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The Daily Meal presents the 40 best burgers in US and top 10 chain burgers in US

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Chili

Member
This makes me so happy that Five Guys and Shake Shack are going to be opening around the corner from each other on consecutive days in a few weeks in London. Burger wars commence!
 

Zia

Member
I don't like Daily Meal but that's a great fucking list. I eat a Luger Burger about every three weeks.

This makes me so happy that Five Guys and Shake Shack are going to be opening around the corner from each other on consecutive days in a few weeks in London. Burger wars commence!

I love Five Guys (I used to frequent the Chinatown spot back when there were five locations), but there's no contest. If they hadn't divided the list as they did, I think a couple Shake Shack burgers easily could've made it into the proper top 20.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
This whole thing was made by some hipster asshole who picked a bunch of trendy "ideas" that sound better than they taste. I call bullshit on the lot of it.

Apparently, I should have included this part of the opening article in the OP:

Even though the definition of a perfect burger is open to opinion, when you ask some of the country’s most respected authorities on the subject, like Hamburger America's George Motz, certain requirements become obvious, even though patty size and topping preferences may differ. The use of high-quality beef is crucial, for one, cooked with skill and care, served juicy and well-seasoned. "It should have spring if you poke the patty; a light crust is welcome, too," said one expert.

A great burger should also be well-proportioned and not overpowered by any one component.
"The stack should not require an eater to unhinge his or her jaw," said one expert; “The perfect burger is greater than the sum of its parts and should offer synergy and balance,” another agreed.

A truly transcendental burger, if we’re going to get metaphysical here, also hits you on a deeper level than a run of the mill one, and you simply know it when you experience it. “The perfect burger is one that when it hits your mouth makes you forget about everything else that is happening around you,” another said.

To come up with our ranking of America’s best burgers we collected a list of our favorite burgers across the country, as well as iconic burgers we’ve heard about but have yet to try. Be it an offering from a high-end restaurant or a tiny, hidden hole in the wall, no burger was off-limits. We spent days combing through cities’ best-of lists both in print and online, and reached out to a group of some of the foremost experts on burgers in America.

Authorities we received nominations from include chefs Jonathan Waxman and Jimmy Bradley, The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema and Tim Carman, writers John T. Edge and Josh Ozersky, Foodmancing the Girl’s Charles Powell, Wicked Good Burgers’ Andy Husbands, Burger & Bourbon’s BJ Coleman, Burger Conquest’s David Ciancio, and A Hamburger Today’s Nick Solares.


Our quest for America’s best burgers took us down some interesting roads. We considered PYT in Philadelphia, for example, whose recent specials include a burger topped with bacon, goat cheese, and a Tastykake Koffee Kake, and one that replaces a bun with slices of deep-fried lasagna. We also came across Superior, Wis.’ Anchor Bar, whose best-seller is a burger toped with Swiss cheese, onions, and raw cashews.

And this part I did include in the OP:

We divided our initial list of about 150 candidates into geographic regions, and recruited a panel of 30 noted chefs, restaurateurs, and food writers (including those mentioned above) to then place their votes for their favorites. The results were tallied, and our final list was then assembled.
 

alazz

Member
Any Sacramentans know which Squeeze is the best? I tried to go to the one on Power Inn, but I arrived minutes after closing. What burger joint closes at 6 PM on a weekday...

Good to see America getting on board with eggs on burgers.
I thought it sounded crazy until a year. Then, holy shit, my life was changed forever.

Yeah, Smashburger is ridicunuts. I'm not sure how they left such classics off this list... I think we need a recount.

Glad I'm not the only one. I always forget about Smash because there's an In-N-Out and Habit much closer, but Smash has the tastiest patty I've had at a chain burger joint, good fries, plus all the toppings any reasonable person could want.
 

Gouty

Bloodborne is shit
Anymore I dock points for unruly or messy burgers. That goes double if the grease or whatever the toppings it contains make the bun soggy.

Get your shit together and act like a fucking burger, not a pile of greasy slop with a bun placed on top of the heap.
 

Doomsayer

Member
When I went to New York I tried the Shake Shack, and I can tell you it was amazing. Plus they brewed their own beer? Yes please.
 

Rich!

