OK, I just got back to California after my yearly one-month trip to NYC. I did burgers at Shake Shack, Corner Bistro, Little Owl, Corner Bistro, and Dressler's. The winner was The Little Owl. Just ask to remove the bacon; it distracts from the burger rather than enhancing. —Donald K.
Buffalo burgers seem to be a substitute for one burger lover suffering from an allergy to beef. But is there a tastier solution? Photograph from mandj98 on Flickr
Dear AHT, A great burger is my absolute favorite food in the world. About 20 years ago in my early twenties, I developed an allergy to beef. So whenever I ate beef, I would break out in severe hives and swell up like a blowfish. I would test his allergy regularly and ended up surviving on benadryl tablets as dessert until the allergic reactions stopped completely after about a year.
Suddenly about 8 months ago, I began having the same allergic reaction to beef. How ironic! I will still partake simply by sneaking a couple benadryls in before I eat then sleep for the next 12 hours. I will buy ground buffalo, which is an OK substitute, but this is limited and cannot be found at the great burger restaurants in the greater NYC area.
Have you heard of anyone or has any of your readers experienced a similar allergic reaction to beef? If so, how did they respond? I am desperately seeking alternatives to my burger fixation.
Recently after talking to my dad about an excellent burger that I got at a local restaurant, my dad told me that “ You really should get your burger cooked more than medium-rare.” I told him that I am perfectly fine with my burger the way it is and if I get sick than it is my own fault, but I will still continue to order it that way even afterwards because it tastes so much better.
It got me thinking and I figured I would pose the question to "Burger Authority"; have your ever gotten sick from ordering an "undercooked" burger or do you ever wonder if it could happen to you?
Clicking in to the AHT inbox today, we've got a quick flash of brilliance from J. Kenji Alt.
Just tried something that I'm surprised has never occured to me in the past:
I happened to have some scraps from some dry-aged grass-fed local rib-eyes in my fridge, and it was sitting right next to a container of rendered beef-fat that I'd forgotten about. Then my cleaver caught my eye. The result? Hand-chopped, dry-aged grass-fed burger basted with beef fat as it cooks. Out of this world!
We received this plea for help in the AHT inbox asking to help identify a burger joint in Temple City, California, from the 1950s. Alas, we are not very familiar with burger joints from that time and place. Can any of you help out Joe?
In the mid 1950s there was a small hamburger stand on Las Tunas in Temple City, California, not far from Rosemead Blvd. It was in a small wood sided building that may have once housed a small one-man real estate office.
This too was a one man operation with a small counter for maybe 4 people. A lot of the business was "to go" with orders placed by phone. My family had to watch its money but these burgers were so popular that we ordered them often for Saturday lunch.
The menu was limited the specialty was a hamburger. The patty was rectangular and served on a split French baguette. The meat was good and the bun was fresh and chewy and absorbed a lot of the juice. However, the best part of the hamburger was the sauce. It was a dark brown, thick sauce that was very tasty. I was about 12 and I am not sure I can add more than that it was very good. It was possibly the most sophisticated hamburger sauce I had ever tasted. It wasn't sharp or spicy like a chili sauce, it wasn't like a ketchup, and it didn't seem to be like a sweet barbecue sauce. At the time I thought it tasted a little like Worcestershire sauce. I don't think the hamburger was sold with any vegetables on it at all.
The owner was older than my parents by quite a bit. We moved away from Temple City in 1957 and a few years later when I could drive I went back to Temple City and the restaurant had closed. The neighbors said he may have opened a larger place in Pasadena. I never found were his new restaurant was located. The owner's daughter was an acquaintance of my parents. It was understood that she remarried and moved to northern California somewhere. He too may have moved north.
Too much time has passed for the man to still be operating a hamburger stand, but perhaps someone is still making hamburgers to the same recipe. Does this info ring any bells? If so I would love to have one of those hamburgers again. I would love to have the recipe for the sauce.
Clicking in to the AHT inbox today, we've got, wow.
You guys are really lagging on your website as of late. The links have not been as frequent or as interesting as they once were. Why don't you have me write a few articles for you guys, free of charge, profiling and highlighting the gourmet burger scene here in the San Francisco Bay Area? Let me produce a brief sample for you guys, you'll be happy you did!
