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DuMont Burger
314 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (718-384-6128)
The hamburger at DuMont Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn — foodie central in recent years — was so good they opened a dedicated shop cross town named after the dish. The key to success: perfect balance of great raw ingredients. The lightly toasted, gently domed brioche bun is neither so fluffy that it dominates the sandwich nor so thin that the thing breaks apart willy-nilly in your hands. The bun-to-burger ratio works; the brioche absorbs the meat’s juices as it should. Vibrant veggies—Bibb lettuce, sliced tomato, shaved red onion, and house-made pickles—are served on the side so you can either handpick the amount of toppings you want or just place the whole heap on top of the patty (eight ounces of ground chuck). The end product stands approximately four inches high, a monument of beef surrounded by golden fries just begging to be squashed down to mouth size and consumed. Big appetites can add cheese (American, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Danish Blue, Gruy�re) or other toppings (bacon, avocado, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms) for a buck or two more. Small appetites will appreciate the mini burgers—which pack the same oomph into five-ounce patties.— James Oliver Cury, executive editor of Epicurious.com; Photos by James Oliver Cury
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Kingdom
6708 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL (305-757-0074)
Miami’s best burger doesn’t don any designer toppings or fancy homemade bread (image above). Instead, patrons of this raucous Biscayne Corridor dive bar get a simple, evenly formed, char-grilled patty of chopped sirloin served on a lightly toasted sesame-seed bun. Owner Justin Hughes won’t divulge the secret subtle seasonings, but standard toppings include romaine lettuce, a slice of tomato, red onions, and choice of melted cheese — plus a combo of sauces featuring chipotle with a kick. Kingdom’s smallest and most recommended burger, The Queenburger, is a grand half-pounder, while the King version boasts 12 ounces of beef. The 24-ounce Doomsday is offered free for anyone who can finish it — along with a side of the addictive herb-flecked fries and onion rings — in less than 15 minutes.— Victoria Pesce Elliott, Miami Herald restaurant critic; Photo courtesy of Kingdom
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Palena Café
3529 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC (202-537-9250)
Chef Frank Ruta may not be a household name, but he worked at the most famous house in the country — cooking for the Reagan and Bush families in the White House. He left in 1987, and ultimately decided to open a place where food comes before fame. At Palena’s intimate 30-seat café, he keeps thing simple. Consider his hamburger, the best in the capital. It’s shaped from hand-ground beef that includes Kobe-style trimmings when available; slipped into a glossy bun that’s baked in-house; slathered with a garlicky mayonnaise; and accessorized with terrific sweet pickles. The combination — there’s a hint of truffled Italian cheese in there, too — is exquisite and the price is right: $12 for a sandwich that comes with a side of pedigree.— Tom Sietsema, Washington Post food critic; Photos courtesy of Palena Café
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Lunchbox Laboratory
7302 1/2 15th Ave. NW @73rd St., Seattle, WA (206-706-3092)
For those seeking supernal spin in their burgers, look no farther than Lunchbox Laboratory’s “Burger of the Gods.” This ambitious sandwich combines sweet, balsamic-soaked onions and tangy Gorgonzola cream sauce with a freshly ground mix of grass-fed sirloin, rib eye, and prime rib — served on an organic kaiser bun. The Burger of the Gods is one of several house combos at this quirky Ballard-based burger shack, but chef/owner Scott Simpson encourages invention. In addition to beef, there are lamb, falafel, “churken” (chicken and turkey), and “dork” (duck and pork) burgers, at least a dozen homemade sauces, plus numerous toppings, cheeses, and sides. You can even select the seasoning salt for curly, straight, or sweet-potato fries. The cramped space jammed with vintage, well, junk maintains the eclectic theme, but most of the seating is outdoors anyway. Hours can be erratic, but the burgers are dependably divine.— Text by Providence Cicero; photos courtesy of Lunchbox Laboratory
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Zuni Café
1658 Market S. (near Franklin) San Francisco, CA (415-552-2522)
When anyone mentions hamburgers in San Francisco, one name immediately comes to mind: Zuni Café. While Bay Area residents can’t agree on politics — or the best burrito, for that matter — the general consensus is that this is the best burger. Chef/owner Judy Rodgers buys chunks of chuck and liberally salts the meat before going home at night. The next day she and her crew grind the meat, salt and all. The salt seasons the meat so the thick grilled patty releases a gush of liquid with each bite. It’s served on a square of grilled rosemary-scented focaccia, generously slathered with garlicky a �oli, and accompanied by house-made pickled zucchini ribbons and onion strips. The burger can be ordered with Roth Kase Private Reserve (an Alpine-style raw-cow’s-milk cheese aged ten months), Mountain Gorgonzola, grilled onions, or portobello mushrooms, but why mess with perfection? Note: The Hamburger is served at lunch and after 10 p.m. only.— Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic; Photos courtesy of Zuni Café
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Pie ‘n Burger
913 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA (626-795-1123)
Though it faces stiff competition from Tommy’s, Irv’s, and In-N-Out, Pasadena’s Pie ‘n Burger makes the best hamburger in L.A. The restaurant has stood on a leafy street near Cal-Tech and the Huntington Gardens since 1963. With swiveling wooden stools and paneled walls, the local institution feels vaguely clubby. Waitresses know customers by name. On the pie counter an old Hamilton Beach shake maker stands poised for duty. The burger is a thing of beauty; the bun is toasted on the griddle, the layers of iceberg lettuce and pickle chips accentuate the sear of the patty, and the dab of cool Thousand Island dressing brings the preparation into the realm of perfection.— Patric Kuh, Los Angeles Magazine restaurant critic; Burger photo courtesy of Beef Aficionado, restaurant photo courtesy of Potatomato
