Burger Rankings

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Tommy

Just a Millennial living in the real world...

Updated 3/8/24: 

Added:

  • Little Victories. 

Burgers are a staple of American culture and America’s pastime. McDonald’s is one of the great American success stories of our time growing from a single fast food restaurant to the corporate giant it is today. Like Jimmy Buffet says, a cheeseburger is “Heaven on earth with an onion slice.”

Pizza and burgers are two foods that I eat a ton of. And like my pizza journey, I have also created rankings for burgers too. The methodology is similar to my pizza rankings and I used the daily meal and the infatuation to compile my list.

Here’s a link to my Yelp profile in case I miss uploading photos to the blog. 

Methodology

My methodology consists of a 0-10 rating system and the criteria is based on the bun, meat, and toppings. Then I calculate an average score. If the scores are tied, then I compare the places head to head based on which burger I would rather eat. Fries scores are in parentheses. 

Top 5:

1.) Handsome Burger: In October 2023, I went on a family vacation to Ireland. I drank a lot of beer & whiskey and I ate a lot of food so it was fantastic! The food was very good and Ireland is definitely known for their dairy, potatoes, and meats. So as I ate my way through Ireland, I found out that Handsome Burger in Galway is rated as one of the best burgers in Ireland. So I decided to give it a try as I was getting tired of eating Fish n Chips. 

I arrived around 6pm and I was able to get a table. It was a small place and it was busy so it would get quite crowded during peak times. They have a few different burgers along with fried chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches, and an impossible burger. I also noticed that they had a great sauce game. So I ordered the Handsome Burger with bacon and cheese. The burger came with sticky onions, pickled cucumbers, lettuce and handsome sauce on a brioche bun. I didn’t have too high of expectations until I was served the burger. It was absolutely gorgeous! 

The bun was super soft. A very mild flavor and super fresh. The burger patty had absolutely no seasoning on it (as it should be) and it was cooked to perfection at medium well. It was super juicy and had a ton of flavor! I read where the beef is a mix between brisket and beef chuck. The toppings were probably my favorite part along with the burger patty. In general, the bacon in Ireland is definitely the best bacon I have ever had (probably has less preservatives than the US). The bacon was super crispy. The pickled cucumber was a good palette cleanser and the sticky onions had amazing flavor. 

Fries were also amazing and they had garlic on them. The garlic aioli was very good and the Handsome sauce (mustard based) was good too. 

Is this the best burger in Ireland? I don’t know, but I can tell you that this might have been the best burger I have ever had. Yes, it is the best burger I have ever had! The battle of the burgers rages on! 

The Handsome Burger

2.) Au Cheval: Part of Hogsalt Hospitality that also gives us some amazing restaurants like Bavette’s Steakhouse, Green Street Smoked Meats, and High Five Ramen. Au Cheval is located in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago and also has a NYC location. The wait time can be very long during peak hours, but there are plenty of bars around to kill some time if you just put your name & number with the hostess. The single is actually two patties and the double is actually three patties. The burger has American cheese, Dijonnaise, pickles, and the burger patties.

This is a re-ranking as the last time I had it was probably Pre-COVID. The bun is toasted, the patties are salty and crusty, and the toppings are excellent. You can order bacon ($7) and an egg ($3), but it is a bit too much. The burger is pretty much perfect and the fries with garlic aioli are amazing as well. The bun is downgraded from a 9 to a 7 as I thought the bun was overly dry as it may have sat on the grill for too long. I even think that the photo shows even further proof that it is a tad too crusty. The burger was cooked to medium rare perfection and it was juicy. The best part was the cheese as it was so tasty and gooey. The pickle added some nice crunch with the perfect taste of sourness. The sauce is very good, but could have used a tad more due to the dry bun. The burger is $15 and fries are $7. Overall, I downgraded this from the top spot, but it’s still the top spot in the US and in Chicago. I love the simplicity of the burger and I think it was just a bad day for the bun. Simplicity is the name of the game and that is why I still rank it above Mott Street. Mott Street is very very good, but it relies on it’s toppings too much, while Au Cheval focuses on keeping it simple. Also, this is one of the cleanest burgers I have ever eaten. 

P.S. I’ve known about the General Jane’s Honey Fried Chicken for a while and always get them when I come to Au Cheval. They still remain one of the best wings in Chicago! They give you 6 meaty wings fried perfectly and the sauce is incredible!

Single Burger (No Egg or Bacon)

3.) Mott St: Mott St is located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago and it’s an asian fusion restaurant, but they are notoriously rated as one of the best burgers in Chicago. Look at that beaut! It’s massive at a 1/2 lb patties! I just dug right in and expect it to be messy! Very, very messy. The bun was so fresh and so fluffy. The patties were meaty and cooked with great texture, but the toppings were overwhelming as there is just so many especially with the additional egg. The toppings were excellent and very high quality! LITERALLY LOOK AT THAT CHEESE! GET THE BURGER!  