Burgerheads: What do you say? Have we dropping the ball lately? Should we take Brad up on his offer? Couldn't hurt, right?
Brad: Can you pinpoint the date we began slipping? To correct any backsliding, we must first analyze the root causes, and knowing the start of the downward curve would help.
Hi!
I'm just a little meat blogger with a mission and was wondering if you would consider plugging me on your fabulous hamburger blog. I have been writing about my meat adventures for a bit and decided to eat a meat-burger a day for the month of May in honor of National Hamburger Month. Here's the link: ladybutcher.blogspot.com
My burgers may be a bit of a stretch because I have a wheat allergy, therefore, my burgers go sans bread, but it has allowed me to be creative in other tasty ways. In any case, check out my blog and I'll continue to keep up with the Serious Eaters and burger lovers. Thanks!
—Lady
Clicking in to the AHT inbox early yesterday morning, we had this email from Midtown Lunch's Zach Brooks.
AHT, Totally buried in this article about Portland, Oregon, food carts—a food cart in Portland is making your burger creation!
Brunch Box, around the corner, was making its own English muffins, plus crazy burgers like the OMG! ($6), a cheeseburger with egg, ham, SPAM and bacon; and the YouCanHasCheeseburger ($5), a patty stuck between two Texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches.
Nearly four months ago I embarked on a journey from my hometown NYC to beautiful Buenos Aires, Argentina. Though it does not compare to NY, I have come to love many things about this city.
One thing, however, I have not come to terms with is their hamburgers. You would think a country with world-famous beef would have great hamburgers. This, unfortunately is not the case. This is not to say burgers are not popular here; they are everywhere. However, every burger I have tried here has been a dry, soulless hockey puck patty on a wonder-bread equivalent bun. Heinz ketchup is a rarity and you can pretty much forget about the option of pickles.
Perhaps I am looking in the wrong places. Perhaps there exists a shake shack-level burger paradise down a hidden alley or other unassuming location. For this reason, I am reaching out to you, the number one authority on burgers worldwide, to help me locate at least a decent hamburger in this meat-filled city. Please help and I will share your site and the idea of quality burgers from the beaches of Columbia to the mountains of Patagonia.
We're sorry to hear about the lack of good burgers in such a beef-dense land. Although those of us in AHT headquarters don't know much about burgers in Buenos Aires, hopefully someone reading your plea does.
If any AHT readers can help point Burgerless in the right direction, leave a comment!
This burger can be found in an unassuming gyro stand in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood called Morse Gyros. The burger itself is the typical sort of greasy diner burger you'd expect to find at a small gyro stand, although it is always prepared with the utmost care. It's never overcooked, and the cheese is always fully melted. The deal sealer, however, is that it's also topped with gyro meat and tzatziki sauce. This combo is so amazing it makes you wonder why anyone ever bothers with lettuce and tomato.
—Paul S.
Morse Gyros
1335 W Morse Avenue, Chicago IL 60626 (map)
773-743-2665
I got a little pissed about halfway through the article, when they mention a burger that was ripped straight from A Hamburger Today:
The choices range from the "Max Classic," a 5- or 8-ounce burger with Max sauce served on an artisan roll, to the "Fatty Melt," an 8-ounce burger served between two grilled cheeses and topped with house-cured bacon.
I'm assuming you guys invented it; if I'm in error on that, oops. The story here has the details. I've never seen a "fatty melt" on a restaurant menu—maybe I'll stop in and grab one to send pictures.
Clicking in to the AHT inbox today, we've got a message asking one of the most frequent, hard-to-answer, mission-defining questions that we grapple with with every blog entry we post here.
This, ladies and gents, is the Sasquatch Burger from The Lodge in Scottsdale, Arizona. What's it consist of?
" ... a half-pound of Angus chuck, cheese, bacon, and fried onion sticks between two whole grilled cheese sandwiches."
Um, considering that A Hamburger Today helped popularize the concept of the grilled-cheese-as-buns burger with our Hamburger Fatty Melt and Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt, I'm going to have to say that, Yes, the Sasquatch Burger is a hamburger.
Editor's note: AHT reader Mike, aka steelcity, sent us some photos from Mos Burger in Kyoto, Japan, after seeing another commenter mention them on AHT. If I ever make it to Mos Burger, I'll be tempted to swipe one of those signs.
