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The 5 Guys in my home town was always utterly packed. I'm not some kind of hamburger snob (is there such a thing?) but to me their burgers were nothing special. I liked the burgers from BWW considerably better. The best hamburgers I've ever eaten were the ones my coworker and I used to grill for special occasions at work. That pretty much ruined all other burgers for me. The sad thing is, those burgers probably cost $2.50 to make and were better than a $12 burger from Red Robin (although I like Red Robin, too).
For fast food or non-gourmet, Gotts Roadside in Napa Valley (their Ferry Building location isn't even close) is one of the best I have ever had (I love the Tex-Mex burger form there). Ugly American in Providence is up there too... "The Cheese" Is a burger experience not to be missed. My favorite to make is a "pissed off Portagee" buger with a blend of ground sirloin, ribeye (excellent fat content) and tenderloin cooked medium rare, topped with a Chourico patty, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. Tastes like nothing else.
I like In-N-Out, but it's not one of my favorites (their fries are good). Five Guys? No Way. Most overrated hamburger joint in the country. Especially out here on the East Coast where most of their advocates have never had In-N-Out or any of the better West Coast chains.
For fast food or non-gourmet, Gotts Roadside in Napa Valley (their Ferry Building location isn't even close) is one of the best I have ever had (I love the Tex-Mex burger form there). Ugly American in Providence is up there too... "The Cheese" Is a burger experience not to be missed. My favorite to make is a "pissed off Portagee" buger with a blend of ground sirloin, ribeye (excellent fat content) and tenderloin cooked medium rare, topped with a Chourico patty, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. Tastes like nothing else.
I like In-N-Out, but it's not one of my favorites (their fries are good). Five Guys? No Way. Most overrated hamburger joint in the country. Especially out here on the East Coast where most of their advocates have never had In-N-Out or any of the better West Coast chains.
That burger sounds awesome!!! Will have to try it. I have a meat grinder so I usually grind my own meat, though admittedly I am lazy and just buy a whole top sirloin then grind it. I don't bother with the *blend*, I get it untrimmed so there is usually enough fat content anyhow... the fresh top sirloin alone will put most outside of the best restaurants to shame, as they usually use inferior meat to cut costs and it isn't freshly ground.
Nailing down the best burger in the U.S. is an impossible task: thousands of restaurants serve burgers, so even if a team is assembled to taste, retaste, compare, and rank all candidates, the process would take a lot of time and would have to be reinitiated once a winner is determined.
Add to the task the fact that there are many categories of burger arranged into two main divisions: cooked-through burgers and made-to-order burgers. Cooked-through burgers (which tend to be on the thin side) tend to rely on condiments and extras (tomato, bacon, etc.) for prominence, whereas made-to-order burgers (which tend to be thicker) allow for judgment in the areas of internal pinkness and the resulting contrast between interior and exterior.
And then there are other factors, including the type of bun, quality/blend of meats, extras that go beyond mere sandwich add-ons (such as green chile); cooking method (pan-fried, charcoal-grilled, etc.); special cooking techniques (such as the flat crusty edges of "Depression-era" burgers); embedded features (such as the onions cooked into the crust of some Oklahoma onion burgers, or the cheese embedded into the interior of a Minnesota "jucy lucy"); and so on. In parts of Wisconsin, many people think the best burgers will have a certain amount of butter added to the burger (during or after cooking) and/or the bun (while toasted, for example). (Post-script: Don't forget sliders, whether they be of the White Castle tradition or the trendy sriracha and pickled arugula variety.)
Having said all of this, the best burgers are probably found at stand-alone, "mom-and-pop" type places. Maybe In-and-Out makes the best "chain" burger (though there's disagreement on that here), but just a glance at the picture suggests that the patties are on the thin side, and the sandwich relies on condiments and other things for its glory. For some, all that extra stuff takes away from the burger itself.
