Michigan Olive Burger with Lemon-Feta Fries and Extra Olive Sauce

The Michigan olive burger is older than most food debates and far less interested in winning them.

Its origins are usually traced to the 1920s, somewhere around the Kewpee hamburger counters of central Michigan, where lunch was meant to be fast, filling, and eaten standing up. At some point, someone mixed chopped green olives into mayonnaise, spooned it onto a beef patty, and the state quietly agreed this was now a thing worth continuing.

The appeal isn’t novelty so much as certainty. The olive burger knows exactly what it is. The sauce, creamy, salty, slightly briny, is not an accent but the entire reason you showed up. It spread through diners and drive-ins from Flint to Lansing to Grand Rapids, passed down without branding, explanation, or concern for outside approval. Cheese appears sometimes, disappears other times. The olives never leave. They are the point.

This version follows that logic to its natural conclusion. The beef is straightforward. The bun is toasted and sturdy enough to hold its ground. The olive sauce, made with buttery Castelvetrano olives, is generous and unapologetic, pooling slightly, insisting on napkins. There’s no need to distract from it. Nothing here is trying to be clever.

On the side: crinkle-cut fries, because certain shapes exist for a reason. They’re tossed with salt and finished with lemon zest and feta, and served with extra olive sauce for dipping, which feels less like respect for a system already in place.

This is a burger best eaten while watching Home Improvement, a 1990s sitcom set in Michigan where the conservatism is implied but tempered by empathy, communication, and a standing appointment with Wilson over the fence. The show has nothing to do with olive burgers, which somehow makes it the correct pairing. You eat. Tim grunts. Someone learns a lesson. The olives keep doing what they’ve been doing for a hundred years.

The Recipe

Makes enough for 4 burgers.

Ingredients

For the burgers

• 1½–2 lbs ground beef (80/20)

• Salt

• Black pepper

• 4 brioche or soft burger buns, split

• Butter, for toasting

For the lemon-feta fries

• 1½–2 lbs frozen crinkle-cut fries

• Salt

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 cup crumbled feta

For the olive sauce

• ¾ cup mayonnaise

• 1 cup Castelvetrano or green olives, finely chopped

• 1–2 tablespoons olive brine

• 1–2 tablespoons finely minced shallot or red onion (optional)

• Black pepper

• Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Directions

1. Bake the fries.
   Heat the oven according to the package directions (usually 425°F). Spread the fries in a single layer on a sheet pan. If using fresh potatoes, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper first. Bake until deeply golden and crisp, turning once halfway through.

2. Finish the fries.
   While the fries are still hot, toss them with lemon zest, a pinch more salt and pepper, and the crumbled feta. The cheese should soften slightly but not melt completely. Set aside while you cook the burgers.

3. Cook the burgers.
   Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions and shape into patties slightly wider than your buns. Season both sides generously with salt and black pepper. Cook in a hot skillet, grill pan, or on a grill over medium-high heat until browned and cooked to your preferred doneness, about 3–4 minutes per side for medium.

4. Toast the buns.
   Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them in a pan or under the broiler until golden and lightly crisp. A sturdy, toasted bun matters here, it has work to do.

Olive sauce

Stir together the mayonnaise, chopped olives, and olive brine until thick and scoopable. Add the minced shallot (if using), black pepper, and a small squeeze of lemon to brighten. Taste and adjust, it should be creamy, salty, and unapologetically olive-forward.

Serve

Spread a generous layer of olive sauce over each burger patty and close with the toasted bun. Serve with the lemon-feta fries and a small cup of extra olive sauce for dipping.