Member
We need one of these lists for the UK. Its pure pot luck here whether you get a genuinely decent burger or not depending on where you go. More often than not, it's disappointing.

my local pub does brilliant burgers though. And as for store bought ones, Marks and Spencer do fresh steak ground burgers with herbs and cheese that literally kick the living shit out of most restaurant burgers I've had here. They're absolutely incredible.
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
The Varsity......ha, that place had a baaaad reputation when I went to college next door to it. The Vortex though, that's a really good burger. I don't know what this Holeman & Finch place is, but the description alone doesn't make me think it's great.

And fuck Shake Shack, that was pretty overrated every time I tried to get one. No way is that the best I've had. Oneburger and Lokal, both also in Miami, kill Shake Shack.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
BAH! Foodie hogwash. I stand by my earlier statements!

Yeah, I'd trust any expert so open-minded in trying things out.

On another note you had mentioned, I had co-workers originally from Wisconsin who are now pretty good wine experts because they became interested and, gasp, went ahead and learned about the subject and tried a bunch from around the world. One's actually a winemaker now. Saying you're from somewhere and saying that's reason enough alone to make you a subject matter expert or not qualified for something else is such a crutch.

But whatever, enjoy your status being from the alleged "origin of the hamburger," which apparently was just a meatball flattened between two pieces of bread because the guy couldn't sell his meatballs at a fair and didn't think of putting them on a stick.

Ugh. This is why I don't participate in GAF food threads.

Apparently anyone who expresses more than a simple casual interest in food is some hippie elitist foodie blogger. Doesn't matter if you're a chef or whatever else.
 

Shagwell

Member
How I've lived in NYC my whole life and not tried nor heard of any of those burgers except for Five Guys, The Burger Joint, and Shake Shack is beyond me.

I now have a new summer undertaking. All those burgers 'bout to get in my belly.
 

Moofers

Member
Yeah, I'd trust any expert so open-minded in trying things out.

On another note you had mentioned, I had co-workers originally from Wisconsin who are now pretty good wine experts because they became interested and, gasp, went ahead and learned about the subject and tried a bunch from around the world. One's actually a winemaker now. Saying you're from somewhere and saying that's reason enough alone to make you a subject matter expert or not qualified for something else is such a crutch.

But whatever, enjoy your status being from the alleged "origin of the hamburger," which apparently was just a meatball flattened between two pieces of bread because the guy couldn't sell his meatballs at a fair and didn't think of putting them on a stick.



Apparently anyone who expresses more than a simple casual interest in food is some hippie elitist foodie blogger. Doesn't matter if you're a chef or whatever else.

Really, one can travel and become exposed to new things, take an interest, and then become an expert? I had no idea.

Come on dude. You sound like a pompous douche here. Half the fun of these lists is being a loudmouth about who got left off, who doesn't deserve to be there, etc. Should I have just come in here and said "I agree." and then left the thread?

I'm a huge hamburger fan. I've traveled the world as a professional cyclist and been exposed to lots of new foods and wonderful things. What do I love to get at a new restaurant? Cheeseburgers. Its my standard that I judge places by. So yeah, I'm passionate and its annoying when I see food dorks try to reinvent the burger with nonsense and then act like I'm a grub with a limited palette because I say they don't know what they're doing.

Also, don't talk shit on Wisconsin's claim to the burger. We take that seriously like our cheese, brats, beer, and Packers.
 

Rich!

Member
The main reason I want to go to America is the goddamn food.

don't think I'll ever get a chance to go though. Lame.
 

RedStep

Member
five guys, shake shack, fuckin' UMAMI burger in top 5???? hell no.

You realize that the list of chain burgers, right? What do you think is a better chain burger, the Whopper?

Any Sacramentans know which Squeeze is the best? I tried to go to the one on Power Inn, but I arrived minutes after closing. What burger joint closes at 6 PM on a weekday...

Power Inn was good when I went there, never got to visit the original. Living in Elk Grove is great for burgers - The Habit, In-N-Out, Smashburger, and Five Guys on the same street.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
dick's #19?

questionable list.

Fucking this. I am two blocks from dick's right now and I wouldn't eat there unless I was taken at gunpoint.

