Best Burger in US

Westport Flea Market in Kansas City, MO
and a distant second is Port of Call in New Orleans - Port give you a baked potato for a side

Both are very good burgers - I have searched for years for a better Flea Market burger

In Houston I think I will go with,

1. Shuttle Burger

2. Lankford Market

3. Goode Co. Mesquite Burger


joe

SoCal- Farmer Boy's, Farmer Burger.
Louisville area- Genny's Diner, Sweet Daddy's Burger Platter.

Link for Genny's- http://www.iglou.com/restaurants/genny.shtml

Dearfolk,
Without ever having been there, I would opt for the one pictured today (Tuesday the 5th.) in the writeup on Puckett Brothers in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. That's a monster for $ 3.00, and -- boy howdy!! -- does it look scrumptuous!!
By the way, in the photo of the outside of Puckett's, there is a mail drop box. Strikes me that, in addition to everything else, the place also contains a post office.
It's easier to find Leiper's Fork on the map than it is Primm Springs, TN. (doubtless the utterly smallest town with a post office in Tennessee!), but if you're in Primm Springs, you have to drive 8 miles for a canned soft drink; for a hamburger you might well have to go clean into Centerville. Obviously not so at Leiper's Fork!
Leiping For Joy, Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia, which is 2.6 miles from Fowler Junction, Ga. (which doesn't have a post office).

In Dallas, Twisted Root Burger Company in Deep Ellum.

I live in Houston now and I would put Christians Totem (also known as the Tailgate bar) as #1
#2 Lankfords

I have not eaten at Shuttle burger but it is now on my list

You would be hard pressed to find a better burger than Gilley's in Portsmouth NH! (They have great hot dogs as well..the perfect appetiser)

http://www.gilleyspmlunch.com/

I will agree with Gilley's, if you like a burger with thin patties.
Their double cheeseburger is drippy, juicy goodness on a bun.
Especially fun is watching the cook take a meatball of ground beef and throw it on the flat grill and press it down with his spatula.
Plus the fact that it is a late night haunt and an original 1940's Worcester Lunch Car (with a sliding wooden door) make for an interesting visit. http://www.gilleyspmlunch.com/
In Southern ME, a great choice is Wild Willy's in York ,ME, which does only grilled burgers, chicken sandwiches and milk shakes.
http://www.wildwillysburgers.com/
In the Boston area:
R.F. O'Sullivan's, Beacon St., Somerville,MA is a small bar/tavern that takes near baseball size handmade patties and delivers them with hand cut quartered steak fries. It takes a while to get it to your table, but no one leaves hungry.
http://www.rfosullivan.com/
A newcomer is Krazy Karry's in Arlington and Woburn,MA-another no- frills burger and milk shake only establishment. In the Woburn location, they are actually attached to an ice cream parlor. Juicy flame broiled burgers, 1/2 lb., over an open gas grill.
http://www.krazykarrys.com/
In this area, there are many places that follow "guidelines" that indicate cooking nothing less than a medium or medium well burger. if you find a place willing to cook one to your tastes, you cherish it.

Although a bit pricy...21 Club in NYC.

The Beanie Burger at the Gahanna Grill. I haven't had a hamburger at 21 since around 1969, so I can't agree or disagree.

quote:

Originally posted by cbk21

Westport Flea Market in Kansas City, MO
and a distant second is Port of Call in New Orleans - Port give you a baked potato for a side

Both are very good burgers - I have searched for years for a better Flea Market burger

Hello All,
In Harrisonburg, Va., a Taverna Burger at Dave's Taverna (they make their own buns)
and a burger at Jesse's Quick Lunch.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

Hands down, the best is Bobcat Bites in Santa Fe.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Although a bit pricy...21 Club in NYC.

The famous 21 Burger, which was $21 for many years, is now $30. And it's kina puny. The 21 Club is definitely coasting an an old reputation. It's still a neat place, but the food is unremarkable, and has been sliding downhill for a long time. But it's packed every day, so I don't see any reason to think the food is going to get back to it's old glory. I eat there 8-10 times a year for business, but I would never choose to go there on my own.

P.S. Their steak tartare is still the best I've ever had, but at $38, it's an astounding rip-off.

For me it would have to be the Juicy Lucy at Matt's bar in Minneapolis, MN.

Hands down, I don't know. I haven't had a burger at everyplace in the country.

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Although a bit pricy...21 Club in NYC.

The famous 21 Burger, which was $21 for many years, is now $30. And it's kina puny. The 21 Club is definitely coasting an an old reputation. It's still a neat place, but the food is unremarkable, and has been sliding downhill for a long time. But it's packed every day, so I don't see any reason to think the food is going to get back to it's old glory. I eat there 8-10 times a year for business, but I would never choose to go there on my own.

P.S. Their steak tartare is still the best I've ever had, but at $38, it's an astounding rip-off.

