“Still Number One”

New Haven landmark Louis’ Lunch may be under attack from Texas — but it’s reaping new customers. Customers like Johnny ​“Soprano” Miller (pictured at right), who drove all the way from Boston to the Crown Street eatery to try out the famous Louis’ burger for the first time Wednesday.

“We seen it on TV,” Miller said. ​“We got lost a couple times, then there was winter break, and we came twice and it was closed. It took us two weeks to get down here!”¬ù He and others agreed it was worth the wait.

As the nation indulged in a pun-filled battle over who invented the great American sandwich, Jeff Lassen remained focused on his task, sliding new patties of beef into his 19th century cast-iron ovens. ​“I take this seriously,”¬ù he said.

Lassen is the fourth-generation owner of the New Haven landmark Louis’ Lunch, a place that’s come to be known as the birthplace of the burger. Just ask any of the regulars biting into the plump ketchupless patties on crisp, white bread.

Standing in line at the intimate wood-carved Crown Street restaurant Wednesday afternoon, Mike Grilla said he didn’t take much stock in the recent Texan threat to Louis’ claim to fame: A lawmaker in the town of Athens has proposed a bill declaring her town the birthplace of the burger.

“They can pass all the laws they want; we know where it was invented,”¬ù said Grilla, a tall man in a Red Sox hat. He was more focused on the fresh batch of patties entering the ovens. ​“The burgers always come out just right. The hard part is waiting for ​‘em.”¬ù

Lassen has taken the Texan battle to heart. ​“It’s upsetting, to say the least.” A few years ago, with the help of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, his family filed papers in the Library of Congress asserting they had served a hamburger sandwich out of ground beef as early as 1900. The invention claim has been threatened before: Last year, at the National Hamburger Festival in Akron, Ohio, a panel of judges tried to settle the matter through a mock trial by a so-called Burger Commission. The unofficial vote between five main competitors placed Louis’ Lunch third. The man from Athens, Texas garnered only 3.7 percent of the vote.

“We’re the only one out of the five that’s in the Library of Congress,” argued Lassen Wednesday, slicing an onion on the countertop. ​“I think we’re number one.”

Texans claim a man from Athens brought the hamburger to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

What does it mean to Lassen to be number one? It’s not just about ranking “” ​“It’s the pride and the history and the tradition.” The restaurant opened as a steakhouse in 1895, and has been serving hamburger sandwiches ever since 1900, he said.

Over the course of his shift at the grills Wednesday, Lasser was bombarded by several TV crews, a host of reporters, and two Canadian radio stations, he said. He thanked New Haveners for an outpouring of support. ​“The mayor’s been defending our honor, and we appreciate that.”¬ù

Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. spent the morning on national TV debating the woman who proposed the Texan bill, Rep. Betty Brown of the Texas House of Representatives. In a statement, he drew an analogy to President Bush, who was born in New Haven but ​“wants people to think he’s from Texas.”¬ù

“Yes, the hamburger is as much a New Haven original as President Bush,” DeStefano said. ​“Get over it Texas.”

Why all the hullabaloo over a beef patty? ​“Well, it’s a good chance to teach people from across Connecticut and the U.S. about New Haven’s history and character,”¬ù offered the mayor.