This burger was comprised of (from bottom to top): bun, burger, jack cheese, jalapeños, chili sauce, tomato, mayo, bun. It was 100% awesome. A great synthesis of flavors even despite my reservations about the "chili sauce" and mayo. For a fast food burger the patty was also quite juicy. My favorite part of the dining experience, however, was the large sign posted on the wall nearest our table which read simply yet truly: Hamburger Is My Life. And so it is.
"Basically this was a work of love inspired by a Transformer character call Superion, which is basically a giant robot comprising 5 smaller ones."
Hi, there,
I would love to share my creation with my fellow burger and serious eats friends, and I think you will be very interested in having it on your site. Lets just say I am the creator of it, it weighs 14 lbs, and it will make you believe in love. Please advise on how I get get this creature out to the masses through you.
Editor's note: AHT reader Noel D. noticed our lack of Australia burger coverage (we don't mean to neglect you guys; you're just all very, very far away from us) and sent us a report to fill in a gap.
If you're in Melbourne and you feel up to a burger challenge, try The Fat Bastard Burger at Greasy Joe's in St. Kilda. The monstrosity contains triple beef, triple cheese, triple bacon, mustard, mayo, and onions. It also comes with a few potato wedges on the side—which you might not get around to. What it doesn't include is a salad.
The taste? Like eating straight off a smoky barbecue. And not to mention quite greasy. Not for the faint of heart.
- Noel D.
Greasy Joe's
64 Acland Street, St Kilda, VIC 3182, Australia (map)
03 9525 3755 greasyjoes.com.au
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 25, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Burger Barons,
The backround: I've been enjoying Five Guys since it made it to NYC in Queens as verified by AHT. It's been a must have when either the lines at Shake Shack make it possible to drive through the Midtown Tunnel into Queens before I could even order, or if I am forced to do the death march to Long Island to see the in-laws.
The good: I've been commuting between Boston and New York weekly for more than a year now. A welcome sight on my drive is the Five Guys in New Haven right off the Merritt Parkway. Same great Five Guys from when I was in college in DC, and same great Five Guys as in College Point.
The rub: I've been raving about Five Guys to everyone I know, and finally we made the trek from Boston to Foxboro to get Five Guys. It was no better than Burger King, and I think I'm being generous. I chocked up the first poor Five Guys experience to it being new, but three further outings have not improved. Dry, overcooked beef, cold fries, the longest wait ever for food, and none of the usual Five Guys goodness. I took the time to write to Five Guys, but never heard back.
Clicking in to the AHT mailbox this evening, we have ...
I have a semi with a McDonald's logo on it, and the logo is upside down. The semi was perchased in 1997 and it has never been took out of the package. I was curace what it was worth.
—Richard
Posted by Robyn Lee, December 18, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
During my recent travels I ran across this burger joint in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey. As you can tell from the picture, the burger is coated in a ketchupy sauce that I believe is made of tomato and garlic. There's probably about 3-4 ounces of beef to the patty which has a somewhat meatloaf flavor, although that may be due more to the sauce than the meat. Kizilkayalar makes a ton of these things at one time and then stacks them in a large glass box steamer that you see between the head of the employee and the random dude walking into my picture. As a result of the steaming and sauce, the bun has the consistency of a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
Posted by Robyn Lee, December 15, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
So my wife and I have been going to Zum Stammtisch for the last year or so and its one of our favorite burgers in the city. And we have tried a bunch. Had my camera with me yesterday so I snapped some quick shots. These pictures do not do it justice, but its a house ground griddle cooked burger with the perfect amount of outside crunch and inside loose crumble. Always cooked just right (pictured burger was ordered medium) Definitely worth the trip to Queens.
Do you folks know what the story is with the Jumbo and Jimbo's burger chains in Harlem and the Bronx? There seems to be a Jimbo's or a Jumbo every few blocks north of 116th Street. The two restaurants are virtually identical in every way: menu, awning, signs, decor, fonts, cooking technique (grill then steam), etc. I've eaten at one of each. The burgers and fries were decent, the staff was friendly, and each was well-kept and clean. They aren't destination locations but they make for a good neighborhood burger shop.
