Best Burger in Boston (Lynn, Somerville: appointed, restaurant, safety)

[raider21]

Mr Bartley's, cash only ok, no beer not ok

[MassVt]

B-Good, in Harvard Square....

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Bartley's is over rated IMO. I much prefer O'Sullivan's.

Thanks for saying this first, I didn't want to be yelled at! But I don't really like Bartley's much.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by MassVt

B-Good, in Harvard Square....

Meh chain food.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by MassVt

B-Good, in Harvard Square....

I guess B Good is doing something right as they're really growing. They recently bought a number of locations from Boloco which is apparently struggling. Personally, I'm very unimpressed by the offerings at B Good.

[Boston_Burbs]

Not really a burger but the Bobby Orr steak sandwich at the Fours is a must,

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I guess B Good is doing something right as they're really growing. They recently bought a number of locations from Boloco which is apparently struggling. Personally, I'm very unimpressed by the offerings at B Good.

They have huge money backers. Sadly thats whats happening in this (and other) cities.
Cool places gone - franchise money capital in.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by GeePee

They have huge money backers. Sadly thats whats happening in this (and other) cities.
Cool places gone - franchise money capital in.

Yeah, the proliferation of the small to mid chains in disappointing. Some of the places are just completely awful (Comella's; Tavern in The whatever). All of the food trucks are trying to jump to brick and mortar chains and most of them should not as they just don't offer enough variety. It still kills me that Cheddars was replaced with a Bon Me.

As far as B Good is concerned, I don't hate it. I actually think they have improved since opening. Would I ever go there for a burger? No. However it is a good place to grab a healthy salad or bowl for lunch. For burgers, there are lots I like but I don't have a holy grail around here:

• Bartleys: I like the burger enough and they have great onion rings. I don't like people sitting on top of me inside but I will grab an outside table if its open and watch the world go by.
• Flat Patties and Shake Shack both to tasty fast food type burgers, however most times I will go to Tasty Burger and pay lass then half as much.
• Craigie street still has one of the best high end burgers around, though the whole limited availability thing and mace ketchup tedious.
• Bull McCabe's in Union Square has a god no nonsense burger
• I love the burgers at O'Sullivans but those fries are problematic.
• Aiden & Harlow has a great patty but it is overdone with the toppings and pretension.
• East Side Grill has a meh burger but I like it. I think they use A1 in their patty and it takes me back a bit.
• Someone mentioned Boston Burger Co and that really makes me scratch my head. One of the worst burgers I have ever had. I'd never go back there.
• Aquitaine has a good burger on the other side of the river as does JM Curley.
• The Toro burger with the corn cheese on top is a guilty pleasure.
• I haven't been there in awhile, but really used to enjoy the au poivre burger at Abe & Louies at lunch time.
• Wahlburgers and 5 Guys, don't even...

There's lots of respectable burgers in town, however there is room for a new standout or two.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Flat Patties and Shake Shack both to tasty fast food type burgers, however most times I will go to Tasty Burger and pay lass then half as much.

Tasty Burger is pretty good. I have to say thought IMO the only burger that's more overrated than Bartley's is Shake Shack. I just don't see what all the fuss is about. I've been many times because I'm book ended by the locations in Dedham and Chestnut Hill. I had my first decent experience there about a month ago. They have a BBQ themed burger that they've added to the menu which is pretty good.

The real star of the menu at Shake Shack is the fried chicken sandwich. It's unbelievable. I'd much rather order that any day of the week vs. one of their burgers.

Originally Posted by porterhouse

I haven't been there in awhile, but really used to enjoy the au poivre burger at Abe & Louies at lunch time.

A&L's does have a pretty yummy burger.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Yeah, the proliferation of the small to mid chains in disappointing. Some of the places are just completely awful (Comella's; Tavern in The whatever). All of the food trucks are trying to jump to brick and mortar chains and most of them should not as they just don't offer enough variety. It still kills me that Cheddars was replaced with a Bon Me.

I don't know- I think think the food trucks making the jump is a great thing. The lower overhead of operating a food truck opens the door for more small, local entrepreneurs to have a change. Brick and mortars are the next step for these guys to expand. BonMe (I do love their soba noodle salads) offers a lot more at their brick and mortars and their food stall at the BPM than they do on the trucks (more fillings, soups, drinks, etc.). I mean when you think of the sandwich combos, rice bowl combos and noodle salad (rice or soba) combos, I'd argue that they offer more than the typical fast casual chain.

My favorite truck in town is Moyzilla. The owner worked in finance and ended up going all-in on his food truck. They've been incredibly successful- operating two trucks and currently looking for a brick and mortar. While their truck only offers 2-3 varieties of dumplings and a Japanese fried chicken dish, they often run a lot of specials (great Korean tacos, Korean wings, etc.). The brick and mortar will give them the opportunity to do a lot more that the truck doesn't allow for. They wouldn't have even had a chance at a restaurant were it not for food trucks with their lower overhead and startup costs.

Some trucks fail (RIP Fugu truck), and some successful trucks replace good restaurants (RIP Cheddars), but I think that the opportunity trucks provide as a stepping stone is excellent. Places like BonMe, Chicken and Rice Guys, Mei Mei, Clover, Roxy's, and Moyzilla would likely not exist were it not for the trucks. That's a bunch of local places that have had opportunities in an environment that really favors corporate chains. I don't love all of them, but it sure beats more Chipotle, Subway, Five Guys, etc. locations.

Regarding Burgers:

I also like Tasty Burger for fast/fast casual. I know they've blown up, but Shake Shack is awesome too. Haven't tried Walburghers or B-Good.

Not IN Boston, but I like WuBurger in Woburn a lot.

Craigie can't be mentioned enough. It's my favorite.

The Kimchi Burger from Koy is always good too.