Favorite Place to Get a Burger?

[Exxon122]

What's yours?

I'd have to go with Five Guys, though from what I know, it's mostly an East Coast thing.

[Nath]

There are a few Five Guys on the west coast, too. They're a pretty safe bet, and probably my favorite burger chain. Good fries.

But the best burgers I've had were in small local places. There are two nearby that I like. One does large, thick burgers, some interesting toppings, and crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside fries. The owner apparently used to cook at an upmarket restaurant before he decided to open a burger place, so all the little things are done right.

The other is more of a fast food type place. The burgers are simpler and slightly cheaper; reminiscent of Five Guys, actually. The patties are hand-formed and not too dense, so they sort of crumble apart in your mouth instead of making you chew much. The outer surface is irregular, so there's a greater area to pick up that all-important char.

[Thesh]

For drive through, it's in-n-out. For walk in, it's a local place called Chef Burger Greek Cafe. I have been meaning to try five guys, but it's out of the way for me.

[PatrickRsGhost]

For fast food, it'd have to be Jack's, based in Alabama, with a handful of locations in west Georgia and in other states bordering Alabama.

For sit-down, my money's on Gumbeaux's, a locally-owned Cajun restaurant near where I used to work. They have what is known as the New Orleans Burger: a ¾-pound hamburger on a po-boy loaf (French bread), grilled with Cajun spices, topped with spicy mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle, and cheese if you want. I ask them to put it on two small hamburger buns, and serve with just cheddar cheese. Best. Burger. Ever.

[savanik]

This just in from Kansas City: Five Guys is also one of the best places to get a burger around here, too.

A close second in the area is Backyard Burgers. Five Guys wins on fried burgers, but Backyard wins on flame-broiled.

[bigglesworth]

Nowhere near me right now will do a particularly good burger, apart from the Frankie and Bennie's (yeah, I know). I don't think I'd even eat any of the fast food burgers near here.

[lewismd]

A Jucy Lucy from Matt's Bar in Minneapolis. Unbeatable. Their recent fame (Man vs Food and some other show) raised the price, though. Now the burger is all of $5.25, up from $4.95. Still totally worth it.

[Giant Speck]

Of all the places I've been to period: Five Guys.

Of all the places available here in Anchorage: Carl's Jr.

I haven't really tried many of the local burger joints here in Anchorage. Wee B's is alright, but overpriced and kind of greasy.

[Odd_nonposter]

I can't vouch for them personally, but my brother says that the best burgers in Columbus are at The Thurman Cafe in German Village.

Apparently, they have some hefty burgers. Take a look at their description of the Thurmanator:
Bottom bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, 12 ounce burger, bacon, cheddar, another
12 oz burger, sautéed mushrooms & onions, ham, mozzarella & American cheese, top bun served with
fries 16.49

[Obby]

It depends what kind of burger you're looking for around here.

If you want some good, down-home style burger, you probably want either Five Guys or Jake's. Jake's I think is pretty much exclusively in the southeastern PA/Delaware/Maryland area, but it's almost exactly the same as Five Guys.

If you want an orgasmic "this is the best thing I've ever ate" burger, there are two places that are neck and neck in the city here. They both have similar buns that they use (lightly buttered, toasted on the inside slightly but still very soft and moist and tasty and delicious) and cost about the same. One place is Silk City Diner. Bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, with some ketchup. And their fries are to die for as well. Can't recommend this place enough.

The other place I... hesitate to mention, because every time I do I'm likely to get myself lynched for mentioning a chain. They had what I can honestly describe as the best food I have ever had in my entire life. It may have even been a one-off thing with that particular chef on that particular night, because I've been back since then and ordered the same thing, but it wasn't quite as good. It's called the triple-prime bacon cheddar, and it was at... the Ruby Tuesdays in Center City. It was so tender and juicy, like a filet mignon made into a burger, cooked perfectly, with exactly the right amount of toppings for the size of the burger... It was truly heavenly.

Commence tar and feathering.

[Izawwlgood]

I second the Five Guys vote, it's a pretty fucking amazing burger.

One opened in Chicago about three blocks from my parents house. Glorious. I feel bad for my peanut allergy friends though.

[Bakemaster]

Commence tar and feathering.

