Everyone loves a great burger, but who makes them better than all the rest?
Which state has perfected the cheeseburger? And what the heck's a "Bulgogi" burger?
Forget your Big Macs and your Whoppers — these are the very best burgers around.
The right or wrong bun can make or break a burger. But who needs ciabatta or brioche when you can use
macaroni and cheese? That's what Tampa eatery Datz did when they constructed The Cheesy Todd,
a mouthwatering cheeseburger that got national recognition on Good Morning America,
and developed a fervent fan following soon after.
"Anybody out there, you need to get to Tampa, get to Datz,
and put the Cheesy Todd in your mouth. Chew it, swallow it, try to do that at least once a month."
The Cheesy Todd turns the cheeseburger on its head using two deep-fried discs
of mac and cheese, flecked with bacon and jalapeno, in lieu of the bread.
Nestled between these two "buns" are a juicy beef patty with American cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato,
red onion, and tart pickles. Yelp reviewers who have tried it first-hand called the burger
"freaking amazing" and "to die for." And if you're questioning the structural integrity
of a fried macaroni bun, one person confirmed that it "totally held up" from start to finish.
Is it more prone to mess? Maybe. Is it pure comfort food heaven? Absolutely.
A trip to the Lone Star State always demands a stop-off at a Tex-Mex restaurant or a BBQ joint,
but Texas also lays claim to some of the best burgers out there.
At Henry's Majestic in Dallas, they use high-quality Akaushi beef,
a Japanese cow breed that also roams in large numbers throughout Southern Texas.
Tourists and locals alike rave about Henry's Marrow Spiked Burger, a mighty sandwich that's
equipped with aged cheddar, crispy bacon, and caramelized onions on a plush brioche bun.
It has all the elements of a killer burger, too: curated toppings, diverse textures,
and a melt-in-your-mouth patty. Reviewers have sung its praises on Yelp, calling it
"outstanding" and "juicy," with one going as far to call it the best burger in the city.
Hole-in-the-wall places tend to produce the tastiest burgers, and one of the best comes
from this little restaurant in Cornelius, Oregon. Five Stars Family Burger makes quick bites like
hot dogs and cheeseburgers, albeit with a Korean spin. Nothing on the menu embodies
this fusion more than the Bulgogi Burger, which reviewers on Yelp have described as
"incredible" and "as good as it gets." Bulgogi meat, a Korean BBQ staple consisting of thinly
sliced strips of pork or beef, is draped on a juicy beef patty with your choice of toppings.
And with the store making burgers to order, you can count on it being as fresh as can be.
Don't be fooled by Zombie Burger's horrifying name. While this cheeky burger joint in downtown
Des Moines boasts dishes with names like Undead Elvis — as well as an exclusive meat
blend referred to as a "special grind" — patrons will find scary-good grub for the whole family.
Of all the ghoulish fare offered at Zombie Burger, foodies rave the
most about the Trailer Trash Zombie Burger, found on the "Goremet Bashed Burgers" menu.
A cheeseburger of beastly proportions, the sandwich is stuffed with pure fried goodness:
fried pickles, chicken-fried bacon, cheese curds, and a heaping drizzle of ranch dressing.
A reviewer on Trip Advisor called it "heart-stopping good" — which is
exactly the kind of ringing endorsement a zombie-themed restaurant deserves.
You know you're onto something when Alton Brown calls your hamburger "high art."
He was talking about Block 16's Croque Garcon Burger,
a farm-to-table marvel that the TV personality has called the best burger in America.
To elevate the burger to its grandest heights, the Omaha establishment uses the iconic French
breakfast sandwich as its inspiration. You've got a 1/3 pound of beef, melted Swiss cheese,
ham, and a cheerful sunny-side-up egg drizzled with truffle mayo and mustard.
It's artisanal and upscale without being unapproachable — diners could
mow this down for Sunday brunch or on date night without breaking a sweat.
Remember that old Wendy's commercial featuring the catch-phrase "Where's the beef?"
"Where's the beef?"
"Some hamburger places give you a lot less beef on a lot of bun."
Well, you won't be asking that when you hit up Slutty Vegan. The name may make you blush,
but the plant-based bites coming out of this Black-owned business
are nothing to be bashful about. There's no trace of meat at this Atlanta eatery,
instead serving Impossible patties and vegan buns with good-humored naughtiness.
Names like Big Dawg and Menage A Trois line the menu,
but sure to convert any carnivore to the other side is the restaurant's top-seller,
The One Night Stand. It's a vegan Hawaiian bun towering with vegan bacon, vegan cheese, grilled
onions, lettuce, tomato, and a generous dose of special sauce for good measure. Who needs meat?
Anyone visiting Los Angeles would do well to stop at Hawkins House of Burgers.
Often hailed as the city's best burger joint, this unassuming storefront in the Watts neighborhood
makes the same freshly-grilled burgers that propelled them to fame in the late 1930s.
That's a long time to be flipping burgers, and the fact that they've been at it so long
shows in the quality and craftsmanship of their food.
For a solid introduction to Hawkins, you'll want to order the Whipper Burger
off the specialty menu. It takes the double cheeseburger above and beyond
with shaved pastrami and a flayed hot link sausage stacked high on a bun.
This triple-threat of the succulent patty, tender pastrami, and juicy sausage takes the
traditional burger and launches it into the flavor-sphere. Burger fans with a generous
appetite can also spring for the Leaning Tower of Watts… if your cholesterol levels can take it.
The last thing you'd ever consider ordering at a Michelin starred restaurant is a burger,
right? Well, tell that to Peter Luger Steakhouse. One of the nation's top destinations for dry-aged
ribeyes, this Brooklyn steakhouse serves the kind of burger that's tailor-made for purists.
