During World War II, bun rationing meant that burger joints had to find replacements to hold their ground beef patties.
One of the more creative solutions — using grilled cheese sandwiches — lives on at in Chicago. It's called the Roman-Style Burger, and it's a secret menu item.
Peter: Why it is called Roman style? Is it because like Gaul, it is divided into three parts?
Miles: We came, we saw, we were conquered.
Ian: This sandwich wasn't digested in a day.
![Robert's spirit briefly possesses Peter.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e69b624/2147483647/strip/true/crop/635x476+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F08%2F18%2Fphoto-4-a7e6f70baecc3c532e90f32dc3c05fa2a12a2362.jpg)
You can order any sandwich at M Burger "Roman-Style." We went with the Hurt Burger, which has spicy barbecue sauce, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese.
Ian: The fractal nature of using sandwiches as bread for sandwiches makes this sandwich especially delicious for nerds.
Miles: If you replaced the burger with another grilled cheese, this would be the perfect sandwich.
![We eat "outside," a strange place also used for something called "exercise."](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/62e55dc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/601x450+0+0/resize/880x659!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F08%2F18%2Fphoto-3-76ab840dc68b804a5d554ded48d2433290b675e3.jpg)
Peter: I like that we're eating this outside. Tourists will think that's just how we roll. "Oh, yeah, we use grilled cheese sandwiches to pick up everything around here."
Ian: This sandwich is great, because it's so important to get your recommended three meals a meal.
![With this cross-section of the Roman-style, we've exceeded our weekly hyphen allotment.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/277f8aa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/624x468+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2014%2F08%2F18%2Fphoto-2-74badbbc62d32b8f85558942007614c44b5744b5.jpg)
Miles: When in Rome, do as the Romans do: Die young.
Peter: This should come with a vomitorium.
Ian: I ordered mine Roman Mars style but the hot sauce stains on my shirt still appear to be 100 percent visible.
Ann: Next time, we order it Greco-Roman style, two large wrestlers with a grilled cheese in the middle.
[The verdict: More than just a stunt, it's actually a really fine sandwich and the grilled cheese adds a nice buttery note to the spiciness of the burger. And for the record, it actually gets its name from a guy named Roman: the M Burger employee who invented it.]
Sandwich Monday is a satirical feature from the humorists atWait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
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