One of the best fast-food burgers out there is the basic Six Dollar burger at Carls Jr. Drop the pickles though - the sweet pickles are distracting against the rest of the toppings.
Fuddruckers is good.
I think the best burger I ever had was at a hole-in-the-wall donut place next to the freeway. It was an amazing nirvana of good beef that actually tasted like beef, a pile of thick, well-cooked bacon and it was all put together by someone who took pride in their work. It sound odd to talk about a hamburger like this, but it was evident that day that everything lined up just right in the universe to bring good ingredients into the hands of someone who knew how to handle them.
After that, it’s all downhill. I’ve never understood the mania people have for In-n-Out. For me, they’ve always been “Yeah, it’s a hamburger.”
Best burger I ever had was at Brandt’s Little Cafe in Palatine (NW Highway and Quentin). It’s almost a landmark in the NW Suburbs - too bad they’re closing.
Second best was at Fuddruckers. I usually don’t order hamburgers at restaurants - so I don’t have a ton of experience here.
#1 Ramp Burger- Burger Master- Montana fastfood chain.
The secret is the sauce, velveeta cheese melted into cream of mushroom soup poured over the patty, served in a coffee filter looking piece of paper to allow you to hold it. I left Montana years ago. the only reason I’d come back is for a Ramp Burger (named after the fact that most Burger Master’s have a ramp you drive up to the drive-thru window.
Shake Shack is, hands down, my absolute favorite thing about living in New York City. And I’m not exagerrating in the slightest. They’re open all this winter, and it has been a dream come true.
I’m going to have to try this Blue 9 place this weekend!
I’m a true burger-maniac, and after reading the thread, I had to satisfy my jones, so thought I’d finally try the six-dollar. It was big, it was messy, but sweet pickles have no place on any burger, IMO. I thought the meat was overcooked, but the flavor was pretty good, and the veggies were crisp and fresh. They really need to ease up on the ketchup/mustard mess, though; I had a pile of used napkins on my tray a foot tall.
Fuddruckers. It is the absolutely most fabulous burger that I can buy. It is the only place I know of that really knows how to cook a burger to order. When I order it medium rare, that is exactly what I get.
Red Robin. These are also some pretty tasty burgers, but their medium rare is overcooked.
I really disliked Five Guys and was not that impressed with Fatburger. Five Guys would only cook their hamburgers “well done” (is that everywhere?) and it was too dry and not very flavorful. Their fries, fwiw, were a pale imitation of the fantastic fries one finds out in the DelMarVa area.
I almost mentioned Burger Master… I was a fan of the pizza burger. They also had very good milk shakes. None of my siblings liked the place, though, so we rarely went there.
The old Woodstock Bar used to offer a Mad Hatter Burger. Man, that thing was enormous. Something like a 1/3-pound meat patty, plus sausages and egg and bacon and more, all piled up inside the bun. I could eat one of those and it would do me for 24 hours.
From most recent to old favorites:
Oscar’s Cafe–Springdale, UT
Red Box Car–Red Lodge, MT
Cliff Dwellers Lodge–Marble Canyon AZ
Kirk’s Steakburgers–Campbell, Ca.
In-And-Out–various locations.
