So while I was in Montreal, two different restaurant menus that I saw listed an item called "Hamburger Michigan". Now I have to tell you: I've lived in Michigan all my life; and as far as I know, there's nothing unusual about how we serve hamburgers here.

So I was curious; but other things on the menu tempted me. I didn't want to end up with either a plain hamburger or something unrecognizable. So instead, I had a gyro platter from Kostas Souvlakis for Wednesday dinner, and a smoked meat sandwich (another popular menu item) at Orly's Restaurant (can't find a Web site for that one). The gyro was one of the finest I've ever had (so good that I called them back to offer my compliments to the chef, and I've never done that before), and the smoked meat was tasty; so I don't mind my choices. But that still left me curious.

And a Web search left me even more curious, because a search for "Hamburger Michigan" turns up incredibly few hits. A Google search for the exact phrase turns up only 71 hits. (Of course, that will be 72 when Google gets around to indexing this entry.) And most of the ones that it does turn up are restaurant menus. Most of those in French. Most of those from restaurants in Montreal. And none of them define what Hamburger Michigan is. It must be one of those things that if you're from Montreal, you just know, and nobody need bother to explain (I'll bet he would know); and if you're not from Montreal, you would never have heard of it, and so you would never think to ask.

The best possible answer that I found came from all the way down on the third page of the Google search. It led me to an entry on Cooks.com. Now the entry had moved over time; but a search on Cooks.com led to these entries for "Michigan Sauce". They all seem to be recipes for what sound like sloppy-joe-like sauces of tomato paste and crumbled hamburger, to be served on hamburgers or hotdogs. (Meat sauce on meat. Go figure...)

I also found a comment thread somewhere (but now I can't find it again, naturally) where people discussed Michigan Sauce and traded recipes on it. No one there seemed to know why it might be called that.

So I'm at a loss. Is this what they mean by Hamburger Michigan? I guess I'll have to go back to Montreal to find out. Why have I lived 43 years in Michigan and never even heard of it before now? And why is it called that? That may be one of those rare answers that just isn't to be found on the Web.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today we have a very rare sighting indeed. So rare, in fact, that some of you younger readers may never have witnessed its like before. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we're talking about an almost extinct species: the full service gas station. The BP station at 2400 28th St SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49509 actually has no self-service pumps. A young man pumps the gas, washes your windows, checks your oil if asked, takes your money, and gives you your change. You never leave your car, and you never get gasoline on your hands.

You young folks may be further surprised to learn that at one point, all gas stations were like this!

Now such service is not without its cost: the gasoline cost 15 cents per gallon more than at the Speedway across the street. But if you know the area and know what traffic is like at 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon, you'll understand why I was willing to pay extra to not try to cross the street in that mess.