Back in the late 1960's, I read an article in Playboy (hey, it happens) about how "21" made their burgers and, since they were charging $9.00 for it, how they felt they must make the very best burger possible. The details that have stuck with me to this day are freshly ground meat, form the patty loosely using two forks, and cook it in a super-hot cast-iron pan on a sprinkling of kosher salt turning just once. On occasion, I make them like that, but you sure want to have a good exhaust fan or dead batteries in the smoke alarms. -pb

Still my favorite,

http://www.hollyeats.com/JacksBurgers.htm

Jonathan

Corner Bistro in the "West Village"/NYC has a rep for good burgers, an in-the-know find, and a bit of an "old man's bar":

"Whether you want a booth in back or a spot at the long, carved mahogany bar, prepare to wait in line. The crowd isn't queuing up just for the $2.50 mugs of McSorley's or for the scruffy old bartenders plying their trade with seen-it-all stoicism. What everyone's really here for is the Bistro Burger: an eight-ounce slab of juicy grilled beef piled several inches high with melted cheese, bacon and raw onions. Served on a paper plate that invariably turns into a greasy pulp, it's one of the heftiest, messiest and, at $6.50, cheapest chunks of cow you'll have in this town. The chicken sandwich and grilled cheese are equally tasty, if not exactly healthy, alternatives. — Jenifer Van Vleck

Extra
If you call yourself a New Yorker, consider it your civic duty to have a beer and a burger here at least once. If you're really a New Yorker, you'll know that the best time to do that is a weekday afternoon, when Corner Bistro's timeless tavern charm feels as warm as the sun streaming through the front windows."

http://nymag.com/listings/bar/corner_bistro/

Ort. Carlton is right. They make a fine burger at the Puckett's in Leiper's Fork. But my favorite burger comes from Murph's. A little bar off the square in Oxford, MS. A bit of local advice with regard to Puckett's, be sure to visit the original in Leiper's Fork. The spinoff in downtown Franklin is the furthest thing in the world from roadfood. Just like everything else there, they've yuppified the food way too much.

Apricots, Farmington, CT. Bacon blue burger downstairs in the bar. Great beef, blue cheese, bacon, scallion mayonnaise, onions - you'll need to dislocate your jaw to bite into it. Best burger I've ever had - its my standard against which all others are judged. Very friendly staff and great seating overlooking the Farmington River during the summer. I would be there a couple of times a week if it wasn't a 70 mile roundtrip from home. While not on the menu, they ususally will serve you fries if you ask.

ya gotta try a double motz cheeseburger at primanti bros in oakland park, florida with the fries and slaw on it, a definite 6 dollar fillup

The Bleu cheese burger at Cafe Castagna in Portland, oregon is one of my favorites. My favorite spot to go was Hodad's in San Diego.

Charcoal pit in Wilmington Delaware makes the best burgers!

All American Hamburger, Massapequa, Long Island, NY. Still the cheapest and best fast food anywhere. Get a double-double, a knish, and a shake for under $5.

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Although a bit pricy...21 Club in NYC.

The famous 21 Burger, which was $21 for many years, is now $30. And it's kina puny. The 21 Club is definitely coasting an an old reputation. It's still a neat place, but the food is unremarkable, and has been sliding downhill for a long time. But it's packed every day, so I don't see any reason to think the food is going to get back to it's old glory. I eat there 8-10 times a year for business, but I would never choose to go there on my own.

P.S. Their steak tartare is still the best I've ever had, but at $38, it's an astounding rip-off.

In that area I prefer Four Seasons fixed price lunch. Not sure what it is now but still stellar in quality.

To all,

I know that this might be considered heresy but the best burger (other than the ones I make of course) is at the "The Buckhorn Grill" in San Antonio, New Mexico. It is directly across the street from the famous "Owl Bar" and they do a good job too. But from the service to the product The "Buckhorn Grill is head and hands above any other I have had. "Bobcat Bites" was a real disappointment. They did not get the order right and they chose not to correct it. Back in the east it would have to be "Five Guys"; cooked to order with whatever you want on it. I had Daniel Bolouds take on a hamburger in NYC and it did not compare to the burger at the "Buckhorn Grill".

True Roadfood, not legendary but worth the stop. If you ever find yourself in Soccorro or White Sands, give it a try.

BB

I don't think we have any truly amazing burger places in Philly. But a little south of here, in Delaware, I've fallen in love with Jake's Hamburgers: http://www.hollyeats.com/Jakes.htm

They use no fillers or even added seasoning. It's just never-frozen beef, freshly ground that morning and very loosely packed. They're so juicey and pure tasting. A double cheeseburger and shake at Jake's is rapidly becoming a favorite meal of mine.

Staying in Delaware, I also agree with the above recommendation for the Charcoal Pit.

I'm not a burger eater. I haven't had one in 13 years, but desertdog served up the Gunder Burger in the Gunder thread here and I gotta go with it. Why? I do know from experience that a little burg in the middle of farm country is going to get the freshest beef there is and no cityfied place is going to match it. That's my opinion. So there!

I can't contribute to the list, because I'm still looking for a better burger outside my own grill.

But I can tell you that, in my opinion, really good burgers are getting harder to find. I believe restaurants using pre-frozen "steakburger" patties bought in quantity from suppliers is a situation that has slipped out of control in the past five years.

How hard is it to buy fresh ground meat every day instead?

Sheesh!

Any recommendations for a good bgurger in the vast culinary desert also known as Michigan?

- Rusty