Color me skeptical but reading through this list of the Best Burgers in the US from Food and Wine brought to mind the old P.T. Barnum quote, "There's a sucker born every minute." I don't want to be too snarky on a Friday morning but let's take a look at some of the prices you'll pay for some of these burgers.
In San Francisco the Zuni Cafe offers a burger topped not with pickles but with thin cut zucchini strips pickled in cider vinegar, mustard seeds and tumeric sandwiched between a Brioche bun and asks 15 dollars. I guess cider vinegar costs a lot in San Francisco. And zucchini! wow, there's an endangered vegetable.
At New York City's Minetta Tavern the Black Label burger topped with carmalized onions will cost you 26 dollars.
It looks like using a Brioche bun is a way to make things sound fancy enough to add a few dollars to the cost.
But not all on this list are as expensive as the first two mentioned but all are over ten dollars except the venerable, coveted, In N Out Burger from California. So many people long for one of these restaurants near them and while they are on this list, the burgers only cost 3 dollars. It also seems like the more important the city the higher the price for a "best burger" goes. New York and San Francisco, looking at you.
Give us Midwesterners an In N Out Burger place, please.
And in the St. Louis metro area I can't think of any burger that can top the one you can get at Collinsville's Sandwich Shop on Main Street. A longtime favorite, the Sandwich Shop (not Shoppe, the extra p and e would mean higher prices) has burgers which are formed loosely packed so that each bite is tender and well seasoned. Fried on the grill it comes hot and delicious. Not expensive either. Too many burger places take a large chunck of beef and toughen it up by densely packing it, making it an unpleasant chew.
Having grown up in California (yet had my first In-Out-Burger well after I was 20), I have to say that I prefer Steak N Shake's burger.
Posted by: Sharon Philp | November 30, 2012 at 07:31 AM
We always thought Steak n Shake were the best, even bring a bagful back to California after visiting St. Louis. Then In-n-Out expanded to San Diego. For me, hands down the best fast food burger. Even beats Five Guys down the road.
Newest upscale burger here is Slater's 50/50. Their signature patty is half beef, half ground bacon. The patty was a bit salty with the bacon, at least to me it was. Basic burger with any toppings is $9.95.
Posted by: Rand | November 30, 2012 at 10:57 AM
I have yet to try and In N Out burger, but wish I could. Don't care that much for Five Guys because they make me feel so full and bloated after even the smaller size.
Clayton just got a gourmet burger place, Five Star Burgers and Shakes although the shakes take a back seat to the bar drinks.
Posted by: Diane Meyer | November 30, 2012 at 11:42 AM
For St Louis people, here's the link to the Five Star burger site.
http://5starburgersstl.com/
Posted by: Diane Meyer | November 30, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Seamus Mcdaniel's in St. Louis best burger.
Posted by: Ron | November 30, 2012 at 03:45 PM