Are they the burger equivalent of Ray's Pizza or might they have the same owner? If the same owner why the different names? If different owners why go through the trouble of looking exactly like a competitor? There seems to be more Jimbo's than Jumbos.
I've got pictures and locations of four of them here. There are at least four more locations.
In case you don't already know, there is a Juicy Lucy-style burger living right here in NYC. I ate at The Stumble Inn the other night and on their menu are stuffed burgers. Mine came with American cheese and bacon inside the patty. It was good, not great, but the cheese and bacon oozed out all over the place. If you're ever craving that style burger here, I'd check it out. It's certainly not a travel-worthy burger (especially considering it is right near J.G. Melon's). I haven't seen it offered anywhere else in Manhattan.
- Jon
The Juicy Lucy is an American cheese-stuffed burger that originates from Minneapolis. The Stumble Inn lets you customize your stuffed burger with American, cheddar, bleu cheese, Swiss, bacon, jalapenos, sautéed mushrooms, or sautéed onions.
Posted by Robyn Lee, November 10, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
I notice you have no hamburger source in Nevada....until now. In the back of one of Reno's more funky casinos, The Nugget, is a dive called Diner where they serve a thing called the Awful Awful Burger atop about two pounds of fries, all for six bucks. It's famous in the area, where occasionally it serves to make you feel like a winner. (A slice of raw onion is in there somewhere.)
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
In the Los Angeles area, you need to know about Ercole's in Manhattan Beach. It is a nondescript dive bar, but inside they have some seriously good burgers. Ercole's has been around since 1927, and it is pretty much a neighborhood hangout. They get fresh ground meat from Manhattan Meat Market, which is next door to Ercole's. The burger is served in a wicker basket lined with paper. Very fresh, soft egg buns soak up the juice of the burger. The burgers are cooked just right—It certainly isn't a "well done" burger! The cheese is perfectly melted, and it is served with a very generous slice of red onion, slice of tomato, iceberg lettuce, and mustard. A nice long Kosher pickle spear and a bag of Lay's potato chips accompany the burger.
- Clay I.
Chowhound member ripken00 also recommends Ercole's, but warns that it's cash only and they "stop serving food at whatever hour they feel like, usually only serve food until happy hour times."
Clicking in to the AHT inbox recently, we've got this bit of juicy intel. Eat up!
The photo attached is the signature of Mark Murphy, the current CEO/President of the Green Bay Packers. It says "To Kroll's, the best burger in Wisconsin. Go Pack Go!"
I'm best friends with his daughter Katie, and we recently made the trip out to Green Bay for the Packers v. Colts game. We went to Kroll's West, which is one of those family-owned restaurants that "hasn't changed a bit." They still serve a "butter burger"—they basically cook their burger in butter and then top if off with ketchup, pickles, onions and MORE butter. It's pretty tasty, makes you feel slightly sick after eating it (especially when combined with their famous fried cheese curds)—but it's one of those things that you need to try when you're out in Wisconsin for a Packer's weekend.
Editor's note: AHT reader Chris Zelenak channeled his inner Paula Deen by making his own glazed doughnut bacon egg cheeseburgers. Here's his description and recipe.
My boss had been talking for weeks about trying the Badaboomz doughnut burger, a glazed doughnut burger served at the Badaboomz chain. My curiosity piqued at the idea of a doughnut burger, I decided to bring in my skillet to work and cook up a few for lunch one day and see if his interest was purely academic, or if he'd really eat one of these things.
Burger People, you should check Peter’s Drive-In in Calgary for "best burger in Canada" consideration. They also have about 60 varieties of incredible shakes. Albertan beef is up there with Argentine beef and this place takes a firm, straight-forward approach to the burger; none of this nonsense with pickled leeks or champagne-marinated onions or raspberry-infused tomato sauce. And being a drive-in burger has got to count for something.
Editor's note: This is one of the weirdest emails/posts we've ever received. But it's pretty awesome. Here's the full email from William Wonka Bitters of The Big Candy Apple in which he pleads for the acceptance of cheeseburger and non-cheeseburger unions. Read and be amazed.
Your glaring oversight of the introduction of the Cheeseburger variety of Combos snacks is just the latest transgression in a series of bad decisions to aggravate our already rocky relationship. It smacks of the high-minded elitist rhetoric that toppled the once mighty Democratic Party, but includes none of the populist hypocrisy that sustains the Republicans. And frankly, that Kennedy-esque picture of Ed Levine in the "About" section is condescending—we all know he's a beautiful man, enough already.
