Best Burger in America ?

[br]

According to a study by Market Force Information, Five Guys has the best burger in the land.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/1 ... 94722.html

"Yet another survey has declared Five Guys America's favorite burger joint, beating out In-N-Out, Fuddruckers, A&W and Smashburger, in that order. McDonald's and Burger King appeared even lower on the list. The survey, from Market Force Information, questioned 7,600 consumers and first simply calculated the number of votes for each chain. Then, Market Force factored in the number of locations. The results were also examined geographically."

The overall results varied from region to region, but Five Guys was #1 across the board. My taste buds prefer In & Out.

[gh]

Not only have I never had a Five Guys; I'd never even heard of it before!

I almost felt culturally dead until I checked and discovered that I'd have to drive at least half an hour to get to the one nearest my house, so it's not all that surprising I've never come across one.

[Marlow]

Track-related story . . . [5 Guys is my family's favorite (by far). They are many near me and I probably go once a week (their fries are also the best and they have bags of free peanuts to munch on as you wait).]

When the Mrs. and I went to the Trials this summer, as I was driving around I saw one not far from the UO campus and went in. It was obviously brand-new and I struck up a conversation with the lady at the cash register (late 40s?) as I ordered. She could not have been more thrilled to be a part of the the franchise and started gushing effusively about how great it was and would take the west coast by storm, just as it had the east coast. It was very refreshing to hear an employee take such ownership in a store and extol its virtues. I nodded my head in rapt agreement with every point she made. I shook her hand and said her name (from her name-tag) in my farewell, and she asked me mine. About 5 days later I went in again, and I wasn't even through the door when I heard her voice sing out, "Hey Pat, good to see you back!"

[guru]

Five Guys is solid, and it's great there's one literally a stone's throw from my backyard. But my heart remains with Fuddruckers. Burgers big as hell, wedge fries from heaven, and, if you're so inclined, banana splits that make a family look like a pride of lions at a kill lol. Drives me nuts that the local franchisee went under about 6 years ago, no one picked up the ball, and now there's not one within 300 miles when we used to have like 6 or 7. If I knew anything about running a restaurant, I'd re-open one here myself.

Plus, who else serves buffalo, elk, and wild boar burgers?

[gh]

Oh yeah, had never heard of Fuddruckers either; and like Cinquo Hombres, that's because there isn't one with on a half-hour of me (more like 45 minutes). Doesn't have much penetration in this part of the world.

[br]

With their west rankings, they list Culver's as #2. Never heard of 'em. Closest one to L.A. is in Phoenix.

[tandfman]

Best Burger In America?

We've been there, done that.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24515

[bad hammy]

Oh yeah, had never heard of Fuddruckers either; and like Cinquo Hombres, that's because there isn't one with on a half-hour of me (more like 45 minutes). Doesn't have much penetration in this part of the world.

Slighty northeast of gh there is a Fuddruckers and Five Guys. The Five Guys has been open about six months and I have not been there yet. The Fuddruckers is fine, but there are a lot of non-chain burger joints closer and better.

There is a semi-upscale Mexican place in SF - Don Pistos - that I found from a burger blog. The burger was definitely up to the level promised by the blog:

Everyday he takes Niman Ranch beef chuck and marinates it overnight in a mixture of bacon, onions fried in bacon fat, some spices and Worcester sauce. If you’re not drooling by now, there is something wrong with you. This is burger porn folks. The next day he grinds the meat twice and then makes the patties by hand. The made-to-order burger is cooked over mesquite charcoal on a grill that was left behind by the Argentinean steak place and is sure to give it a hint of smoky flavor. I can see an intermittent orange glow as I glance over to the small open kitchen where my bacon-marinated burger is being kissed by the flames.

[br]

Best Burger In America?

We've been there, done that.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24515

We may have been there and done that, but this was a study that was released yesterday. No harm in bringing it up again.

[gh]

I'll also have to cop to never having eaten an In'n'Out burger, even though there's one within a couple of blocks of my office and everybody on the planet swears they're awesome. I'm just not much of a fan of chain food of any kind (well, other than a Taco Bell burrito supreme!).

[guru]

Getting our first Jack in the box here in a few weeks. Looking forward to it.

[gh]

.....

There is a semi-upscale Mexican place in SF - Don Pistos - that I found from a burger blog. The burger was definitely up to the level promised by the blog:

..... onions fried in bacon fat,.....

Given that that's the first step in just about everything I concoct at home... I am so there!

[guru]

For those who can't get enough bacon...

http://www.funslurp.com/bacon-jelly-beans-p-272.html

[lonewolf]

Tried the much hyped In Out Burger once...ok, nothing special...must be a regional thing

[bad hammy]

Getting our first Jack in the box here in a few weeks. Looking forward to it.

I'd suggest you don't get too excited about a Gag in the Bag. Great commercials though, far better than any of the fare you will eat there.

For those who can't get enough bacon...

http://www.funslurp.com/bacon-jelly-beans-p-272.html

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/vosg ... Qgod4TMApA

[gh]

I, of course, wear bacon bandages!

http://www.mcphee.com/shop/products/Bacon-Bandages.html

[Cooter Brown]

Smashburger is easily the best of the chains but every chain pales to a dozen local joints in any decent size city.

[bad hammy]

. . . every chain pales to a dozen local joints in any decent size city.

Bingo. Fast food joints are for long road trips only.

[Conor Dary]

. . . every chain pales to a dozen local joints in any decent size city.

Bingo. Fast food joints are for long road trips only.