One significant difference between a chain like Ruby Tuesday and one like McDonald's is that Ruby Tuesday will have an honest-to-goodness chef in the kitchen. The menu will be very middle-of-the-road, traditional and safe, but that sort of food can absolutely be delicious when it's prepared right; and these chains tend to use higher quality ingredients than, say, Hardee's. So you just have to be lucky enough to find an instance of the chain that has an overaccomplished/undervalued kitchen staff.

[TheGrammarBolshevik]

There's really no contest on this one.

[Bakemaster]

Psh. Good, but not as good as you Havid kids like to think, and always overcrowded.

[Dark567]

I am pretty shocked by all the praise Five Guys has been getting. I hate the place, the burger was dry and crumbly, the bun was just piece of bread in a bun shape, and the cheese felt like it came in from a truck wrapped in plastic. And getting a burger and fries ends up running like 9 bucks! If I had to pick a chain I would much rather have something like Ruby Tuesdays, Texas Roadhouse, Red Robin etc. Generally the best burger places are local places, whether they be high end burger joints, mom and pop shops or your local dive bar that has a burger and a pint deal. Those are where its at.

And if you have to do fast food, just go all the way and do White Castle.

[Nath]

Their burgers are light and crumbly, but I see that as a good thing. A burger shouldn't be a disc of beef sausage; it needs to come apart in your mouth. It's only a problem if it falls apart before you bite into it.

Dry is bad, of course. It's a risk with this style of thin patty cooked at a high temperature. My burger wasn't dry when I tried Five Guys.

And I agree about the cheese product. That's one of the reasons I prefer a local burger place offering a similar style of burger -- they offer cheddar etc.

[Rackum]

Billy Goat Tavern -- anytime I have to travel to Chicago I make sure to stop by the original location at least once during the trip. Although on my last trip I was a couple blocks from Navy Pier so I went to that one in addition to the original.

EDIT: Also, there's a place in San Antonio, The Cove, that uses all locally grown ingredients and they make some really good burgers (lamb burgers as well).

[Izawwlgood]

CHEEZBORGER!!!
I fucking love that place.

[Dark567]

Billy Goat Tavern -- anytime I have to travel to Chicago I make sure to stop by the original location at least once during the trip. Although on my last trip I was a couple blocks from Navy Pier so I went to that one in addition to the original.

I can literally see the Billy Goat II right now..... or for that matter anytime I am sitting at my desk.

Oh, and I forgot to add, its way better than Five Guys.

[broken_escalator]

If I want to be cheap I get McDonald's doublechezburger for $1.27, but no fries or soda. Otherwise I agree, five guys little chezburger ALL-THE-WAY. I love all the toppings. I prefer the slimmer burgers loaded with toppings and flavors. I'm not big on five guys fries, they tend to get soggy, though the cajun fries are quite delish. I seem to stay away from fries in general though, since I know the McDonald's fries are pretty loaded with crap it seems to have put off of fries in general.

If I wanted more meaty taste I'd have to get a buffalo burger from a restaurant or grilled at home.

I've heard good things about in and out burger, but never been.

[Bakemaster]

McDonald's douchezburger for $1.27

man I should read posts more slowly

[broken_escalator]

McDonald's douchezburger for $1.27

man I should read posts more slowly

It's not my 'favorite' burger but for a poor college student barely affording tuition it's hard to afford 9$ burgers as often! So I guess its favorite by price instead of flavor.

[Endless Mike]

Ray's Hell Burger has my favorite burger, but I basically hate going there.

[darthchazza]

In and around Melbourne I find independent fish n chip shops do the best burgers. You can choose what you want in there (I normally go for bacon, egg, pineapple, cheese and lettuce) and you can see them grill it all up. Just the right amount of grease, generous size and cost less than a premium burger from McDonald's.

[Amarantha]

^ I used to think that, but most of them these days use a crappy mix of forcemeat and breadcrumbs instead of a proper meat patty. You can get good ones at pubs and bistros, but for chain-style ones I prefer Edge or Grill'd.

[PatrickRsGhost]

Their burgers are light and crumbly, but I see that as a good thing. A burger shouldn't be a disc of beef sausage; it needs to come apart in your mouth. It's only a problem if it falls apart before you bite into it.

Dry is bad, of course. It's a risk with this style of thin patty cooked at a high temperature. My burger wasn't dry when I tried Five Guys.

And I agree about the cheese product. That's one of the reasons I prefer a local burger place offering a similar style of burger -- they offer cheddar etc.