Without further ado: Should you ever wish to see Mayor McCheese again—who I'm sure you've noticed has gone missing—you must post the following review of aforementioned hamburger-inspired snacks on AHT no later than yesterday. Your failure to do so will result in the slow but thorough disassembly of the universally loved politician, his disparate limbs and organs to be blended up smoothie-thick and sold back to McDonald's as "Extra" Special Sauce.
Clicking in to the AHT inbox today, there's this. —The Mgmt.
Yo Adam,
Yesterday I was walking around Long Island City and noticed a daily special run by Jackson Avenue Steakhouse. For $7.95 you get an eight-ounce burger, fries and pint of Radeberger beer. The special is all day, every day if you sit at the bar.
I went in to try it out and was very impressed. The burger was meaty and tender, not overly seasoned with a very nice freshness to the beef. I ordered mine medium and it came out between medium and medium-rare, which was perfect for me. Even at that temperature it was very juicy, running down my hand at bite one. The fries are hand-cut potatoes fried in what I believe to be peanut oil and tasted very similar to the fries Five Guys, albeit slightly thinner. I ordered them well done. The Radeberger was, well, a good pilsner.
As a reader of A Hamburger Today and burger freakface, I had to try the burger that bested my favorite Danny Meyer creation at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. I am a New Yorker stranded in Boston (sucks) writing copy at an ad agency (cool). Boston doth stinketh for burgers. There are few places that serve diner-style burgs or sliders up here, so needless to say I was excited (and skeptical) to hear that Radius in Boston had beaten the Shack Burger, let alone anything in New York. So I went yesterday and was compelled to write a review. So here it is. Do with it what you will.
Best,
Andy K.
Dear Andy,
What I'll do with it is post it here on AHT. Thanks for the report!
Says AHT reader Dave, in the comments of the previous post: "I actually had one of these last week during a vacation in Paris. It's pretty good for a fast food novelty item. It is definitely fromage-d out. For some reason the Coca-Cola in France is tastier as well."
Dave also passed along the link to a photo of L'Spider Homme Burger. Check it out! Its bun has a web pattern (above). Kinda reminds me of the buns made to look like soccer balls last year around World Cup time.
Mon dieu! Friend of AHT Graham Holliday sends us a tip on this Spider Man special going on in France's Quick burger chain. "You getting Spider Man burgers in NYC?" he asks.
Friend of AHT Fred S. emails us, again with a fun tidbit we missed from the laddie mags:
The March 2007 issue of FHM, which will be its last print issue ever, has kind of a semi food theme, with numerous mentions of hamburgers and a few of pizza. My favorite part is where they dip a bunch of foods in batter and then deep-fry them.
Results: White Castle sliders good, microwave pizza not so good (and Gummi worms great). They also took a survey and found that 5 percent of women “admit to having thought about burgers during sex” (must have been In-N-Out Burgers).
Note: The issue also contains a few photos of women who are not very dressed, so if you buy a copy for research purposes, you might want to keep it at the office.
—Fred S.
P.S. The deep frying experiment is online here.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 26, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Reaching into the digital mailbag today finds this missive from the Chubby Hubby (that's his photo of some mini burgers at left here).
Dear Adam,
Hope this email finds you well. I know everyone and his kid brother must write to you asking for recommendations, so I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon.
This spring, my wife and I are gonna go on a round-the-world jaunt. Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Paris, Dubai. So, if I were to ask you to recommend one great burger joint in each place, could ya and would ya?
—Chubby Hubby
Dear Chubby Hubby,
Since you produce one of the most hunger-inducing foodblogs out there, you can ride shotgun on the bandwagon today. I might not be too much help with the Asian burgers, but I'll do my best for recommendations where I can. Perhaps the AHT community can help where I'm of no use. Burgermeisters: Feel free to jump in in the Comments section.
