5 Guys, hands down. The one near me is wonderful; the one further away, not so wonderful.
Here’s a sorted summary after 51 votes:
View Poll Results: Which fast food chain serves your favorite burger?
Five Guys Burgers and Fries 10 19.61%
Carl's Jr./Hardee's 5 9.80%
White Castle 4 7.84%
In-N-Out Burger 3 5.88%
Jack in the Box 3 5.88%
Whataburger 3 5.88%
Burger King 2 3.92%
Checkers/Rallys 2 3.92%
Fatburger 2 3.92%
Red Robin 2 3.92%
Smashburger 2 3.92%
Some other chain my idiot ass has inexplicably left off this list 2 3.92%
NONE OF THESE! 2 3.92%
Sonic Drive In 1 1.96%
Wendy's 1 1.96%
Burger Street 1 1.96%
Culver's 1 1.96%
Fuddruckers 1 1.96%
Shake Shack 1 1.96%
Steak 'n Shake 1 1.96%
Umami Burger 1 1.96%
Other. Whatever that means. 1 1.96%
Voters: 51
(0 votes dropped)
A&W is literally the only place I will go for a burger. (Uncle Burger with bacon and cheese.)
I voted for Sonic because right now, if I get a fast-food burger, it is probably a Sonic burger. A lot of that is because I pass a Sonic fairly often.
Tough choice.
I really like Fatburger. But I’ve found that some stores do them better than others, and they seem to be a bit expensive. In-N-Out is a close second, but I hate their fries; and fries are part of the burger experience. Right now I could murder a Tommy’s chili-burger. But there are no Tommy’s up here. (No Fatburger or In-N-Out, for that matter.)
I voted for Carl’s Jr. They are consistently good, no matter where I get one. I love a Super Star with Cheese. But they also have other burgers that are equally pleasing; such as the Jalapeño Burger and the Bacon Guacamole Burger. I like the charred flavour Carl’s Jr.‘s burgers have. I just wish the one Carl’s Jr. here wasn’t so close to my office that I’m not hungry enough to stop in on my evening commute, or so far away that I’d have to really be jonzin’ for a Super Star with Cheese to drive over an hour to get one.
Situated where I am, burgers usually come from Sonic. Sometimes Wendy’s, sometimes McDonald’s. If Five Guys had a drive-through, I’d go there. (But when I’ve tried Five Guys, I didn’t find the burger that much superior to Wendy’s.) If anyone wants to open a franchise up here, Bellingham needs a Carl’s Jr., a Tommy’s, a Wienerschnitzel, and especially a Del Taco (which has good burgers, incidentally).
Culver’s makes an awesome burger; they’re a smaller chain, though, primarily located in the Midwest. And they have the best O-Rings I’ve had in a fast-food joint.
In n Out without a second thought. Too bad I don’t have any around here.
I’ll second Back Yard Burgers. Love their waffle fries too.
In ‘n’ Out.
but when I’m in Seattle… Dick’s.
I voted for White Castle, no doubt influenced by having moved 11 hours from the nearest one, and having had none (especially not that frozen abomination found in the supermarket) in a year and 3 days. 
Back Yard Burger used to be really good, but I’ve only had them twice in the last 4 years, and the one I used to frequent (in Louisville, KY, off Blankenbaker) had noticeably gone downhill the last time I was there.
About twice a year I MUST have an A&W burger. Their burgers have a distinctive soy-extender taste (even though they are undoubtedly 100% beef, if any of their lawyers are reading this) for which a crave builds up over time.
Five Guys burgers are decent, but to me they taste pretty similar to Steak n’ Shake, and to Culver’s. Plus their prices go past what I’m willing to pay for fast food. At the prices for all three, I’d go with Culver’s.
I won’t go to Fatburger due to this story.
In-n-Out by a mile. When my wife went to Arizona for a business trip she drove 40 minutes to eat at one since she hadn’t been that close in 6 months. There is a small chain in Denver, Griff’s, that makes a similar burger but they don’t do animal style and their veggies aren’t as good.
I voted Jack in the Box. I used to like their burgers when I was in California. If they were readily available to me, I don’t know if they would still be my choice, but they aren’t, so they are.
Tommys
Hardee’s for thick burgers, Sonic for thin, White Castle for sliders.
In-N-Out, Five Guys, and Culver’s are all very good. But I had to go with In-N-Out simply because there aren’t any near me. It’s a rare treat.
As an over the road truck driver for more then thirty years I ate at a lot ofburger joints, including a good chunk of this list. Now retired and living in small town Wisconsin I find to get a good burger I must go to a tavern. But I sure wouldn’t mind if a Whataburger, In-N-Out or Carl’s Jr. was close by.
Compare with the after 100 picture:
View Poll Results: Which fast food chain serves your favorite burger?
Five Guys Burgers and Fries 15 15.00%
In-N-Out Burger 11 11.00%
Carl's Jr./Hardee's 8 8.00%
Whataburger 7 7.00%
Burger King 5 5.00%
Jack in the Box 5 5.00%
Some other chain my idiot ass has inexplicably left off this list 5 5.00%
White Castle 5 5.00%
Fuddruckers 4 4.00%
NONE OF THESE! 4 4.00%
Sonic Drive In 3 3.00%
Wendy's 3 3.00%
Culver's 3 3.00%
Fatburger 3 3.00%
Red Robin 3 3.00%
Smashburger 3 3.00%
Checkers/Rallys 2 2.00%
Steak 'n Shake 2 2.00%
McDonald's 1 1.00%
A&W 1 1.00%
Burger Street 1 1.00%
Burgerville 1 1.00%
Cheeburger Cheeburger 1 1.00%
Shake Shack 1 1.00%
Umami Burger 1 1.00%
Krystal 1 1.00%
Other. Whatever that means. 1 1.00%
Voters: 100
(0 votes dropped)
For anyone interested in comparing this thread to similar previous threads:
From 2012: Which national fast-food chain has the best basic hamburger? and
Which national fast-food chain has the best flagship burger?
From 2009: Fast food joints make the best burgers
From 2007: Best fast food hamburgers?
The local Rally’s has gotten better since I dissed them in the 2007 thread; nowadays I’d say they’re the best place to get a good cheap burger.
I like Steak ‘n’ Shake, and Sonic, and Hardee’s, and several of the others that were mentioned (of the ones I was familiar with), but I’m finding it too difficult to single out just one.
Thanks for those links! I see that my tastes and preferences have changed little if at all in the realm of burgers. I almost posted the thing about my paragon burger from when I was a kid. The only thing to come close are the ones I make myself and grill on the hibachi. And no, I will not give a recipe as it varies every time! Along the lines of “This is a damn fine ax: it’s had five blades and three handles.”
There is no recipe other than… ground beef (somewhere around 80/20 to 85/15), seasoning (salt and pepper), heat (grill or fry pan), cheese (optional), good bun, eat.
Simple condiments are fine. Just don’t start adding avocado or any other non traditional things. OK, I’ll confess that a fried egg is damn good.
I’ve had all kinds of variations of different meat loafs formed into burgers but nothing beats the simple basic burger. Technique however does make a difference.
The news is on and apparently today is National Hamburger Day. Something tells me what is for lunch today.