The cheeseburger here may look like a simple, griddled double patty burger, but don't be fooled: this burger is what food writer Francis Lam calls "tremendous work, thin patty diner style magic."
These burgers are served out of an old school bus, and accordingly have names like "The Principal" and "The Bully." All patties are made with a custom Black Angus grind and homemade condiments.
Atlanta food writer Jennifer Zyman: "The Bocado burger stack is McDonald's gone gourmet. Just two house ground patties, gooey American cheese, and a pickle on a buttery and crispy H&F Bread Co. bun."
According to food writer Josh Ozersky, it's the "best new-school burger in America...[it] synthesizes the best of old and new: specialty meat, squishy buns, intense seasoning, and cast-iron searing."
Burgatory makes their patties from a custom all-natural blend of sirloin, chuck, brisket and short rib. The chainlet regularly has long lines, so do check their website's NoWait section before going.
Eatocracy editor Kat Kinsman says, "It's Hubert Keller quality ingredients and preparation, and a rare to the point of bleating patty...haunted my dreams for a goodly long time."
Eater Houston editor Eric Sandler says, "The Burger Guys success lies in the quality of their ingredients and the creativity of their toppings. That means 100%, hand-formed akahushi burger patties."
Butcher & the Burger has a fully operational butcher shop on premise and is all about customization: choose your meat blend, choose your seasonings, choose your bun, choose your toppings.
After working at Atlanta's Holeman & Finch (also on the 38), Adam Biderman headed home to New Orleans. He now makes what Feast Portland's Mike Thelin calls his "favorite burger place."
Each night, Craigie on Main serves less than twenty of their off-menu burgers, which are made from a custom blend of three different cuts of meat, beef bone marrow and suet.
According to burgerexpert and host of Burger Land George Motz, "Eddie Lakin is pretty passionate about burgers and got it right when he opened. Old school feel, new school quality."
Even the burger is made to celebrate the foods of Cali: California beef cooked to order, California cheese, topped with bacon and arugula. The burger itself is char-grilled and served on brioche.
The burger is a riff on the Juicy Lucy-style cheeseburger; that is, the cheese (Roquefort) is inside the patty. It's so good that Philadelphia restaurant critic Craig LaBan wrote a song about it.
The famous Classic Cheeseburger is only served during Sunday brunch and on Monday evenings, but that's enough to have earned it a cult following.
The secret to the burgers is their coal-fired ovens: their website says they're "the first restaurant in the United States to utilize custom coal-fired ovens that cook at over 1,000 degrees."
Eater PDX editor Erin DeJesus calls this "the juiciest, best burger" in Portland. The "hambürger" is topped with cheese, bread-and-butter pickles, Nueske's bacon, arugula, and house-made ketchup.
There was not a more-endorsed burger in the Eater 38. Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal says,"This idea that a restaurant would only serve 24 burgers and only every night at 10 PM? Stone cold genius."
Lucky Peach managing editor Rachel Khong: "The pug burger [Ed: yes, "pug," not "pub"] is a California-y tower of thin bun, fat patty, avocado, bacon, red onion, bleu cheese, and more."
Infamously blended with bacon (see a full rundown on what this entails), the burger at Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston is a pilgrimage to be made by any burger fanatic.
A controversial pick for this list, some panelists firmly believe it's overrated, and it's technically too old to be included. But, how can you have a burger list without In-N-Out?
Big fat burgers from a popular, insanely loud metal bar, that is divisive in terms of ambience. Former Eater Chicago editor Ari Bendersky says it would be "blasphemous" to leave it off the list.
According to Burger Land host George Motz, owner Michell "Chef M" Sanchez is "a genius with burgers." The Mad Love burger is big and juicy and the other option is the cheese-swathed Original.
Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal: "80-20 blend, special sauce, shredded lettuce, tomato, yellow American cheese, brioche bun. When we close our eyes and imagine the burger of our dreams, this is it."
The Spring Hill burger (named after the original concept) is smoked ground chuck, bacon, a custom American cheese, lettuce and a special sauce (obviously) between two English muffins.
Michael Schwartz serves up a Black Angus burger on a brioche bun, with optional house-smoked bacon. He has been serving at South Beach Wine and Food Festival's Burger Bash for years — and he's won.
On the famous Black Label burger, Lockhart Steele: "At the high end, my personal favorite. Flavor overwhelms each time it is visited anew." Andrew Zimmern: "One of my top 10." Any questions?
Lucky Peach Managing Editor Rachel Khong: "Reasons why this burger is the best: the patty is granulated, the buns have their tops cut off to perfect bun-to-ratio size."
Grassfed beef on a brioche bun, with optional cheese. (You want the cheese.) Eater SF editor Allie Pape says, "Nopa is my favorite white-napkin burger by a mile." Bonus? It's served til 1:00AM.
Madison food writer Kyle Nabilcy: "Its thick pub-style burgers, has provided a gateway for a younger generation's appreciation of Wisconsin supper club culture. Mondays are two-for-one burger nights."
Pat LaFrieda blends in the middle of Tennessee? Yes: locals in Arlington are buzzing about the Steakburger and local burger blog Best Memphis Burger gave it their first-ever perfect five star review.
Don't be deceived by simplicity: the basic order here consists of a quarter pound of house-ground Angus (chuck roll and shoulder), griddled onions, lettuce, tomato pickle and mayo.
The ethos of this chain is somewhat atypical: small menu, locally-sourced when possible, no freezers, open kitchens, fresh cut french fries, pay above industry average, and no franchising whatsoever.
Eater National features editor Amy McKeever: "People have been losing their minds for years over former White House chef Frank Ruta's cheeseburgers at Palena. This burger is a DC experience for sure."
Park Burger is a fast-casual restaurant with two locations, and their thin patty burgers are famous for a crispy crust. They serve them in many, many ways: customized plain or specialty burgers.
Zach Brooks of Midtown Lunch says, "Every fast food burger should be salted like this, seared like this, and should come on a Martin’s Potato Roll."
Two words: bacon jam. That's the condiment served on the burger at food truck and now brick-and-mortar Diner. Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Met magazine says it has "become a local classic."
Nominated by Minneapolis resident, Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern. It is called the Perfect Burger for a reason: blended with frozen butter before being lightly cured, it's a messy, juicy wonder.