Singapore: Dude. Are you serious? You're BASED IN SINGAPORE. Do you really need a recommendation there or is this just a cheeky test of AHT's overseas burger knowledge? Still need a Singapore burger tip? Here ya go ;)
Bangkok:This article on Where to Eat: Bangkok recommends a joint called Great American Rib: "A half pound of good tasting beef with lots of juice. It’s served on a standard size bun so it is a little hard to get your mouth around. I ordered it medium and it actually arrived that way." (Great American Rib: Sukhumvit Soi 36, about 1,000 m from Sukhumvit Road.) The author of the piece actually cites Tony Roma's as possibly the city's best burger, but as it's an American chain, it just seems like a cop out to recommend it to you.
Tokyo: My visits to Tokyo predate AHT, so my food focus when I was there was on Japanese cuisine as opposed to burgers. That means no first-hand burger experience beyond a McD's visit (for comparison to U.S. Big Macs) and a couple MOS Burger runs. I'm sure you're familiar with MOS already, so you can safely skip it. What I'd be really interested in were I to visit again would be the Sasebo burger at Big Man, located in LaLaport's Tokyo Panya Street. (I have no idea what LaLaport is, btw.) Not familiar with the Sasebo burger story? Get educated, my friend.
Los Angeles: OK. I'm going to get dinged for this no matter what I say. First of all, a shocking confession: I've never been to Los Angeles. So I know I'm wholly unqualified to answer this. I'm hoping the community of AHT burgermeisters will chime in here. Second of all, even if I HAD eaten all the burgers in L.A., I'd still get bludgeoned by partisans of one burger or another. That said, the burger I'd be most curious about in L.A. would be the one at the The Apple Pan. I'll try to get a hold of our man on the scene there, Hamburglar Hadley and see what he says as well.
New York City: I see from your comment here that you used to live near the Corner Bistro in New York. While I'm personally not a huge fan of the softball-size pub-style burgers that most New Yorkers seem to fancy, and of which CB's is an example, I'd hesitate to send you to Burger Joint or Shake Shack (two of my favorites), since they're not in the big-burger vein. I'd send you instead to J. G. Melon on the Upper East Side. It's one of the few pub-style burgers here that have left a lasting impression on my taste memory. (J. G. Melon: 1291 Third Avenue, New York NY 10021 at 74th Street; map)
Washington D.C.: Once again, a city I have only visited pre-AHT (try back in kindergarten), but AHT reader upon AHT reader has said, "Adam: Get thee to Five Guys. Now!"
Paris: While the obvious choice in the City of Lights may be Joe Allen, my money is on La Café Crème (4 Rue Dupetit Thouars, 75003; map), thanks to the very strong buy recommendation given by Mister Hamburger, a man I'd trust with my hamburger life. Here's a great general tip from Mister H.:
Mister Hamburger hasn't had meat as good as this in a burger in years. Mister Hamburger gives French cows and French chefs five hamburgers [out of a possible five]. Mister Hamburger has also noticed a correlation between restaurants in France that serve Steak Tartar and hamburgers--the French love their tartar and should they also make burgers at that place, you're virtually guaranteed a very high quality burger.
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 23, 2007 at 12:09 AM
Dear AHT,
There is a place on Oahu near the base of Diamondhead that makes one of the best burgers I've ever had. Its called Teddys Bigger Burger and its almost worth a flight to hawaii just to eat there. You should check this place out as it is on par with places like Tommys, The Counter and Fatburger. I suggest the spudburger with garlic fries.
—Vanessa J.
Dear Vanessa,
Talk about cheeseburger in paradise. Sounds good. I'll try as soon as you're willing to underwrite the airfare and lodging. ;)
Posted by Adam Kuban, December 18, 2006 at 10:31 AM
Dear AHT,
I try to eat at least one burger a week. This past week, however, the burger got the best of me. I have long been a proponent of the P.J. Clarke's burger as the indisputable best burger in Manhattan. Well a few friends decided to challenge me on this, so we went to each person's top pick, ordering medium-rare bacon cheeseburgers at each, to see if we could reach a consensus.
BLUE SMOKE | 116 East 27th Street, New York NY 10016 [map]
Actually no one thought Blue Smoke was the best burger, but we saw your review and another writeup (New York magazine, I think) and decided it was worthy of inclusion. This was the most disappointing burger by far. Meduim-rare came out medium. Not very juicy. Still, good flavor.
J. G. MELON | 1291 Third Avenue, New York NY 10021 [map]
One of us was confident this was the best. Medium-rare was almost really medium-rare, but still not quite there.
