I just noticed Yahoo is carrying an "article" in which it says that the 'burgers at In and Out have been "de-throned" as the best, by the 'burgers at 5 Guys. I lived in Ca. in the '80s but I guess that was before I in O (are they anywhere else?), and on a recent visit to Jacksonville, Fl. I noticed a 5 Guys...and thought it was a "1 of a kind" restaurant.
Of the chains, who REALLY has the best?
My fav so far, is Checkers/Rally's.
Never had FiveGuys, but my little brother loves them. I like Culvers a lot. I don't eat at a lot of chains with burgers though, so couldn't tell you much.
No where near the best, but the angus burgers that McD's is offering these days is pretty darn good. Had a steak n shake burger this summer, some spicy version, it was tastey. Hard to give one favorite, as they all can be hit or miss, depending on how the franchise does things.
5 guys... it was ok. Never had Checkers. Smashburger does not impress me. I'd probably go Ruby Tuesday if we're talking "chain" burger... though they may not count.
sachilles wrote: No where near the best, but the angus burgers that McD's is offering these days is pretty darn good. Had a steak n shake burger this summer, some spicy version, it was tastey. Hard to give one favorite, as they all can be hit or miss, depending on how the franchise does things.
This. I prefer small hole-in-the wall places for my fried chicken and burgers.
About the only three chains I will go out of my way to eat to get a good burger/food are White Castle (if its clean), Waffle House (same) and... Well, can't think of the third. I had it, but just forgot it.
I like 5 Guys. If you are near the SW suburbs of Chicago; try Nick's.
http://nickstavern.net/Home.html
. Red Robin - Royal Red Robin (fried egg on top
)
. Steak and Shake - Double on sourdough
. 5 Guys - Bacon w/ lettuce and cheese
. White Castle/Krystal - Double w/cheese
. Whopper
. Outback - Bloomin burger
In that order...
In n' Out is more California propaganda. We wasted thousands of taxpay dollars flying a jet to Cali because one of our guys insisted that In n' Out would change our lives... it was ok.
5 Guys makes a consistently good burger, for a chain. Much better than InO. But their fries are meh. There is a Fatburger chain here in Omahaha that's pretty good, provided you avoid the relish. Also if you can find a Craveburger, that's solid for a chain.
Now, local places... I can tell you in Gainesville, FL, the Copper Monkey has terrific burgers, in San Antonio you could go to Big Z's (order it dirty with a fried egg on top), or The Cove (lamb burger...amazing), Atlanta, The Vortex (Buffalo burger...oh god the blue cheese!).
integraguy wrote: I just noticed Yahoo is carrying an "article" in which it says that the 'burgers at In and Out have been "de-throned" as the best, by the 'burgers at 5 Guys. I lived in Ca. in the '80s but I guess that was before I in O (are they anywhere else?), and on a recent visit to Jacksonville, Fl. I noticed a 5 Guys...and thought it was a "1 of a kind" restaurant.....
In-N-Out has spread to northern California and Arizona.
I recently just tried 5 guys. The store looks almost like a copy of In-N-Out. The primary difference in the menu is that they have hot dogs, but no shakes. The burgers use much thicker meat so they have more meat taste to them then In-N-Out. Peanuts are everywhere (in the fry grease and all over the store), so if you have a peanut allergy (which seems to be %25 of the population these days) stay FAR away.
If an In-N-Out opens across the street from a 5 guys, what would happen? 5 guys would quickly go out of business! Why? 5 guys is almost TWICE as expensive! We got two burgers, a large fry, and two sodas.... that came out to $17! A lot of that was the $4.50 fries, but still that same meal at In-N-Out would definitely be less then $10.
They compare well with restaurant burgers, but are hard to justify for fast food. Kind of like Fudruckers if you have ever been there (there was one a few doors down from the one that I went to that had just shut down).
Secret to In-N-Out's success? A lot of it I believe has to do with the fact that the company is still privately held. Make is way more efficient and it can do things for the good of the company, rather then the stock holders. A great company to work for also (just don't bother if you are lazy).
