With 10+ restaurants and a James Beard award for Best Northwest Chef under his belt, Tom Douglas is a staple of the Seattle dining scene. And if there's one thing Tom does best, it's burgers. Chefs city-wide source their buns from his bakery, Dahlia Bakery, and diners come to his restaurants Palace Kitchen and Brave Horse Tavern to experience his elevated renditions of the fast-food classic. Here are Tom's top five Seattle burgers. More

Zippy's Giant Burgers makes classic burgers elevated by house-ground beef. Seasoned only with salt and pepper and left to sizzle on the grill until the outside of the ground neck-off chuck roll forms a dark, crunchy shell, this is a burger to be emulated at your next summer cookout. More

Our Top 5 series continues with Serious Eats' Seattle correspondent Leslie Kelly, former restaurant critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Burger from Palace Kitchen. [Photograph: Leslie Kelly] You can pile on toppings and douse them in secret sauce, but when it... More