CORNER BISTRO | 331 West 4th Street, New York NY 10014 [map]
This medium-rare was as close as the Melon burger, but with far more flavor. Combine this with the almost fairyland-like prices, and you have your hands-down No. 2.
P. J. CLARKE'S | 915 Third Avenue, New York NY 10022 [map]
I was able to convert the Melon guy with this burger. It is simply perfect. I would estimate that I have experienced it about 10 to 15 times, and each and every time, it is a perfect medium-rare. Eating this burger is like eating a steak. Sorry for my lack of descriptive details, but you need to eat this today.
Dear AHT,
I'm in St. Louis. The heartland as you politely call it. (Seriously.) Come to think of it, that in itself is pretty funny because we're apparently one of the fattest cities in one of the fattest states, so apparently our hearts aren't to great. Not to cruise off topic, I've a bone to pick with AHT.
Sure I could chastise you on the lack of local/regional burger joints left off your lists or reviews. It is us after all, in the heartland, who raise the cattle for many of your eastern and western burger delights. Being understanding of your lack of a coronary heartland reporter, however, what I can fairly chastise you for is your omittance of the finest of the regional chain burger spots in the Midwest, the little slice of crispy heaven in every bite: Steak 'n Shake.
Geez,
Bill B.
Saint Louis
Dear Bill,
You're right. We're a bit thin in the middle when it comes to burger coverage for lack of regional burger correspondents from the Midwest, South, and mountain states. We're working on rectifying that. As far as Steak 'n Shake goes, we've mentioned it in passing on several best-of lists from some of our friends in burgerdom (though, true, not in an actual field report).
Mr. Cutlets rated Steak 'n Shake No. 1 on his national burger list in May.
Burger documentarian George Motz also placed it on his list, which raised the hackles of AHT reader Nick Butler: "Steak 'n Shake?? Are you kidding me?"
Though I grew up in the Midwest (aka the heartland), I've never had the pleasure of trying one—the chain didn't have a location in suburban Kansas City when I lived there. Now, however, I see that there are two locations near Ma and Pa Burger's house. I'll put S'nS on my dining agenda (along with awesome barbecue) for my visit home at Christmas.
Here's a nice reader email from São Paulo, Brazil:
It's hard to say, but the best burger I ever ate was not in the U.S.. It was in São Paulo, in a place called St. Louis (burgers and dogs). There is no Shake Shack or Burger Joint or Le tub for them. Just terrific ground sirloin, melted real cheese, toasted bun, cucumber relish, heirloom tomato slices, pickled onions, and a touch of jalapeño. It's worth the airway ticket. The worst part is that they don't have restaurants in U.S. I add a photo of the burger I ate [left]. —L. Cintra (a Boston chef cooking in Brazil)
Thanks, Mr. Cintra! That's a beautiful photo. Very iconic.
Continuing to plow through our inbox, we get to an email message from Cathy Erway of foodblog Not Eating Out in New York:
Dear AHT: Can anyone chime in with me that a "Caprese burger" is not a good idea? It could be, and is, a perfectly edible sandwich. But as a burger innovation, or fusion, this does not seem to be on the mark. Fresh mozzarella and a ground-beef patty are not complementary and almost mirror one another's texture in the worst way. —Cathy
Bargh! When it comes to burgers, I'm an American cheese–pickles-onion-mustard guy. Not too much into crazy toppings. Don't even really like lettuce and tomato because, too often, you get limp lettuce and crappy tasteless tomatoes. So, without having tried one, Cathy, and on first blush, I would agree. While I love a good Caprese salad (my pizza alter ego, after all, is nuts about tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella), that combo doesn't seem like something that would necessarily work well with a burger. Now a burger with a Caprese salad on the side, that might work....
Dear AHT: I don't know if you've ever run a photo of an actual Le Tub burger or not (Hollywood Beach, Florida, No. 1 on that Esquire list of best burgers in the country). So here you go. Pardon me if this is a repeat.
The photo is of my wife's burger; she ordered hers medium-well. Mine was medium, and juicier.
Meal eaten Sunday, September 3.
