Well, the weekend is coming to a close, and I am all edified from General Conference, and I stayed up until after 1:00 AM last night after getting a sudden flash of ideas and jotting them down, so I don't feel like being too long-winded or writing anything meaningful, so let's just do another survey. As I've mentioned before, I love a good burger. Sometimes even a mediocre burger. Despite the picture I've posted, I'm not really belligerent against vegetarians, and only eat koala occasionally. But I am pretty much against any organization as smug and self-important as PETA. Anyway, what is the best burger you've ever eaten and where did you get it? The little wife and I like to go to Red Robin for a good burger, but I'm looking for great here. Something that just blew your socks off. It's usually the little dives. For me, I'd have to say the bowling alley in Rexburg. It never disappointed, but it's been several years since I've been there, and I'm kind of afraid with the growth of BYU-Idaho, the city and some of its local businesses could lose their unique appeal. Hopefully the bowling alley has prospered just enough to keep it ghetto and not gone all corporate. Bowling alleys are meant to be seedy.
Anyway, what are your thoughts? Runners-up for me include Big Jud's, which in all truth might not actually reach true greatness, but due to my memories, which probably grow with time, and the experience of the place, it gets a spot notwithstanding. If anyone doesn't know, Jud's is a rural joint that serves one-pound burgers (one of which I took down as a freshman at Ricks). A couple of friends actually were able to pound doubles, which is just plain ungodly. I still remember my Japanese friend Koji, normally very proper, complaining of his heartburn the day after eating the double. Good times. Another burger dive with a special place in my heart is the A&W in Logan. My friend Kyle and I swear the burgers are better here than at other A&W locations. I don't know if it's the fact that it is such a unique orange building (that you can see clearly from some parts of campus), or that it feels so local and has been around forever, but there was truly no better place to go after a disappointing Statistics exam or just to chow down for no particular reason at all on some delicious hot cow, washed down with a frosty mug of root beer.
Anyway, I've already gone on longer than I planned to. Discuss.
Anyway, what are your thoughts? Runners-up for me include Big Jud's, which in all truth might not actually reach true greatness, but due to my memories, which probably grow with time, and the experience of the place, it gets a spot notwithstanding. If anyone doesn't know, Jud's is a rural joint that serves one-pound burgers (one of which I took down as a freshman at Ricks). A couple of friends actually were able to pound doubles, which is just plain ungodly. I still remember my Japanese friend Koji, normally very proper, complaining of his heartburn the day after eating the double. Good times. Another burger dive with a special place in my heart is the A&W in Logan. My friend Kyle and I swear the burgers are better here than at other A&W locations. I don't know if it's the fact that it is such a unique orange building (that you can see clearly from some parts of campus), or that it feels so local and has been around forever, but there was truly no better place to go after a disappointing Statistics exam or just to chow down for no particular reason at all on some delicious hot cow, washed down with a frosty mug of root beer.
Anyway, I've already gone on longer than I planned to. Discuss.
ok, the best burger in logan is at the white owl and is cooked on the deck, not in the kitchen.
ReplyDeletethe best burger in richmond is found at LD's cafe and is the bacon cheese burger. LD cooks onions on the grill with his burgers and smashes them into the meat as it cooks.
i absolutely LOVE the burgers at in-n-out burger. LOVE THEM.
Big Jud's is good -mostly for the greasy spoon aspect and memories sake.
ReplyDeleteIn Anchorage - the best burger, which you can only eat once every four years or else you risk running a cardiac arrest - is Wee B's. The burger is 100% real ingredients - the fries are sliced and made daily from real Idaho potatoes.
If you're averse to heart clogging - then the runner-ups in Anchorage are Roadrunners and the Lucky Wishbone; both are establishments that have been around longer than 40 years.
I despise national 'box store' restaurants. I'll still go to them - but much prefer the local man
Red Robin sucks. I have eaten there quite a few times and their burgers always suck...just thought I'd put that out there.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great place in Kansas called Spangles that makes good fast food burgers, if you're looking for fast food.
If you're making homemade, however, stuff some feta cheese in the burger and cook it. It is divine!
As for the best burger restaurant style..hmm...there's a place here called Jay's. It's a tiny little hole in the wall dive, but they're so good!!
I disagree with Becca. Completely. I HEART Red Robin! Their A1 Peppercorn burger makes me smile just thinking about it. YUM.
