First, a little history. Bob Levey spoke with Woodrow D. Marriott, retired vice president and general manager of Marriott Corp., who said he is the father of the Mighty Mo if anyone is. "We wanted a double-decked hamburger," he recalled, so he invented one. The company offered a reward for a name. A secretary won by naming the sandwich after the USS Missouri, a battleship whose nickname was Mighty Mo.
How did the recipe for the thick, thousand island-ish sauce develop? Marriott said he doesn't remember. Does he like the taste? "Oh, sure." Might that have had something to do with the company's decision? "You might say so."
"I don't eat hamburgers anymore, because I'm too damned old," he said. I'm 84." But the Mighty Mo was always a top seller in the Hot Shoppes chain, Marriott said.
Paul Noel, director of operations for Hot Shoppes, said you still stand a fighting chance of finding a Mighty Mo at the three remaining Hot Shoppes cafeterias---at Prince George's Plaza, Crystal City and Marlow Heights.
But Paul cautioned that the sandwich is rarely served at any of the three. "It just doesn't taste the same in a cafeteria line as it does when it's right off the grill," he said.
Although the official recipe doesn't specify it, Paul said that Hunt's ketchup ("thicker than others") was used in the Mighty Mo sauce. Also, Redpack chili sauce, which is sold only to restaurants and isn't available to riffraff like you and me.
Asked if either the Mighty Mo or Hot Shoppes restaurants might reappear, Paul said the chances are "not very good".
A LITTLE HISTORY (from "Hot Shoppes Cookbook: Sixty Years of American Cookery"):
The Mighty Mo has been a Hot Shoppes classic through the years. Because it was the first triple-decker hamburger in the Washington area, however, no one knew what to call it---so one of Mr. Marriott's principal assistants organized a contest. The winner chose the nickname of the great battleship Missouri, perhaps because she knew our big juicy sandwich would make a considerable splash with hamburger fans. And these burgers became so well known, that when a Washington radio station donated a white tiger named Moheni to the National Zoo, he was nicknamed "Might Mo" (in the years that followed, Bill Marriott and the tiger developed a cautiously warm relationship, often posing together for publicity photographs)."
One must always remember that there is really no substitute for the name brands listed, or the measurements or proportions. These burgers were the gooiest and probably that fattiest thing in town, but totally luuuuuuuvvvvvved!!!!MIGHTY MO THE FAMOUS SAUCE:
1/2 cup Hunt's Ketchup
1/4 cup chili sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons A-1 Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 drops Tabasco Sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet pickle
1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
Combine ketchup, chili sauce, A-1 Sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco Sauce. Add pickle to sauce mixture. Combine the sauce-pickle mixture with mayonnaise, stirring until well-blended. Store in a tightly covered container under refrigeration until time of service.NOW, TO FASHION A FULL-BLOWN MIGHTY MO.....
1 uncut sesame seed hamburger roll (sesame seeds also must be uncut)
1 tablespoon of softened margarine
2 hamburger patties, each two ounces
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
1 tablespoon shredded lettuce
1 slice American cheese
4 teaspoons Mighty Mo sauce
2 dill pickle chips
Cut hamburger roll crosswise into three equal slices. Spread bottom, top and one side of center cut of bun with margarine. Grill bun until lightly browned and heated throughout.
Shape hamburger into thin 4-inch diameter patties. Grill very lightly on both sides. Do not overcook. Grill second hamburger very lightly on one side, turn and top with American cheese and grill lightly. Do not overcook.
Spread two teaspoons of Mighty Mo sauce on bottom of roll. Top dressing with shredded lettuce, then hamburger. Top hamburger with middle layer of bun, grilled side up. Spread with remaining Mighty Mo sauce.
Top with cheeseburger. Place pickle chips on cheese. Cover with top of bun. Do not cut.