Definitely. I live about a mile from Hamburger U. here in town and the only time I go to MacD's is on the long road. I love their fries and the clean restrooms. And they are usually right by the exit and properly spaced between restaurants. Between Chicago and Duluth, Minnesota, I know where they all are on the highway. It is like meeting an old friend...

[lonewolf]

I am kinda that way about Wendys , McDonalds, etc.. familiar, handy, ya know what you are going to get and where the bathrooms are....and, yes, McDonalds has the best fries..

[bad hammy]

I, of course, wear bacon bandages!

http://www.mcphee.com/shop/products/Bacon-Bandages.html

Bacon toothpaste, bacon floss, bacon soap, bacon mints and more: http://www.merch-bot.com/bacon-bacon-bacon/

Some west coast bacon destinations. I'll be near Anaheim in a couple of weeks so Slaters 50/50 looks like it's worth a side trip.

http://www.sfgate.com/travel/fiveplaces ... 884205.php

[br]

Ever try a burger from the Heart Attack Grill? They're to die for.

http://www.heartattackgrill.com/menu.html

The Heart Attack Grill® is a hospital themed restaurant in downtown Las Vegas. It has become internationally famous for embracing and promoting an unhealthy diet of incredibly large hamburgers. Customers are referred to as "patients," orders as "prescriptions," and the waitresses as "nurses."

The menu includes the Single Bypass Burger®, Double Bypass Burger®, Triple Bypass Burger®, and the Quadruple Bypass Burger®, ranging from half a pound to two pounds of beef. Also on the menu are Flatliner Fries® (cooked in pure lard), Lucky Strike no filter cigarettes, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, Butterfat Milkshakes®, full sugar Coca-Cola, and candy cigarettes for the kids!

The Heart Attack Grill once again became a global news phenomenon when, in February 2012, a patron suffered an actual myocardial infarction (heart attack) on the premises. Media sarcasm hit a crescendo when, in April 2012, a second patron suffered similar symptoms and was shuttled off to a Las Vegas hospital. Two ambulance departures in less than 60 days left an indelible mark on the Heart Attack Grill's public image. Dr. Jon delivered a clear message to the media that such tragedies shall inevitably continue due to a having clientele which he refers to as being the "avant-garde of nutritional risk takers".

http://www.heartattackgrill.com/media.html

[gh]

we've had a thread on Heart Attack Grill before, and I think attached to that is a German sandwich platter that's mind boggling.

[gh]

Oregon State football goes for Double-Doubles

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/dollar ... ation%20__

[bambam]

This puts the Heart Attack Grill to shame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny%27s_Beer_Barrel

Five Guys are popular around here. The burgers are OK - fries are pretty good.

I like In-n-Out when on the west coast - I have an iPhone App that lets me know where the nearest one is.

[gh]

There was once a diner-style joint down the street from T&FN offices when we were in Los Altos, and it had a "Los Altos Burger" which was $120. The burger itself wasn't all that special but it came with a side of... a full bottle of Dom Perignon.

[bad hammy]

Uh oh, a possible worldwide bacon shortage: http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2012/0 ... -for-2013/

[marknhj]

I saw an ambulance parked outside the Heart Attack Grill in Vegas a month ago; the imagery was ironic to the extreme. They have some nice touches. My favorite is the freight scale on the sidewalk outside for fatties to weigh themselves to see if their fatness qualifies them for free fat food (obviously more tasty than fat free food).

btw - anyone who like bacon (pretty much everyone I know), and is near a Fresh & Easy, should buy their Brit bacon. Unlike it's American cousin it is mainly meat and is vastly superior to the fat strips they sell here.

[Halfmiler2]

Because of the previous thread, I made it a point to try an In-And-Out burger when I visited California. I thought it very good although not the best burger I have ever eaten. However, they don't charge $5 to $10 like some of the upscale places do. The limited menu reminded me of going to McDonalds circa 1960 as a young kid - but the quality is better than that.

I have tried Smashburger and it was pretty good. Fuddruckers doe not so much for me and I haven't gone to it in years. I haven't tried 5 Guys although there is one somewhere nearby that opened recently. Burgers are not a part of my regular diet but if I am going to have one from one of the chains, I find Wendy's much better than BK or Mickey D's.

[gh]

According to a study by Market Force Information, Five Guys has the best burger in the land.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/1 ... 94722.html

"Yet another survey has declared Five Guys America's favorite burger joint, beating out In-N-Out, Fuddruckers, A&W and Smashburger, in that order. McDonald's and Burger King appeared even lower on the list. The survey, from Market Force Information, questioned 7,600 consumers and first simply calculated the number of votes for each chain. Then, Market Force factored in the number of locations. The results were also examined geographically."

The overall results varied from region to region, but Five Guys was #1 across the board. My taste buds prefer In & Out.

a Five Guys is now slated to open a half-mile down the road from our office.

[DoubleRBar]

One of my favorites is located in Pasadena, California, just about a block from Cal Tech. It's called "Pie 'N Burger". Great food and excellent pie. The burgers are better than In N Out.

[bambam]

Oh yeah, had never heard of Fuddruckers either

Not sure Fuddruckers is doing so well. The one in Durham, NC closed. I'm here at an orthopaedic meeting in Hilton Head - come every year - and the one in Hilton Head is also closed now.

[Halfmiler2]

The two Fuddruckers in northern NJ that I had visited years ago have also both closed.

By the way a Steak & Shake opened in NJ. I had only been them in the Midwest before. I thought they were pretty good and a better value then some of the upscale burger chains.