Good Hamburger Joint (Denver, Monument: appointed, house, restaurant)

[livinslv]

I will be making a day trip to the Springs and I wondered if there were any recommendations. I'm open to all price ranges. Of course I know that McD's and BK are typical joints up there...but I am interested in the ones that might be unique to the city or state or region...like Blake's lotaburger is local to New Mexico...in fact you won't find one past the state's borders.

gracias....

[Mike from back east]

My favorites, that I like a lot:
- Smashburger, a COLO chain out of Denver. Pick the size of burger you want (5oz or 8oz) the type of roll, the toppings, etc. Beer on tap.
- Ted's Montana Grill, an upscale chain, 8oz beef and bison burgers of many types. Full bar, moderate sized menu. I-25 exit 151.
- All American Sports Cafe, on Voyager Pkwy. Good burgers & fries. Local couple. Great cheese steaks or a bowl of green chile. Full bar.
- Conway's Red Top, local outfit with a few locations, you can order half a burger there. Kind of rustic.
- Culver's Butter Burgers, a chain of some sort, not bad.
- Crave Burger on N. Academy, sells all sorts of unusual and weird burgers if that's your thing.

Several others, but I can't recall names; hoping others chip in, NO need to eat mystery meat burgers at McDs, BK, et al.

[GreenScoutII]

All of Mike's suggestions are good ones, well, except for the Smashburger that is... A lot of people like it, but I was disappointed. Strange, because that restaurant is the kind of place that ordinarily would have my name all over it.

Anyway, don't forget Conway's Red Top, a long time local burger chain, and my personal favorite if you happen to be in the central part of town, Short Stop. IMHO, the best quality and value for your money. Strictly drive through though....

Edit: Mike did mention Red Top.

[vfrpilot]

Cy's Drive In on Uintah, west of I25. An older establishment with great food and good service.
Freddy's Steakburgers in Monument, next to Kohl's. It just opened a couple of weeks ago. I tried it yesterday and really enjoyed it, especially the fries.

[GreenScoutII]

Originally Posted by vfrpilot

Cy's Drive In on Uintah, west of I25. An older establishment with great food and good service.
Freddy's Steakburgers in Monument, next to Kohl's. It just opened a couple of weeks ago. I tried it yesterday and really enjoyed it, especially the fries.

GAAAAHHHH!!!!! What kind of native am I??????!!!!!!???????

How could I forget to mention Cy's?

Yes, go to Cy's!

[Carrera32]

Best I've had is at The Famous. It's a high end steak house on Tejon, downtown. Go for lunch. This is definitely not take out, and it ain't cheap. My understanding is that they grind their own hamburger beef fresh from the discarded scraps of the steaks they charge about $50 for. I think it's around $12, but worth it. I believe it won the Independent's contest for best hamburger in COS in 2010, and either won or was runner up this past year. Delicious and huge; you won't walk out hungry.

[Christina S]

Five guys on N. Academy

[smdensbcs]

Originally Posted by vfrpilot

Cy's Drive In on Uintah, west of I25. An older establishment with great food and good service.

Corner of 19th and Uintah. After driving by this place for years, I finally took the family in for a sit-down meal. I was stunned, on multiple levels. First, somebody decorated the place in about 1955 and it has not changed one iota since. Like stepping into a time warp, in a good way. The photo of teen-idol Ricky Nelson on the walls, next to the "young" Elvis, is pure genius. As if the time warp decor was not enough, the quality of the burger had me thinking "... this is better than In-n-Out ... seriously." It's like what In-n-Out (a West-Coast mania) would be but without all the hype. Cy's is a local treasure, and that's coming from a Red-Top guy.

Oh, and an insider's tip. While at Cy's, a guy came in and ordered a "Butterscotch Shake, in the biggest size you've got." He ordered nothing else so I asked him what what up with the Butterscotch shakes and he said he didn't know how they make it but it's the best thing he's ever had. So we tried it and it was dang good.

[md21722]

Drifter's on the corner of Mark Dabling & Austin Bluffs. People say its the closest you can get to In-N-Out without going to one.

If you want some over the top insane burger, try Crave Real Burgers on N. Academy near Woodman. Its where Fat Burgers used to be.

[GreenScoutII]

I was wondering what happened to Fat Burgers....