Same here. When I tried Five Guys, the burger was juicy, and rather greasy. The only complaint I have about Five Guys is they just dump the fries in the same bag as the burger. No separate holder or container for the fries, so you have to suffer second or third-degree burns in order to enjoy the awesomeness of a Five Guys burger.

I also agree about fast food vs. local places. I think all fast food places use cheese-flavored food product on their burgers, whereas local places use real cheese, and you have a choice. In most places it's American (processed cheese-flavored food product), cheddar, and pepperjack. I always opt for the cheddar. It just compliments the burger better than anything else. I will say that one of the best chain sit-down restaurants to get a burger would have to be Cracker Barrel. They put Colby cheese on their burgers, butter and grill the bun, and their Bacon Cheeseburger has thick-sliced bacon, not those ultra-thin slices like most places tend to use. Not to mention they serve steak (wide, thick-cut) fries, instead of the thin cut.

[Dark567]

Five Guys burger.....

Cracker Barrel.

So I am no fan of Five Guys..... but I hate Cracker Barrel, passionately. I hate the tackiness, the fact that they always combine it with a store, I hate that they have a policy to actively promote "normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society which the company has traditional sought to uphold" and discriminate against LGBT persons, and their food is horrible. If I had the time and money, I would buy every Cracker Barrel, firebomb it, and enjoy watching each one burn to the ground, so I could have the peace of mind knowing that no one will walk through their doors again.

[Donkey Kong Country 3]

Unfortunately there isn't a lot of variety where I'm from: the best I've got is A&W, which is at least one of the better fast food chains.

[Nath]

I recently had a fast food burger after quite a while -- the day after Christmas, one of the only open places in my neighborhood was a Jack in the Box. It's good to eat a fast food burger once a year or so, to remind myself that I don't like fast food burgers. Compared to that tasteless, homogeneous gray patty, even the worst of the local burger places is gourmet. (For the purposes of this post, Five Guys and In-N-Out don't count as fast food burgers.) I saw some A&W places around in the Midwest, but don't recall trying one.

I also recently had a decent 'pub burger', which I think of as a different dish from the fast-food/local-burger-place variety. This one had a thick patty with a small radius, good sear, pink in the middle, layer of melted cheddar. Light on the other condiments -- just a caramelized onion/tomato thing. Well-toasted bun.

Yes, I'm hungry. How can you tell?

[Midnight]

For fast food, In N' Out. Oh, man. I'll have a #1 with onions and an extra pack of spread.

[Fat Tony]

Going out for burgers is fun and all (especially if you and your girlfriend dress up super formal-like only to have her discover that your plan for the evening is to head out to Sonic on Root Beer Float Night), but nothing beats a good old home-grilled Bubba. Heaven exists, and it is a third of a pound and shaped like Texas.

[Izawwlgood]

That sounds pretty obnoxious.

[McCaber]

If you're in the Milwaukee area, it has to be Solly's Grille. Their Butter Burger is just delicious, and absolutely terrible for you.

Other than that, yeah, go with Five Guys.

[ginadagny]

Spoiler:

Can't beat Triple O's <3

[Thesh]

You like a little meat with that bun?

That sounded wrong.

[Coffee]

Best I remember having (not off mine or someone else's backyard grill) was Twisted Root Burger Co. in Dallas.

[Telchar]

We have a local pub called Hooligans that serves great "normal" burgers as well as some great stylized burgers. The Cardiac with 3 cheeses, an onion ring, and house BBQ sauce. The Italian American with marinara, pepperoni, and a huge cheese sombrero.

Aside: I can't do pink in my burger. I know it's supposed to be how it's cooked and all other beef I eat medium rare to rare but hamburger I can't do.

[Izawwlgood]

There was a place in Chicago, which I believe may be a chain, called the Counter, which specializes in artisan burgers. I recall one had guac and some magical complementary sharp cheese, that made my jaw ache with how delicious it was.

Oh look;
http://www.thecounterburger.com/lincolnpark/

[clintonius]

Best burger I've ever had was from a place called Ruby Fruit that no longer exists. Holy wow. Large, hand-formed patty that absolutely melted in your mouth.

Also, there's a Five Guys around the corner from my school, and it's big, big trouble.

[StickFigure206]

In and Out when I'm further South. Dick's rules Seattle.