Best Burgers: What's your favorite?

[flaggerphil]

Of course, if you want a REALLY mean burger, you'll have to come over to my house when we're grilling some of the ones my wife makes up.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

We're talking about hitting Five Guys tonight. Haven't been in a couple or three months.

[dirkronk]

Most of my faves are lost in the mists of history. They are, in order of preference:

Gourmet Burger Grill, San Antonio...gone as of about three years ago, but hardly forgotten. One of the first to offer "American Kobe" beef (Wagyu) burger prepared correctly, medium rare, at the top of their menu options (all other beef options were certified Angus). I would order mine that way, treat all the accoutrement as a salad and just eat the burger with a fork. Best flavor in ground beef I've ever experienced. Still have dreams about that one.

King Burger on Manor Road, Austin, Texas, c. 1970-75. NOT Burger King, mind you, but a local burger joint among many just east of UT across I-35. Its namesake burger was a classic 1950s-style sloppy and I indulged as often as my limited means would allow.

Dirty's KumBak Burger on The Drag (Guadalupe) in Austin. Still survives, but not sure if the burgers are what they once were. In the early '70s I went as much for the floor show as the burgers. Even though it was a drive-in, I'd sit on a stool inside. Old black gentleman that worked the grill was amazing, a magician...Svengali with a spatula. He'd been there for ages and no one messed with his way of doing things. No preformed burger patties allowed. Each piece of meat started as a ball of rolled ground beef on waxed paper, extracted from his under-counter fridge, two per burger, flung with precision onto the grill, then one loud and powerful "thwack" of the heavy spatula to flatten each one into an amoeba-shaped wonder of the culinary world. Onions were grilled alongside, natch. The outcome tasted pretty darn good, too, but the process was utterly fascinating. It was the only burger joint in the world where I ever left a tip for the grillmaster.

Macdonald's Burgers at the Lion's Park Pool in Waco, Texas, early 1960s. No, not the giant corporate McDonald's, but a private and much-beloved burger joint adjacent to my birth city's favorite public swimming pool. Run literally by Waco natives Mr. and Mrs. Macdonald, and their standard burgers were originally 4, later 3 for a buck. Not huge, but lovingly made, fresh and tasty, with all the expected southern add-ons (lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion). The choice for Saturday night take-home meals, to be eaten while watching the latest episode of Perry Mason on TV. Also my favorite small-biz-David-vs.-corporate-Goliath story. When the "other" McDonald's first brought their golden arches to town, they were legally enjoined from advertising their Big Macs by Mr. & Mrs. Macdonald's lawyer. Frustrated in that way AND coveting the prime location enjoyed by our local burger heroes, the Ronald McDonald crew wound up making a huge offer, big enough to let our aging locals retire in real style. Of course, from then on, we had to settle for cardboard-flavored heatlamp burgers instead of our former faves at that location, but hey...

Those are the burgers that stand out most in my memory. Other than homemade, of course.

Dirk

P.S. Here in Texas, Whataburger ain't bad for a franchise joint burger...order mayo instead of mustard, have 'em throw on all the veggies, and grill the onions (still no extra charge for that, thank goodness).

[brad2001]

A local chain here in Wichita called "Dog and Shake" (known in our household as "Arf and Barf") has great burgers, dogs and crinkle fries. Friends who have moved away always make a point to go there when they come to visit.

[zabdart]

I've never had a good burger at ANY of the fast food chains. NEVER! Phil is absolutely correct. I make them better myself at home!

[Side Man]

I've had pretty good luck at this chain: http://www.fuddruckers.com

You put your own fixings on your burger (several sizes available) and they have decent fries as well.

S.M.

[richard1]

Originally Posted by mtsusean

bacon wrapped beer can burgers on my Weber grill, filled with mushrooms, onions, jalapenos and cheese. Nothing beats them.

But Fa Mo's, in and around Nashville are a runner up

What is a beer can burger?

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by Side Man

I've had pretty good luck at this chain: http://www.fuddruckers.com

You put your own fixings on your burger (several sizes available) and they have decent fries as well.

S.M.

Yep. Fuddrucker's started down here in San Antonio in the late '70s/early '80s...one of Phil Romano's restaurant chains IIRC (along with Macaroni Grill, Romano's, et al.), before he sold it out to an old client of mine, Luby's Cafeterias. FWIW.

Dirk

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by richard1

What is a beer can burger?

I wondered as well but since no one had yet answered your question, I looked it up rather than wait any longer. Apparently the patty is hollowed out by pressing a beer can into it for the purpose of making a receptacle for whatever fixing’s one has a hankering.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I wondered as well but since no one had yet answered your question, I looked it up rather than wait any longer. Apparently the patty is hollowed out by pressing a beer can into it for the purpose of making a receptacle for whatever fixing’s one has a hankering.

That might work for griddle or oven cooking, but how do you cook bacon on a grill like that? (Bacon grease on a grill means BIG flare-up!) I always cook my bacon on the stove and add to the top of the burger.

[mtsusean]

Herb found it...

I use Grill Grates, they set on top of the steel grates on the Weber. Never have any problem with flareups of any kind. They are awesome with chicken, burgers, steak, pork, prime rib roasts, etc. I also do a lot of reverse sear with them, a very popular method for cooking meat.

[richard1]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I wondered as well but since no one had yet answered your question, I looked it up rather than wait any longer. Apparently the patty is hollowed out by pressing a beer can into it for the purpose of making a receptacle for whatever fixing’s one has a hankering.

Thanks for that Herb. I don't really see the need for a beer can though. A lightly applied fist would do the same thing. So would a rolling pin. The beer can reference is a little misleading. I was hoping for something more creative.

[Taylor Martin]

I've gotten to the point that I'd just assume cook my own burgers. We had a Five Guys Burger joint open up a couple of months ago, so I grabbed a client for lunch and he wanted to go there. I've wanted to try it to see what the hoopla was all about, but didn't think it's any better than a Wendy's (talking about the burgers not the fries, fries were mediocre for fresh cut fries).

[CoolerKing]

Cook-Out, Winston-Salem NC!!!!!!!!

[mtsusean]

Using a beer/soda can gives you stability when building the burger and wrapping the bacon. Nearly any cylindrical device can work, depending on the size burger you want

[Bruce Sexauer]

I make the best burger in the world. In my opinion of course, but I am cooking for myself and have been honing my burger for many years, so I am in a position to judge. I do not mean this lightly, if anyone is in the neighborhood and wants to know what I'm talking about, make an appointment.

It is an honest burger I am talking about: .4 lb of the second leanest cut of grass fed, 6 " of my friend Edmund Weber's "Dela Fatoria" Baguette, white cheddar, yellow onion/home grown tomato, a certain dill pickle, romaine lettuce, and a mayo we get at whole foods. Balsamic.worchestershire/ garlic and black pepper are used pre-grill, and salt after. I like the pink side of medium, but even well done can work, if that's your taste.

I have made more burger than guitars, but the incremental improvement that has perfected either is similar.