I know they are better if you make them at home. But which chain has the best (consdiering it Is a fast food chain)?
Fuddruckers.
I’ve never eaten at Fuddrucker’s so I have no opinion on them. I was considering the typical fast food joints so my vote will go to Wendy’s with Burger King behind. McDonald’s burgers are totally awful. Checker’s used to be good.
Okay, this could get complicated…
Sir Loin’s: Wonderful tasting burgers, I think they actually used ground sirloin.
Arctic Circle: small, insignificant little trifles that I grew up on…no big deal, except that I could eat about a dozen of these at one sitting (it’s the “special sauce” that sets these apart…“mmmmmmmmmm”).
Bob’s Big Boy: I miss their Brawny Beef burgers…great seasoning.
Wendy’s: Fast food-wise, these are the most satisfying.
McDonald’s: This will make me one of the most hated posters here, but I love a BigMac (without onions).
Fuddruckers are great, but they’re not really fast food. All the Fuddruckers in my area are sit down, Denny’s style resturants.
I’d say for Fast Food, (and assuming that we don’t count extras like fries, shakes etc) of the edible ones[ul]
[li]Burger King has the best burgers, The “char-broiling” adds a nice flavor to the tasteless, overcooked meat-like patty. However, their batter-dipped french fries are grossly bizzarre.[/li][li]Good Times second, in that it’s mostly harmless. Their Onion Rings are acceptable.[/li][li]McD’s third, but I’ll admit a certain fondess for the occasional cheeseburger or Big Mac. McD’s fries are still the best[/li][li]and Wendy’s grease-bombs are a distant fourth.[/li][/ul]
59c Hamburger Stand (or whatever they’re called now) are vile beyond comprehension.
The things White Castle serves aren’t bad, but they’re also not burgers as such. They’re kind-of mini-salsbury steaks (they’re boiled/steamed after all)
Burger Chef used to be great, but they’re gone, and Jack In the Box seems to have died as well after an abortive attempt to turn themselves into Denny’s.
I don’t know how Carl Jr’s are, since I gag at the thought of eating them after watching Carl Jr’s “Watch me eat with my mouth open, then dribble the half-chewed food on the floor” commercials. <gag>
Fenris
I love eating at BritBurgers.
Their Mad Cow Quarter Pounder with Cheese has a wonderful flavor, and a spongy texture that really holds the ketchup well.
I’m shaking just thinking about them.
It’s kind of hard to get a good burger in Tokyo for under $10, so I’ll just stick to the cheap stuff.
In order of preference:
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Burger King. They’re one of the few places that get the bread right, plus the vegetables still have their flavor.
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Becker’s. Good buns, and lots of fresh onions.
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MOS Burger. Made from 100% real moss. Actually, the only cheap chili burger in Japan.
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Freshness Burger. My girlfriend goes crazy for these because they’re supposedly “real American burgers.” Nope. Nice, but they don’t live up to the hype.
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McDonalds. The standard. Not great, but not bad. Predictable.
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Wendy’s. Maybe I got a bad one, but it just tasted like those sad greasepucks they served in high school.
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First Kitchen. By unfortunate coincidence, the Japanese abbreviated slang for these are “fa-kin burgers”. It fits.
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Lotteria. Why would you make a hamburger sweet? Yuck.
–sublight.
In-N-Out Burger!!!
Too bad it’s only a chain in California. But the only burger I’ve had better was homemade.
Mmmmm. Burgers. Ahhhhhggghhhhhh.
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Culvers - They are a Wisconsin-based chain, but I think they have spread through the midwest and even have a couple sites in Texas. Love those Butter Burgers.
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Burger King. Best burger of the national chains. The flame broiling makes the difference.
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Every other chain out there except for McDonalds.
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McDonalds. Yeecch. Something about the dry tasteless meat combined with the pasty buns. I can’t stomach 'em.
Finally, an unasked-for plug for a non-chain: Best damn burger out there can be had at Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry in Madison, WI. Get one with everything (load up on the fried onions) and you will be in heaven. Grab lots of napkins.
Does anybody have fond memories of “WHITE CASTLE” hamburgers? These were truly terrible-they were known as “sliders”-if you threw one at a wall, it would slide…slooowly… to the floor.
Anyway: the best:
TOMMIE’s (several L.A. locations)
-McNenamy’s (Route 138, S. Easton, MA)-you actually have a choice between ground beef and ground staek! Delicious!-but they come on plain white bread-go figure!