ReplyDeleteI also like a burger from La Beau's, either in Logan or at Bear Lake.
There's also a VERY tasty place here in IF called Dixie's Diner, and their burgers really are heaven. SO GOOD!
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Spangles in Kansas is good. I like being able to taste that they were cooked on the BBQ.
ReplyDeleteI do like a good in-n-out burger.
There's a lot of "hole in the wall" hamburger joints here in Reno. If you ever come to Reno, you got to try an awful awful.
That is all
My favorite is always Crown Burger or Apollo Burger in SLC, no doubt about it-give me some pastrami on it and I'm in heaven...did I mention I'm doing the fasting 3 hour glucose test this morning, this post is not helping the growling tummy!!
ReplyDeleteforget all the fast food joints, dives etc.
ReplyDeleteAn elk burger is best (Made by my meat man, Gary). Add bacon and life is better than you imagined. I'm not a vegetarian, but not really a meat lover either. So coming from me, I'm really the authority. Don't contest it.
I do have fond memories of Big Jud's as well. Though the idea of that much meat for one person floors me. I shared it with a date (Gary) and I'm not sure we even ate it all.
Other than that I really loved Somewhere in bountiful area "Best burger" but probably liked it more for the fries and fry sauce... haven't been for so long I'm not really sure.
I second Susan. In n Out is the best for a non-greasy burger.
ReplyDeleteAnd I disagree with Gina. Last time I ate Red Robin I ended up THROWING up everywhere for a few days and didn't have an appetite for a couple of weeks (AKA FOOD POISONING). And also, the other times I ate their it sucked. You can get a better burger at Applebees
Bec, we'll just have to agree to disagree; Applebees has made me vomit too, and I can't go back there. At least not to the one in Ogden. But we agree on so many other levels I think the friendship should remain intact :)
ReplyDeleteThis one time - I went to a Red Robin with a friend. He went to go wash his hands - and found in the men's room a stonehenge type of poo structure.
ReplyDeleteSome dudes thought it would be funny - it wasn't funny. Because they closed the bathroom for about 20 minutes - so men and women had to take turns using the woman's bathroom.
The friendship is over, Gina. It was over the minute you called Becca a pretentious two-bit slut. Fight! To the death!
ReplyDeleteOn a separate note, Red Robin is good, but not great. You know what you're getting, and the "one time I threw up" argument girls always use doesn't work. It may or may not be related to the cleanliness of the establishment, and is generally unreliable. Sorry. I agree with Bob, national chains generally don't have the "it" factor.
Well ok, Mr. Smartypants. You asked for my opinion and I gave it to you. Geez!
ReplyDeleteBesides, I just threw some answers out there off the top of my head.
I thought of another one...but can't remember the name of the establishment. I know it was the cafe at the Denali Bluffs hotel. The burger I had there was MOST excellent; but I'm not sure my judgment was spot-on, because I was used to eating less than ok food most of the summer. That burger was DELISH in all its greasy goodness though.
As for the dives/diners thing, I concur; I mentioned the Dixie Diner, didn't I? Tast.E!
I also disagree with Becca here. The Banzai Burger is amazazing! But one of the best burgers I ever had was actually in Brazil, where a guy named Freide made a monster burger, complete with beef, ham, hotdog, cheese, lettuce, egg, ketchup and mayo. May sound intereseting, but I assure you, it's delicious.
ReplyDeleteoh, and as a side note, the Angry Whopper is the best that a national chain has to offer.
ReplyDeleteThe Road Runner in Anchorage. I dare any establishment to beat them!
ReplyDeleteKoalas are my favorite animal on the planet Earth.
Here goes, in no particular order and for very different reasons:
ReplyDeleteCrown Burger - can't go wrong with meat on meat, and they do it best
Burger Bar's Big Ben - An exceptionally good burger just because it's big and messy and pretty straightforward
In-N-Out - it's a classic
Five Guys - closest thing to backyard-cooked without all the trouble
The Counter - how you want it made, man? Okay, we can do that...
Acme Burger - Gourmet and phenomenally delicious
Bambara used to have a damn fine burger, too, but the new chef switched up the menu, so it now exists only in memory
Red Robin doesn't suck, and neither does Training Table. Both pretty fine for a casual night out.