Dicks is only good if you are wasted. It is an a objectively terrible and low quality burger whose saving grace is that it's cheap and quick. 90% of its customers wear Adidas shower flip flops and the other 10% drive Ford F150s and only drove to Seattle to be racist.
 

ultron87

Member
Whelp, gotta go get a burger for lunch now. There are some pretty good places here in Cincinnati.

Despite being from Columbus I have never had Thurman's. Need to rectify that at some point.
 

sqwarlock

Member
It's a shame that my favorite burger joint isn't even that well known in my own city, but I'll always pick Lenny's over In-n-Out for burgers in Phoenix.
 

friday

Member
The Varsity in atlanta is fucking disgusting.

The fact that the Varsity and Vortex are on this list make me think that it is just a hype list. Both of those places are not good. Shakeshack is horrendously overrated and overpriced. If you are in Atlanta and want a burger go to Grindhouse.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
Not much in the Boston area but maybe I'll try out Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage one of these days when I have a hankering for a burger.

Fuck the other place at number 31, though. I'm revolted at the idea that a cook will only make 18 burgers before stopping all burger orders. "Get there early." No, stick it up your butt.
 

Moofers

Member
Not much in the Boston area but maybe I'll try out Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage one of these days when I have a hankering for a burger.

Fuck the other place at number 31, though. I'm revolted at the idea that a cook will only make 18 burgers before stopping all burger orders. "Get there early." No, stick it up your butt.

Yeah that's some soup-nazi shit right there. As if the world would implode if 19 of their precious fucking burgers were made because the universe simply couldn't handle all that awesome in one night. That's the kind of pretentious crap that I hate about places that do it. It makes you want to go order one, eat it, then insist it was "okay" when they look for validation and expect you to do a Goddamn backflip.
 

OneEightZero

aka ThreeOneFour
Work Time Fun, Jim-Denny's is barely the best burger place on that street. If you're looking for a good local burger in Sacramento, everybody knows you go to the Squeeze Inn. What y'all know 'bout cheese skirts?
tumblr_lpts4gBcTG1qf42qoo1_500.jpg


It is exactly the thing that it sounds like it is.
capture28.jpeg

Yeah, I was sort of surprised this one didn't make the list.
 

Moofers

Member
Those cheese skirts look gnarly. I've got a buddy in Sacto. Next time I'm visiting, we gotta go there.

Also, Hodad's in San Diego (other locations as well, I think) should be somewhere on the list.

And if you've ever been in Wisconsin, stop at Tom's Drive In and get a burger with some fried cheese curds. As far as fast food places go, Toms and Culvers are top-tier.
 

BigDug13

Member
Five Guys quality control has suffered due to the franchising.

Yeah this is truth. Some Five Guys burgers have been amazing to me and are capable of surpassing in-and-out while others have been merely "good" and can't hold a candle to in-and-out. While every in-and-out burger tastes like an in-and-out burger because they don't franchise and maintain quality controls.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Come on dude. You sound like a pompous douche here.

Funny, that's how your posts came across to me with the whole "this is how things are properly made and anything else are food dork nonsense" attitude.

Half the fun of these lists is being a loudmouth about who got left off, who doesn't deserve to be there, etc. Should I have just come in here and said "I agree." and then left the thread?

There's a difference between arguing about the specifics of the list and completely dismissing the entire thing as some random foodie blogger nonsense when it was stated in the article how they got their results. I have no issues with standard smack talk. Like you said, that's where the fun in the discussion is, and why I make these kinds of threads in the first place.

Also, don't talk shit on Wisconsin's claim to the burger. We take that seriously like our cheese, brats, beer, and Packers.

So some smack talk is okay but not others? Good to know.
 

Apath

Member
Kuma's in Chicago is a good burger, but man the aesthetics of the place suck. They're all over the place and the music sucks too. Got the Minotaur last time I was there, and Id recommend it to anyone who checks the place out.
 
As someone who hates cheese on my burger these lists always leave me disappointed as that always seems to be the main focus for most of these burgers. I'm very happy to see Ray's so high on the list. Was quite sad when their first two locations went out of business due to landlord-tenant disputes.

Also, I'd say my favorite two chains are Cheeseburger in Paradise and Fuddruckers. I'd take both of those over any of those other chains that I've tried.
 
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