Is it the best I've ever had? No. But I'm more of a thin, fast-food-style burger fan (Shake Shack, In-N-Out, Blue 9) than a thick, restaurant-style fan (Corner Bistro doesn't do it for me, either). The taste is in the grill, and the grill-to-meat ratio in a restaurant burger is way too small—there's a lot of burger in the middle that never gets a chance to char. All char is bad, but, then, so is all meat. I'll stick with Shake Shack as being the best I've had to date (although their fries stink).
That said, the poppy-seed bun was great and didn't overwhelm the meat or the mouth, and it held the juices well without falling apart; the fries were solid, the chili so-so, the Key lime pie terrific, the sea shanty atmosphere relaxing and fun. Worth going if you're in the area. —JB
Thanks, JB! And, no, we've never run a photo of a Le Tub burger, so double thanks. Sorry it took so long to get around to posting this. It's been a busy month at AHT HQ.
LE TUB Address: 1100 N. Ocean Dr., Hollywood FL 33019 [map] Phone: 954-921-9425
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 22, 2006 at 11:52 AM
From the mailbag ...
Dear AHT:
As a burger aficionado, I managed to find your site. However I was appalled at the restaurants given so much attention.
First and foremost, In-N-out, is a good fast-food burger for California. In Texas it tastes like a jock strap. I've eaten there in San Diego and Vegas and can definitely confirm that they produce the most grossly over-rated product of all time. I love going to Texas, Houston specifically, because of small chain they have there: Beck's Prime.
I guarantee you Beck's makes better burgers than most of the restaurants you have listed, much less the fast food nonsense like In-n-out.
I don't give a damn where you grew up, I don't have a specific hometown myself. In-n-out is a joke. I mention Beck's as a MUCH better fast food place, but when you get into sit-down the contest is over. God, I'd rather eat at Appeleby's or some crap that freaking In-N-Out.
AK:
A hamburger just walked into my office and sang a boisterous anniversary song to one of my coworkers. (Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? ...a hamburger walks into a bar...)
They don't have a pizza outfit, but I thought you still might want to know that singing hamburger services are available in the major metropolitan area. One never knows when one might need the services of a well-tuned sandwich.
The above photo comes to us from AHT reader Marc B., who says, "I ran across your site today and enjoyed it greatly. Also thought you might enjoy taking a look at this burger I put together a while back. I call it the shrimp cocktail burger."
Thanks, Marc! That's INSANE. Talk about surf and turf. How 'bout the recipe?
It's time for another trip to Listburg, a magical meaty town whose residents are obsessed with the best of the best. Our most recent dispatch comes to us from AHT reader Thomas H....
I've lived in central Texas most of my 36 years and 11 years as an Austin area resident. I like burgers a lot, too -- can't eat barbecue EVERY day.
Casino is OK. Huts is OK but always crowded. Dirty's is a good cheap greasy burger. Dan's is a good cheap greasy burger on the same level as Dirty's, and I like them a bit better. Artz Ribhouse is quite good for a higher-brow burger. I particularly like their South Austin cheeseburger with jalapenos and bacon as well as the Swiss burger. Poodie's Hilltop Bar and Grill is likely my favorite, though. Another personal favorite that got no mention is Ross's Old Austin Cafe. I ate there three times a week when I was working nearby. Nutty Brown Cafe in Dripping Springs also does a fine job.
So there's Thomas's recs for good Austin burgers. We'll track down contact info on these places later. In the meantime, if you wanna send AHT a list of your city's best burgers, we're all ears: adam [at] ahamburgertoday [dot] com
Reaching into the AHT mailbag, we pull out the following missive to the site. This one came directly to me, but I'm based in New York. Perhaps our L.A. editor, Hamburglar Hadley can answer. Or some of our SoCal-based readers ... —Ed.
Dear AHT: I LOVE LOVE LOVE A Hamburger Today ... just discovered it. Thanks! If I were given the decision of eating just one thing for the rest of my life, it would be hamburgers.
I live in Southern California. I have been on a pretty strict diet for a while now and now I am going to have a hamburger. I've heard of the "glam burgers" from the LA Times (they wrote up Father's Office).... But could you recommend YOUR favorite place to go to for a burger in Southern California?
Dear AHT,
Continuing to plow through our inbox, we get to an email message from Cathy Erway of foodblog 
This just in, from fellow foodblogger 