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Rouge
205 S. 18th St. Philadelphia, PA (215-732-6622)
Take a look at what diners are eating at the sidewalk café tables — any time of day — and you’ll notice a phenomenon unexpected in a city that lends its name to another meat sandwich: People in startlingly high numbers downing the Rouge Burger. This 12-ounce hunk of well-seasoned beef comes with nutty Gruy�re, caramelized onions, and a haystack of pommes frites. And the dish trumps any of the very fine burgers served at Philly’s many gastropubs. Rouge, indeed, is relatively glamorous. Overlooking Rittenhouse Square and, inside, posh, with cushy banquettes and booths and a central bar populated by beautiful people, it’s a bona-fide Parisian café whose signature dish has become that perfectly proportioned combo of juicy beef, cheese, and bun. The cheesesteak, at least at this address, is all but forgotten.— Andrea Clurfeld, Asbury Park Press restaurant critic; Photos courtesy of Rouge
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Holeman & Finch
2277 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA (404-948-1175)
Best flipped upside down and eaten as fast as humanly possible to manage its gushiness, the burger created by Chef Linton Hopkins is as much an event as it is a sandwich. A bullhorn sounds at 10 p.m. (official burger time), and the crowd goes wild. Hesitate a minute and the limited quantity (they make only two dozen a night) will be gone. The glossy buns baked in their bakery next door contain two patties of freshly ground, grass-fed beef (chuck and brisket in equal proportions), a slice of Kraft American cheese, a pinch of raw red onion, bread-and-butter pickles, homemade ketchup, and yellow mustard. Crisp golden fries are part of the deal. Those who miss out on the burger can always come back for Sunday brunch, when the kitchen makes 72 of them.— Christiane Lauterbach, Atlanta Magazine restaurant columnist; Photos courtesy of Holeman & Finch
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Radius
8 High St. Boston, MA (617-426-1234)
Boston’s hamburger identity was long defined by Mr. Bartley’s Gourmet Burgers, a quirky little Harvard Square diner with a long list of patties named after local politicians (the “Mitt Romney”) and Red Sox greats (the “Manny Ramirez”). Then, last year, Bartley’s burger was unseated by a posh upstart, the Schlow Burger. Named after its creator, Radius executive chef/co-owner Michael Schlow, this addictive stuffer took top honors at the 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash. And while Bartley’s remains solidly good, nothing quite beats the decadence of Schlow’s half pound of ground chuck, crowned with melted Cheddar, slathered with horseradish sauce, and piled high with crispy fried onions. Served on brioche, it’s an intense jumble of oniony sweetness, umami, tang, and drip-down-your-chin juiciness. Note: The burger is available at lunch in the main dining room, but at dinner, you’ll find it only at the bar, so plan accordingly.— Amy Traverso, Boston Magazine food editor; Photos courtesy of Radius
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Rosebud Steakhouse
192 E. Walton St. Chicago, IL (312-397-1000)
Any city that glorifies steak as much as Chicago does is going to be a great burger town, too. What makes Rosebud’s burger the very best? It starts with 12 ounces of custom-ground prime beef, about 80-percent lean, cooked with steakhouse precision and placed on a yielding but substantial pretzel bun that easily handles the burger’s weight and juiciness. The meat is slightly sweet but with a beefy tang and richness that makes melted cheese utterly superfluous. All this in a splendid white-tablecloth, cherrywood-clad dining room. The burger is the star of the lunch menu and technically is only on the bar menu at night, but the truth is that you can ask for the burger anywhere in the dining room and the waiters won’t bat an eye. Standard features include lettuce, tomato, pickle, and hot, bistro-thin fries. Optional equipment includes cheese, applewood bacon, caramelized onions, or mushrooms— Phil Vettel, Chicago Tribune restaurant critic; Photos courtesy of Rosebud Steakhouse
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Port of Call
838 Esplanade Ave. New Orleans, LA (504-523-0120)
It comes as a surprise to some that one of the most popular restaurants in all of the French Quarter is a hamburger place that serves nothing remotely indigenous: no gumbo, no jambalaya, no seafood of any kind. It is called Port of Call, and yes, its burgers are that good. The beef is fresh-ground daily and hand-formed into burly patties that are char-scarred on the grill. This being New Orleans, there are some quirks: If you want grated Cheddar — in addition to the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickles — it isn’t melted, they serve the burger with baked potatoes on the side (no fries here), and chives and Bacon Bits are available at no charge. Many customers wash their burgers back with a gourmet cocktail. An hour-plus wait for a table is a near-guarantee — and worth it.— Brett Anderson, The Times-Picayune restaurant critic; Photos courtesy of Port of Call
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Bobcat Bite
420 Old Las Vegas Highway, Santa Fe, NM (505-983-5319)
National media attention is nothing new to Bobcat Bite; the fame goes back to 1953, when a Santa Fe rancher named Rene Clayton turned a roadside trading post (and former gun shop) into a 25-seat mom-and-pop diner. It’s been operated over the years by a succession of couples. The meal of choice since the early days has been a grilled green-chile cheeseburger (including Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and onion) using ten ounces of freshly ground Colorado beef made from choice whole boneless chuck, ground fresh daily. No one in the state makes a better version of this New Mexico favorite. You pay for it the same way they did 50 years ago: cash only.— Cheryl Alters Jamison & Bill Jamison, book authors; Photos courtesy of Bobcat Bite
source: msnbc
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