marinade Sauce. Where can I get that?
Thanks!
mike - September 7, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I noticed that you didn’t post my letter!
Can’t imagine why
Rick - September 17, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I was 18 and hitchiking thru Louisville Kentucky around the Derby in 1973- I had my 1st Ollieburger in a trolley and I was blown away by how good it was. A couple of years later in Windsor an Ollie’s Trolley opened up there too but it was not as good as what I had in USA- maybe the beef was not as good. Anyways- I will always remember how good that Ollieburger tasted. Good luck.
Pete - January 2, 2009 at 4:44 pm
yes our familly whould love to have one of great burgers again thanks in avance
the obrien family
ps we llove your sight
tim obrien - February 15, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Where is the recipe for the Ollieburger?
Andrea - February 22, 2009 at 10:37 am
As the last poster said Where is the recipe for the Ollieburger ? It’s not the steak marinade that is posted I can tell you that. That maybe a great steak marinade but it is not what was in the hambuger meat. If it was something is still missing because the Ollieburger had small red bits of some type of spice in the burger.
The recipe you show for the steak marinade has nothing in it that would have those red bits.
gary - April 27, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Gary, That is because the recipe that is published on this site is nothing but garbage. It is not even close to what was used by Ollie. I knew Ollie and his wife Terri for 30 years. I have told the gentleman that runs this site that the recipe he has published is not the real thing, or even close.
I have found another gentleman that used to own a couple of Lums in New England. He sells the spice that he says was used by Lums. I have bought both the Red and Blue spice mixtures from him. The Blue he says was used on the fries. I found it salty and would not buy it again. The Red however is the closest thing I have found to the real thing. And I will tell you that Ollie used the same spice on his burgers, fries, green beans and in his thousand island dressing. There was never a “bun sauce” of any kind used at Ollie’s original steak house. If you are interested in purchasing some of the spice. The mans name is Dennis and his email address is dennisdb61@aol.com I will tell you also that I use the spice differently than the directions.
I mix 3 teaspoons of the Red spice into each 1 pound of ground chuck. Make 3 1/3 pound burger patties and sprinkle a little on both sides. Let the burgers sit for 30 minutes before grilling.
Captain Rick - June 2, 2009 at 10:07 pm
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Computing Tips - June 23, 2009 at 9:03 am
Never heard of the Ollieburger but man am I interested…
marty cold - July 13, 2009 at 6:19 pm
i work for lums from 16years old to 21 years old, i work in michigan i was a night manager, an than i was the store manager i really enjoy working for Lums it was great place to work an eat there the cold frosty beer mugs that we had to serve the beer, i still have a few those glasses to remember, they all close up in michigan in 1979, is there open lums anywhere? i would love to visit one if there is let me know. thank you also the ollie burger was great with all those different spices on it .
jim - October 29, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hey Jim, Thanks for writing. The best way to find out if there are any Lum’s in your area is to check various restaurant guides on the web. I’m pretty sure there is one or more in upstate New York and also scattered across the US. There are Trollies in Ohio, Washington, DC and Louisville, KY.
Ollie
ollieburger - October 29, 2009 at 9:48 pm
We closed the LUMS in Plattsburg last year. I was the director of operations for Terry for 12 years. Jimmy was the opening manager and eventually purchased it from Terry in the late 90’s. Jimmy closed it last year. It is going to be a doctors office. I still purchase the original seasonings and sell them to die hard OLLIEBURGER fans. I agree with Captain Rick, your version of the OLLIEBURGER spices is not correct.I sell the only true LUMS & OLLIE TROLLEY spices.
Dennis
Dennis - October 31, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Captain Rick remembers the version served in the Miami Chop House that Ollie ran. The Lum’s recipe is nothing like it. However, my version, while not perfect, tastes like it came right out of a 1970’s Lum’s. The remaining franchises allowed the recipe to be ‘dumbed down’ due to cost in the late 80’s and until now. I’ve ordered and tried ‘purchased’ spices and they’re not even close. Not even the right color for the marinade. That’s right, a marinade, not brushed on.
ollieburger - October 31, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Ollie,
Ollie, Let me send you some free to try.Send me your address. I am pushing 70 years old and still purchase the seasonings from the same supplier who supplied our 10 LUMS in Vermont & upstate New York. I don’t want to offend anyone but the spices I get are the ones we prepared from one lb bags in our LUMS. We did paint it on our 1/3 lb burgers. Try it and when I go up or down to meet Ollie again, I will tell you my source. I like you want to keep the Ollieburger alive to all his loyal fans. I still eat two Ollieburgers a week. They are still the greatest.
Thanks,
Dennis
Dennis - October 31, 2009 at 11:38 pm