Another "best" list (from Jane and Michael Stern's 500 Things to Eat before It's Too Late) lists these places as having the best burgers:
Hodad's (Ocean Beach, CA)
Pine Club (Dayton, OH)
RF O'Sullivan and Sons (Somerville, MA)
Lankford Grocery (Houston, TX)
Louis' Lunch (New Haven, CT)
Shake Shack (NY, NY)
Harry's Place (Colchester, CT)
Hudson's (Coeur D'Alene, ID)
Clamp's (New Milford, CT)
I've never been to any of these places, but the Sterns seem to prefer the thick, juicy made-to-order burger than the other kind. In their book they have separate rankings of green chile cheeseburgers, jucy lucys, onion burgers, butter burgers, etc.
I'm not a big burger-seeker, but my restaurant favorites in the Milwaukee area are at the Nite Owl (a basic burger at a nostalgic place) and North Point Custard (cooked-through but grilled). My absolute favorite would be a medium-thick, medium-rare burger embedded with caramelized onions, with avocado or guac on top, in a Kaiser-sized but slightly chewy bun. I make that at home.
Last edited by Empidonax; 10-16-2011 at 10:36 AM..
Nailing down the best burger in the U.S. is an impossible task: thousands of restaurants serve burgers, so even if a team is assembled to taste, retaste, compare, and rank all candidates, the process would take a lot of time and would have to be reinitiated once a winner is determined.
Add to the task the fact that there are many categories of burger arranged into two main divisions: cooked-through burgers and made-to-order burgers. Cooked-through burgers (which tend to be on the thin side) tend to rely on condiments and extras (tomato, bacon, etc.) for prominence, whereas made-to-order burgers (which tend to be thicker) allow for judgment in the areas of internal pinkness and the resulting contrast between interior and exterior.
And then there are other factors, including the type of bun, quality/blend of meats, extras that go beyond mere sandwich add-ons (such as green chile); cooking method (pan-fried, charcoal-grilled, etc.); special cooking techniques (such as the flat crusty edges of "Depression-era" burgers); embedded features (such as the onions cooked into the crust of some Oklahoma onion burgers, or the cheese embedded into the interior of a Minnesota "jucy lucy"); and so on. In parts of Wisconsin, many people think the best burgers will have a certain amount of butter added to the burger (during or after cooking) and/or the bun (while toasted, for example).
Having said all of this, the best burgers are probably found at stand-alone, "mom-and-pop" type places. Maybe In-and-Out makes the best "chain" burger (though there's disagreement on that here), but just a glance at the picture suggests that the patties are on the thin side, and the sandwich relies on condiments and other things for its glory. For some, all that extra stuff takes away from the burger itself.
Another "best" list (from Jane and Michael Stern's 500 Things to Eat before It's Too Late) lists these places as having the best burgers:
Hodad's (Ocean Beach, CA)
Pine Club (Dayton, OH)
RF O'Sullivan and Sons (Somerville, MA)
Lankford Grocery (Houston, TX)
Louis' Lunch (New Haven, TX)
Shake Shack (NY, NY)
Harry's Place (Colchester, CT)
Hudson's (Coeur D'Alene, ID)
Clamp's (New Milford, CT)
I've never been to any of these places, but the Sterns seem to prefer the thick, juicy made-to-order burger than the other kind. In their book they have separate rankings of green chile cheeseburgers, jucy lucys, onion burgers, butter burgers, etc.
I'm not a big burger-seeker, but my restaurant favorites in the Milwaukee area are at the Nite Owl (a basic burger at a nostalgic place) and North Point Custard (cooked-through but grilled). My absolute favorite would be a medium-thick, medium-rare burger embedded with caramelized onions, with avocado or guac on top, in a Kaiser-sized but slightly chewy bun. I make that at home.
I agree! Anyone who prefers one of these other places to Fuddruckers (especially Five Guys) clearly hasn't tried them or lacks any credibility in terms of quality.
In N Out is better than 5 Guys; however, 5 Guys puts up a good fight. I never had What-A-Burger, but I will next time I'm in Texas to see what the fuss is about.
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