As someone who had burgers and Taco Bell embedded into their DNA as a child and who is a big fan of Hamburger Heart Bear, I can appreciate a solid performance from a burger. These are my top 5 burger joints in order.
5. Burger Master – (Tonopah Nevada)
If it was anyplace else it would be a standard struggling Mom and Pop establishment. But being in Tonopah made it the true burger master. Unfortunately they don’t do too much business because Tonopah is a small town and there is a McDonalds up the street. The McDonalds was disgusting and since there were only about 4 other places to eat in town Burger Master had the best burgers. My favorite thing was the Patty Melt. I often wonder if I hadn’t lived there but had only passed through and eaten there if it would have been as good. On taste alone In-N-Out might deserve my 5th spot but the Burger Master was there when I needed him.
If you have ever been to Texas or seen an episode of King of the Hill then you have been introduced to Whataburger even if only subliminally. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is that I like about Whataburger. They do have quality food, but most of my reason for putting them on the list has something to do with the enormous number of times that I have eaten there. Even if only for nostalgic purposes Whataburger makes number 4 on the list.
3. Red Robin
This is the only big-name, nationwide chain on my list. I really enjoy that they give you all you can eat fries and they do have more types of burgers than I ever thought someone could dream up.
2. BJ’s Drive-In – (Odessa Texas)
This is a little place with HUGE burgers. The Jr burger is still big. When I was a kid we would go there and one burger would feed 4 kids and feed us well. One would think that you might lose something in the taste department when focusing on making burgers bigger than your head, but they manage to be a quality and quantity kind of place.
1. Five Guys
I went to one of the original Five Guys in the Washington DC area and by the second bite I had placed their burgers at the top of my list. The burger was perfectly cooked and very well put together. It was like it had been made with love and cuddled before it was brought out. Even the cow must have led a good life. The cheese melts perfectly on the meat and the vegetables are actually still nice and cool because they haven’t been under a heat lamp. Find a Five Guys near you and go.