4.) The Izakaya at Momotaro: You may think I’m crazy with putting a Japanese restaurant in the top 5, but I had to check out the Izakaya after seeing this beautiful burger on Windy City Burger Reviews Instagram page. I went on a Thursday night after Christmas and I had a 5:45pm reservation. There was a big bar with open seats so I opted to go there instead. Momotaro is very popular so I would recommend a reservation in advance or go during an off period like I did. The bar area filled up around 6-7pm.

I have never had a Bao bun before, but it was super crispy and fresh. I’m not a huge fan of baos as I think they lack flavor even though the texture is super fluffy and this bao definitely lacked flavor. It was fresh and it held together nicely so that is why it holds a 7 rating. The burger patty was literally perfection. It was cooked medium rare and it was juicy, flavorful, and crispy. There was absolutely no seasoning and that shows off the skill of making a good burger. Plus it was not a smash burger. Toppings were insanely good! The cheese was so melty and tasty. The pickle and sauce mixed together nicely! Overall, this burger was awesome! I give a slight nod to Mott Street, but it is up there with the best. 

Also, the Old Fashioned was very good even though they used Evan Williams and no rock. It kicked Lazy Bird’s Old Fashioned out of the water! The sashimi was pretty good and the overall vibe was very fresh/contemporary/hip/dimly lit so it is great for a date night. 

Momo Royale

5.) The Region: Some of my friends recommended the Region and the Region is ranked #4 by the Infatuation Chicago. And I am in agreement with the Infatuation as The Region comes in #3 for my rankings. I ordered the Diggity Dos and some cheese fries. I ordered delivery and it might have been the best delivery burger/fries I have eaten during the pandemic as it traveled extremely well.

The Diggy Dos comes with a soft bun, two 7oz burger patties, two slices of American cheese, Region sauce, relish, and onions. The Region sauce is mayo based yet it was like pink, which was super weird. But it must be mayo and ketchup based and it tasted amazing. The relish added some tang to the burger and the onions were crispy. The burger was extremely messy and greasy, but it is so worth it! The fries were crispy, salty, and not soggy. They were very solid fries, but not as good as the top 3. The cheese sauce was great as well and reminded me of Al’s Italian Beef’s cheese sauce. The Region rightfully deserves to be in my top 5 as it was incredible! 

The Rankings:

Restaurants

  1. Handsome Burger: 8 / 10 / 10 = 9.33 (9). Sauces 9. 
  2. Au Cheval: 7 / 10 / 10 = 9.0 (10)
  3. Mott St: 10 / 8 / 9 = 9.0 (N/A)
  4. The Izakaya at Momotaro: 7 / 10 / 10 = 9.0 (7)
  5. The Region: 10 / 8 / 9 = 9.0 (7)
  6. The Loyalist: 8 / 9 / 9 = 8.67 (9)
  7. Little Bad Wolf: 7 / 9 / 10 = 8.67 (6) 
  8. Red Hot Ranch: 6 / 9 / 10 = 8.33 (8)
  9. NADC Burger: 8 / 9 / 8 = 8.33 (7). House Ketchup is a 7.  
  10. Forbidden Root: 7 / 9 / 8 = 8.0 (3)
  11. Owen & Engine: 10 / 7 / 7 = 8.0 (9)
  12. The Bad Apple: 8 / 8 / 8 = 8.0 (7) (House-made ketchup is a 9)
  13. BopNgrill: 7 / 7 / 10 = 8.0 (6)
  14. The Warbler: 8 / 7 / 9 = 8.0 (3)
  15. Gretel: 5 / 8 / 10 = 7.67 (7) (Mac n Cheese is the best I’ve had in Chicago)
  16. Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream (Caramel, IN): 7 / 9 / 7 = 7.67 (6)
  17. Acadia: 7 / 8 / 8 = 7.67 (N/A)
  18. Kuma’s Corner: 7 / 7 / 9 = 7.67 (7) (BBQ Pork fries are amazing and their mac n cheese is one of the best in Chicago)
  19. Wooden Robot Brewery (Charlotte, NC): 7 / 7 / 9 = 7.67. (7). Pretzel = 7.
  20. Edzo’s Burger Shop (Evanston, IL): 7 / 6 / 10 = 7.67 (9)
  21. The Thurman Cafe (Columbus, OH): 10 / 5 / 8 = 7.67 (6)
  22. Causwells (San Francisco, CA): 3 / 10 / 10 = 7.67 (5)
  23. Table, Donkey, & Stick: 7 / 5 / 10 = 7.33 (N/A)
  24. Avec West Loop: 6 / 7 / 9 = 7.33
  25. Bistronomic: 5 / 9 / 8 = 7.33 (10)
  26. Avenue Tap & Kitchen: 7 / 8 / 8 = 7.33 (Tots = 9)
  27. Trio American Bistro (Jackson, WY): 6 / 7 / 8 = 7.0 (8). Cheese sauce is outstanding!
  28. Bandit: 7 / 7 / 7 = 7.0 (8)
  29. Small Cheval: 8 / 6 / 7 = 7.0 (3)
  30. Red Mill Burgers (Seattle, WA): 6 / 8 / 7 = 7.0 (5)
  31. DMK Burger Bar: 6 / 7 / 7 = 6.67 (7)
  32. Big Kids: 9 / 4 / 7 = 6.67
  33. Harriet’s Hamburgers (Charlotte, NC): 7 / 5 / 8 = 6.67 (5)
  34. The StopAlong – Stop-In Burger: 4 / 9 / 7 = 6.67. (4)
  35. Swift & Sons Tavern: 7 / 6 / 7 = 6.67 (5)
  36. Taureaux Tavern: 5 / 7 / 8 = 6.67 (6)
  37. Longman & Eagle: 5 / 7 / 8 = 6.67 (5)
  38. The StopAlong – That Other Burger: 4 / 8 / 7 = 6.33. (4)
  39. Frontier: 7 / 7 / 5 = 6.33. (7)
  40. Flight Club: 6 / 7 / 6 = 6.33 (N/A)
  41. Butcher & the Burger: 6 / 6 / 7 = 6.33 (N/A)
  42. Lucy’s: 7 / 4 / 8 = 6.33 (6)
  43. Flub A Dub Chub’s: 7 / 5 / 7 = 6.33 (N/A)
  44. Goose Island Brewhouse: 7 / 7 /56 = 6.33 (5)
  45. Jr’s Red Hots: 10 / 2 / 7 = 6.33. (4) 
  46. Guinness Open Gate Brewery: 4 / 8 / 7 – 6.33 (7)
  47. Fountainhead: 7 / 4 / 7 = 6.0 (4)
  48. Blue Line Lounge: 7 / 3 / 7 = 5.67 (9 Tater Tots)
  49. Scofflaw: 6 / 4 / 7 = 5.67 (8)
  50. AJ’s (West Lafayette, IN): 5 / 7 / 5 = 5.67 (7)
  51. The Swill Inn: 7 / 5 / 5 = 5.67 (7)
  52. Bianca’s Burgers: 7 / 3 / 6 = 5.33 (7). Great value! 
  53. BomboBar: 5 / 5 / 6 = 5.33 (6)
  54. Porter Kitchen & Deck: 4 / 6 / 6 = 5.33 (5)
  55. Dryhop Brewers: 5 / 6 / 5 = 5.33 (N/A)
  56. Billy Goat Inn: 2 / 7 / 7 = 5.33 (4)
  57. Boot’s Bar & Grill (Medora, ND): 5 / 4 / 7 = 5.33 (Sweet Potato Fries 5). BBQ sauce is awesome! 
  58. LG’s Bar & Grill: 7 / 2 / 7 = 5.33. (Sweet Potato Fries 5) 
  59. Little Victories: 3 / 5 / 8 = 5.33
  60. Mr Beef on Orleans: 6 / 3 / 6 = 5.0
  61. M Burger: 5 / 5 / 5 = 5.0 (4)
  62. Mordecai: 5 / 3 / 6 = 4.67 (5)
  63. Kaiser Tiger: 5 / 4 / 5 = 4.67 (N/A)
  64. United Polaris Lounge (O’Hare): 6 / 3 / 5 = 4.67
  65. Rocks North Center: 6 / 3 / 5 = 4.67 (N/A)
  66. Burger Bar Chicago: 5 / 3 / 5 = 4.33 (4)
  67. Black Barrel Tavern: 4 / 1 / 7 = 4.0. (6)
  68. B-Lux Grill & Bar (Wisconsin Dells, WI): 4 / 4 / 4 = 4.0 (4)
  69. Salt Burger + Fries: 6 / 0 / 6 = 4.0 (5)
  70. Puttery Chicago: 4 / 0 / 7 = 3.67 (3)

Fast Casual:

  1. Shake Shack: 6 / 8 / 7 = 7.0 (6)
  2. Meathead’s: 7 / 7 / 7 = 7.0 (6)
  3. Five Guys: 5 / 6 / 7 = 6.0 (4)

Fast Food:

  1. In-N-Out: 6 / 7 / 7 = 6.67 (1)
  2. Culver’s: 6 / 6 / 6 = 6.0 (4)
  3. Wendy’s: 5 / 5 / 4 = 4.67 (5)
  4. McDonald’s: 3 / 5 / 4 = 4.0 (7)
  5. Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr.: 3 / 6 / 3 = 4.0 (N/A)
  6. Burger King: 2 / 2 / 1 = 1.67 (4)

Wish List:

Missing Photos:

  1. Shake Shack.
  2. Meathead’s.
  3. Five Guys.
  4. Wendy’s.
  5. Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr.
  6. Burger King.

Featured Image: laintrees/In-N-Out Burger

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Tommy

Just a Millennial living in the real world...