All you get is a half-pound of juicy beef with cheese on a sesame seed bun. That's it. You can
opt for raw onion or bacon if you want to, but otherwise what you see is what you get.
There's no secret sauce dripping down the sides, and no lettuce or tomato either.
But the Luger-Burger's simplicity is part of what makes it so great.
Bare-bones doesn't have to mean boring when the quality is exceptional, and visitors often find
it flavorful enough even without the add-ons. If anything, the toppings would only distract from
the experience. It's a steeper pick at $18.95, but worth it if you can spare the extra cash.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Cotham's in the City
serves up a burger so big you can probably see it from space.
"Can't get over this burger, the Hubcap Burger,
they're known for it. You kinda need two hands for this thing."
People travel near and far to try the Hubcap Cheeseburger, which gets its name from the
fact that it literally resembles a hubcap on your car. This is no exaggeration or figure of speech,
either: the sandwich measures almost a foot across, with an oversized beef patty and a
smorgasbord of tomato, onion, and pickles piled between two humongous bread buns.
Now, a single-patty Hubcap is pretty darn big on its own — but that's not even its final form.
You can also order it as a "Quad," which comes with four giant beef patties instead of one,
so you're getting quadruple the meat — for quadruple the price, of course.
Utah's Burger Bar drive-in is like a time capsule of 1950s Americana — bold signage,
a walk-up counter, and menu prices going back to the Eisenhower administration.
The simplicity of its menu is how Burger Bar has endured into the 21st century,
with hand-made burgers and a monthly lineup of exotic meats to keep things exciting.
Priced at a humble $6.49, the namesake burger of founder Ben Fowler features a quarter-pound
patty dressed in lettuce, pickles, and an addictive fry sauce, all time-honored
ingredients of the American burger. Burgers on the menu can be customized as singles, doubles,
or even quads according to the restaurant, letting customers pile the meat on as high as they want.
The Twin Cities is home to many cultural touchstones — Prince, Mall of America,
and a cheese-stuffed burger called the Juicy Lucy. Matt's Bar in Minneapolis happens to
be one of the two restaurants who claim to have invented it, and they sure do whip up a mean one.
A single bite into this gooey and cheesy burger will no doubt result
in abated hunger and a powerful craving for more,
with Yelp reviewers gushing over the "juicy" meat and "delicious" taste. It may also result
in a burnt tongue, due to the so-called "molten lava cheese" seeping out. Proceed with caution.
Have you ever seen a burger as beautiful as this? Emily in New York City somehow managed
to pull off the Emmy Burger: a top-notch beef patty adorned with melted cheese, pickles,
and grilled onions, and vibrant orange Emmy sauce drizzled on a perfectly toasted pretzel bun.
A review from Business Insider lauded the sweet and spicy sauce, made with a recipe
kept under wraps save for two ingredients: Korean Gochujang and Kewpie mayo. Diners can
find it at the Brooklyn and West Village stores, but depending on where you go there might be some
slight differences. You'll either get American cheese and pickles at the West Village branch or
Grafton Cheddar and cornichons in Brooklyn. Both are worth all the extra napkins in the world.
Ah, the double cheeseburger — where juicy beef and melted cheese forge a decadent
and irresistible relationship. Au Cheval in Chicago has perfected upscale diner
cuisine on the city's renowned Restaurant Row, and the superstar of their menu is
the simple double cheeseburger. But don't get it twisted – this is not
the smashed hockey puck you'll find at the drive-thru. Far from it, in fact.
This burger actually contains three patties instead of two, each blanketed with a velvety
slice of American cheese. It's then garnished with traditional toppings like pickles, onion,
and a creamy dijon mayo for extra kick. Think the Big Mac, if it got a luxurious makeover. A
reviewer from Business Insider ordered it with a sunny-side-up egg and said it was "absolutely
divine." They were also "completely satisfied" by the end, despite not being able to finish it.
Much like New York City bagels and Wisconsin's dairy empire, New Mexico is all about the green
chile. The piquant pepper can be found in just about any breakfast, lunch,
or dinner across the state, but the green chile cheeseburger is where it really shines.
Should you venture south on the region's Green Chile Cheeseburger trail, you'll find
countless restaurants offering their take on the regional specialty. By all accounts,
though, Sparky's, in the New Mexico village of Hatch, is hard to beat.
The World Famous consists of a 7-ounce beef burger patty complete with gooey
American cheese and chopped green chiles on a bun.
And don't expect tomatoes or grilled onions, here, because the World Famous features no
other toppings beyond cheese and chiles. That may be a problem for some, but the
heat of the chiles mixed with the sharpness of the cheese should give enough oomph already.
Boston Burger Company is all about innovation, from Instagram-worthy shakes to unorthodox
fries. But it's with their burgers where the creativity really flows.
This showstopper won a Battle of the Burgers competition on The Rachael Ray
Show, beating other equally comparable burger restaurants around the country.
"I thought it had a great, a nice solid beefy taste, and then at the end,
you snuck in — that jalapeno comes out, and you're like, wow. It's like the perfect hit of hot."
It's called The Hot Mess, and there isn't anything like it out there.
So what's on The Hot Mess? A lot, actually. What makes it a hot mess is the toppings,
including bacon, jalapeño, red onion, and chopped pickles;
these are mixed together in a Thousand Island dressing that's made on site. This thick,
goopy blend is layered on a cheeseburger and garnished with shredded lettuce and sweet potato
fries before another spoonful is ladled on top. You might get your hands dirty while eating it,
but for one of the absolute best burgers you can swing in the U.S., that's a price worth paying.
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