I LOVE 5 Guys burgers. They are so damn greasy and sleazy! Their hot dogs are amazing too, but that is for another thread.
As far as fast food burgers go, here are my faves:
-5 Guys Bacon Cheeseburger
-Wendy's (well pretty much any of them)
...and that's pretty much it. My local bar makes a pretty awesome Black and Blue burger with blue cheese and crusted in peppercorns.
But, I must say that I make a pretty damn amazing burger that smokes any food chain's offerings.
Their ~smallest~ burger is 1/3 lb.
They also have 1/2 lb, 2/3 lb and 1 lb burgers.
For home-grilling, we just did Bubba Burgers. Decent, but I like our home made ones best.
I like the local Mom & Pop shops better for burgers. Most of the chains are ok but they all seem to be very similar.
If y'all ever get down this way you need to stop by the Burger Barn in Denton. TX. Great burger at a good price. like $6 for cheeseburger and fries. Drink is separate.
For a fast food burger, I've become a fan of Habit Burger over In N Out. Not sure how wide they've spread though. I suspect their just a CA thing.
They just had a whole radio show about this very topic on the Howard Stern channel on Sirius/XM (101) last night. I think the best burger in the hosts opinion was In & Out Burger. The host hates BK by the way so take whatever he says with a large grain of salt.
Chris
I miss working at my shop in Millville, NJ for two reasons:
-The track flora and fauna that would come trickling up the main road on the weekends since we were just down the road from NJMP
-Sonic was caddy corner to our shop. Maybe not the best, but a damn fine burger.
For folks who have never had a Checkers/Rally's burger...I like them because they are usually just greasey enough (McD'd and occasionally Wendy's burgers are so dry you would swear they use a sponge on them). C/R's also runs specials that are 2 burgers for $3 or $4, depending on the 'burger, or they intro a "new" to the chain 'burger and offer it at some ridiculously low price like $1. I also like their fries as they are batter dipped or something.
My tastes are simple/somewhat unsophisticated?
Went to a 5 Guys a month ago for the first time. That was the nastiest burger I have ever had. The fries were soggy. The building was so noisy you couldn't talk to the person sitting across from you. Having some grease slinger shout over the PA every time someones order was ready didn't help. They had their one chance and blew it. I'll go to McDonalds and get a Big Mac before I set foot in there again. As far a the best fast food burger I would have to go with Hardee's. Best chain restaurant burger, Chilies Classic Bacon Burger. Best burger over all probably Center Point Bar and Grill. Medium rare please with the works please. The best in the world are cooked on my grill in the backyard. 
mtn wrote:sachilles wrote: No where near the best, but the angus burgers that McD's is offering these days is pretty darn good. Had a steak n shake burger this summer, some spicy version, it was tastey. Hard to give one favorite, as they all can be hit or miss, depending on how the franchise does things.This. I prefer small hole-in-the wall places for my fried chicken and burgers. About the only three chains I will go out of my way to eat to get a good burger/food are White Castle (if its clean), Waffle House (same) and... Well, can't think of the third. I had it, but just forgot it.
Just thought of the third one... Portillo's. Any Chicago area folks know what I'm talkin out.
5 guys is good but I think Foster's Grill has way better burgers and fries.
I don't think they have gotten too far outside the dc metro/northern va area yet though.
Danver's in Memphis(if you are brave enough to visit there). Almost as good as the ribs that most people go to Memphis to eat.
If we aren't counting ones I cook on my grill, Five Guys, definitely.
If anyone would like to have the best burger ever, ask me for the recipe
I'm pretty wacky about I&O, but have never heard of 5 Guys. Smashburger here in Denver is good, at least I think so, but it's pricy. Best burgers I've had didn't come from a chain. I haven't had a burger at McD, BK etc. in years, but will do a Wendy's in a pinch.
5 Guys or Whataburger
Old school, there's nothing that beats a BK Whopper.
In N Out beats 5 Guys.
In N Out beats Fuddruckers.
In N Out beats the Habit.
In N Out beats Fatburger.
I've tried them all and it's no contest. In the parlance of our time, In N Out pwns.
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