- Five Guys (King & Beuregard, Alexandria, VA)
- Flamer’s (can be found in some local mall food courts)
- Burger King
- Wendy’s
- Roy Rogers (too bad there’s so few of 'em now)
Why limit us to fast food? Some of the best burgers are in sit-down restaurants! King Street Blues has something called a “blues burger”, it has bacon, bleu cheese and cajun spices, and is damn good.
First, I’d avoid Burger King and McDonald’s. Their food is all science and marketing, as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, that Whopper or Big Mac might taste pretty good, but it’s not a hamburger. Plus, why contribute to the bland homogenization of American food? There are fantastic burgers to be found in almost any town in America. There are local chains, drive-ins, etc. Wendy’s is a little better (they do, after all, make their patties from actual ground beef in the store), but its still a National Chain (shudder!).
Anyway, from what I understand, California is basically the burger capital of the USA. I’ve heard great things about In-n-Out Burger (though, unfortunately, never had one myself). I’m a big fan of White Castle, although they aren’t really burgers in the classical sense. 2-inch square buns, buy them by the bag-full. Not the kind of thing you want to eat every day, but damn! its good. I’ve been to Fuddrucker’s once (in Maryland), and it was very good, as I remember. It’s not really a sit-down place (if I recall, you stand in line, tell them what size burger you want, then put on your own fixins’). Anyway, my quick 2-cents.
Another In-N-Out fan here. Best damn fast food burgers you can get, and now they’re opening branches in northern California! Yay!
Here in the bay area we also have “Juicy Burger,” which I adore. It’s the type of place that has a “condiment bar” and you can doctor up your burger the way you like. The same goes for a small local chain called “Clarke’s,” which charbroils the burger on a 'cue, and also does the condiment bar thing.
Burgers! They’re not just for breakfast anymore.
One vote for the non-meat burger:)
Gasp!, a vegitarian intrudes! get the steak sauce!
No really, some of them are quite tasty, I reccommend the Chiles veggie burger, myself.
Also, for an amusing diatribe on the White Caste “burger”, go here: Rage of A Million Suns
Thanks, LNO
Also, McDonlads: WTF, the Big ‘n’ Cheesy, the Big Extra? Did we really need that much “meat” and grease on one burger (Left over rage from meat eating days, sorry)
Okay, I don’t know how many of these are outside the central Florida area, but we have a few good fast burger places:
[li] Juicy Lucy’s - walk-up and drive-thru only - very good and consistant (full leaves of lettuce, not the shredded stuff) - cooked through without that dry leather taste.[/li][li] Sonic Burger - 50’s-ish drive-in: drive-in, park, order at the sign, and the servers rollerskate to your car with your order. Food is great, almost as good as JL’s[/li][li] Hot-n-Now - was in town for a short time, but folded quickly. All orders had catsup, mustard, pickles and onions ("No special orders ma’am, that’s our policy), beef was overcooked.[/li][li] Krystal’s - the Southern version of White Castle, perhaps? - also has 2-inch square ‘slider’ burgers. Waaaaay too much grease and onions.[/li]
Anyone ever heard of White Tower? I’ve seen those in a couple of towns long ago. Are they a northern regional variant of White Castle or rip-off of the name?
Must I be the first grease-addict to mention Carl’s jr.?
Yeah I know, their politics are suspect but their burgers are dern tasty. Especially the Western BBQ Burger; it comes with onion rings built right in.
A&W. baby oh baby. Gooooooooooooooooood stuff.
Yah, Krystal is similar to White Castle. The territories overlap in Nashville, or did when I lived there.
We called Krystal’s sliders as well, but not for the wall trick. The reference came because they, well, errr, they slid right through ya.
Best burger? I haven’t had a hamburger in so long I really couldn’t say.
I’ve always heard White Castle’s are “sliders” 'cause you don’t chew them.They just slide down your throat. The steam-grilling makes 'em all mooshy and they just sorta fall apart after the first bite.
They layer the grill with onions and put the meat on top of that. Then the buns sit on the meat. So they suck up all the fat that cooks off the pattie. Mmmmmm…those grey buns…mmmm…
Now I need 4 cheese sliders and a large order of onion chips. (4 cheesey skillet-scabs and onion pustules, according to my sister)
The best “fast food” hamburgers are from your nearest hot dog place. The ones with the big “Vienna Beef” sign.
If it must be a chain, I suppose I’ll have to side with Wendy’s. I would’ve said Checker’s but I haven’t been there in quite a while, and Who_me? already said they’re no longer good.