quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
This thread reminds me of the biography of Lee Iacocca where the chef at the Chrysler exectutive dining room was asked why Lee was always complimenting him on making the best hamburger..

He said it's not too hard when you start with 1/2 pound of Prime filet mignon!

That's funny because it was Henry Ford II in the Ford Excutive dining room and New York Strip when my grandfather told me the story. Ford said they had the best burgers there and his employee, Lee Iacocca, asked the chef to see how they were made.

For my best cheeseburgers:

The Doodleburger - Scill's Grill, Rogers City, MI
The Buckhorn Burger - The Buckhorn Bar & Grille, Trout Lake, MI

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,

Two that I remember best:

Jack Brown's Beer and Burger Joint in Harrisonburg, VA

And some walk-up burger stand in Los Angeles. The burger was cooked on a griddle, had just the right amount of crusty edge, with a couple of slices of melted American cheese on top, and put on a buttered bun that was just greasy enough to call greasy. No condiments. Just meat, cheese, bun and grease.

My own, since they are made exactly the way I like them.

If you're talking about restaurant type, I worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel NJ back in the early 1960s. There was this really sleazy bar on Rte 34, called Molzone's -- you know the type, dirt parking lot, the whole wooden building tilted slightly to the left, pool table that had not been level for decades, if ever, slight odor of urine wafting over the place, but the bartender knew how to make a great burger.

2001 or 2002, a joint in the Scottsdale Mall, ground level, near the parking garage exit. The chips were made on the spot as well. $15 for the platter, still a lot of money. I think the rolls were buttered then stuck in the salamander broiler thing.

I went back the following year but it was not there any more.

The Fishing Bridge General Store, Yellowstone NP. It was everything I remembered from 1960s era diners. Grilled perfectly on a toasted bun with the perfect batch of fries washed down with a perfect fountain Pepsi.

Despite being a few years back, we still talk about it from time to time. It's not often one can be transported back to some lunch counter 50 years ago.

Fishing Bridge General Store

Jalama burger, served only at the Jalama beach cafe on the central coast of CA. Its an isolated beach and campground miles down a narrow curvy road off Hwy 1 south of Lompoc/Vandenberg AFB. People will drive hours on the weekends just to come there for a burger.

Chubby’s in Waldport, Oregon, and I’ve eaten a lot of cheeseburgers. Nothing more than a roadside stand with a couple of picnic tables out front, but fantastic burgers and fries.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
The best is the one I make in the backyard on the Weber. The next best was some hole in the wall place on the Oregon Coast that I'm not sure I could find again. Wendy's makes a really good cheeseburger as well.

Jim

Ding, ding, ding. Winner.

Never had a burger that was better than I made myself.

+1

Prime grade ground beef smoked at 225 on my BGE with only salt and pepper as seasoning. No darn eggs or bread crumbs to turn it into meatloaf either.

Topped with a slice of a high quality cheese purchased from the deli.

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
I’ve had many really good cheeseburgers, too many to remember, many of them at Boll Weevil in San Diego, but I do recall the worst.

Intercontinental Hotel, Geneva, Switzerland. Working the currency exchange, it was $37 in real money! Just awful, weird lettuce, weird cheese, weird pickles, strange bun. I guess they felt like they had to have it on the menu, but their heart really wasn’t in it. But luckily, my mother in law was buying.

Possibly they looked at you funny when you picked it up to eat it. I watched a couple of blokes in an English pub eat burgers with knife and fork.

my Brother , his then wife, and my Mother did a euro tour in 2008, bus trip kinda thing,

one stop in or near Paris and they went into a restaurant to eat,
my Brother is a meat and potatoes kind of eater, no greens, not may veggies, and little to no understanding of anything but English,

he sees a sign at the entrance , big juicy hamburger, and under it the sign said Bitburger,

so he ordered on,

Mom said the look on his face was priceless when they put a tall glass of beer in front of him, then asked him what he wanted to eat,,,

When I lived in the Twin Cities, years ago, there was a chain of restaurants named "Embers". I frequented one of them on Central Ave, just south of I-694. The Emburger Royal, a bacon cheeseburger, was the best that I've had. It featured a proprietary BBQ sauce, and the top & bottom bun was perfectly grilled (that makes a big difference).

As for the worst – I spent a summer in Frankfurt, Germany. The German food was great, but I was really craving a good hamburger. Finally found a place that had an "American Hamburger" on the menu. Turned out to be kind of a meatloaf patty on a kaiser roll. Did not hit the spot.

Wife and I are craving burgers now. She's off to the market now to pick up some ground beef for lunch.

local version of What A Burger is damn tasty,
Roy's Big Burger in Lakeside is good too,

Carytown Burger and Fries does an outstanding burger,

all in RVA,

in Charlottesville, Riverside ,
excellent burgers , really good fries, and just a hole in the wall, (think it used to be a 7-11 )

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Honestly, it was a Burger King Triple Whopper. But I brought it home and added my own sharp cheddar and Tobasco to it.

....that's like competing in the 'stock sedan' class using a custom modified '34 roadster

quote:

It isn't rocket surgery to make a truly fantastic hamburger.

agree....yet there are times when something truly special emerges above & beyond mere 'fantastic'

For this thread I discount the 'burgers' I've truly enjoyed that have something extra beyond the bare 'cheeseburger'; places with fried eggs/ham/condiments extraordinaire/etc are in a 'super modified' category.

Will be pondering what 'best cheeseburger' I've ever had & post later.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Wife and I are craving burgers now. She's off to the market now to pick up some ground beef for lunch.

LOL. Sig Forum is not here just to inspire you to buy more guns!

Drive thru pickup would be Whataburger
Sit down place would be at The Tin Cow.

The Ruth Chris here in Alpharetta. One day I swang by for a lunch. The special that day was burgers but they were made from their ribeye steak meat. That had been ground in-house. Sweet Jesus that was a good burger.

quote:

Originally posted by smithnsig:
Drive thru pickup would be Whataburger
Sit down place would be at The Tin Cow.

Tin Cow is the second best, best is done medium rare on my BGE with Bacon/Avacado Salsa and Havarti cheese

I have had a pretty good cheeseburger at La Select on St Barths - named the original "cheeseburger in paradise" (although some say the song references Tortola, whatever). It was good.

Tough to place an absolute "best" - but for day in day out pretty damm good, Five Guys works for me.

Cheeseburger with lettuce, mayo and jalapenos with fries and excellent peanuts while I wait.

Just hit one of my two favorite places over the weekend on probably my last cycle ride of the season, and happned to take a pic...the iconic Dick's, a burger landmark(s) chain here in the Seattle area...my pick of the menu is the orange-foiled Deluxe:



The other is Herfy's, which is another local NW chain (which also has great fry sauce).

I've had many fancier cheeseburgers at more upscale and boutique places, but I can't say that they've been any better than these two simple chains.

The best cheeseburger I ever had was grilled for me by Eddie Belfour on the deck of his house, the meat had been prepared by his live in gourmet chef.

As far as the best I've ever had commercially, I'm an In-n-out fan.