You're welcome!

Where's the Fonz????????

Not on the list and is a big chain, Burger_Fi

Never heard of that until I read your post. Just did a quick google search and Damn that looks tasty!

The wife and I would stop by this little dive bar Rays after work.
2 cheeseburgers, back bacon, a Frank cut in two, onion rings and a fried egg on top. Was like 8 inches tall and needed a steak knife thru it to stand up. Now that was a burger.

There's something about opening a box of frozen White Castle burgers from the grocery store and enjoying them with some hickory BBQ sauce (now if we had White Castle restaurants nearby, I'd go.... but frozen is the best I can do). Burger King burgers are really not bad either...odd that they weren't on the poll

I feel like the best burger value is Culvers, but the overall best burger is from Shake Shack.

The only ones from your list that are local are McDonald's, Wendy's and Five Guys. I went with Five Guys.

I seldom eat at any of these places anyway.

What's a burger thread without pictures?

I'll eat at just about any burger joint given the opportunity. From major chains to the local Mom-and-Pop. I've eaten from all of the places listed below and many more.

I already voted In-N-Out as my favorite as I based it solely on the burger quality and value. Not their fries (which I actually don't like), not the shakes, just the burger.
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Tried 5 Guys when they built one in our area. Good, but pricey.
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Didn't care for Shake Shack. Burger was unimpressive and the bun was greasy.
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Freddys was decent but the burger was unremarkable. The frozen custards are the draw here.
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Whataburger - when I was recently in TX I had to try them as they are EVERYWHERE (see Houston area below). Good burger for what it is.
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White Castle - actually ate AT a WC location many years ago, not the frozen ones, and personally didn't care for them
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Smashburger - too salty
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Umami (local chain) - pricey, but a good gourmet burger
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Fatburger - a solid contender
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Habit - easily right behind, if not even with, In-N-Out for me
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Hopdoddy - just had a Buffalo Bill from there recently and was blown away at how good it was. Seem to be more of them in TX
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Carls Jr - worked there in my youth and still think the Famous/Super Star is one of the best American-style burgers
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McD - hey, I still like getting a Big Mac or double/triple cheeseburger every now and then
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Jack in The Box - burgers are passable, Ultimate Cheeseburger is my fave there
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Wendys - not a fan
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The frozen onions at Krystal cause exploding from somewhere other then your mouth.

The only thing I ever get from Wendy's is the spicy chicken sandwich.

You've obviously never been to the Jackson House.

How would I go aboot sueing them?

Ate at a Freddy's Steak Burgers today and it was pretty good. I'll have to eat there a couple more times and get a good burger before I steer people their way.

Sour cream and chives baked potato, a large chili. Mash up potato, put chili on that thing, then the sour cream.

Really? That's pretty funny since they literally have no other use for them than if someone asks for them specifically.... o_O

was wondering about Freddy's. they are starting to pop up around me.

My daughter lives in Ca now and likes Freddy's. She misses Culver's here in Wi, but says it's pretty comparable. We went out to visit her earlier this year and would have to agree. Pretty similar but would still give the edge to Culvers.

We also ate at In and Out and thought it was ok. I had it once before and it seemed better the first time.

Good point.

I guess I somewhat envy you guys. My wife and kids are always busting my chops with respect to my diet.

I'm a huge fan of White Castle. (Seriously, I really need to lose some weight) I recently went to the doctor's office and he told me since I am now in my late 40's, it would be necessary to have a barium enema so that they may inspect my colon for polyps in a forthcoming x-ray. I told him no worries and to save the barium as I would simply stop at my local White Castle on the way home and order the 'Crave Case'. Eating all of these over a 24 hr. period should easily do the trick.

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I mean....maybe take that as a sign instead of a curse? My entire extended family pretty much has had a heart attack. You think I'm very careful about what I eat? Not at all, but I'm a nihilist.

I was at the White Castle in Bloomington, MN not far from the airport and the guy in front of me ordered 3 crave cases to go so that he could bring them back to California on the plane. I've also heard that they offer wedding packages for people to get married there that come with fancy table clothes and silverware. I used to love going there in college after the bars. I don't really think of them as burgers but they are really addictive! My favorite are the jalopeno cheeseburgers with fried onions.

We don't have any White Castles near me in WI but I live 10 miles from the Culver's World headquarters and eat there all the time. We also have 5 Guys and Mooyahs by where I work which are good as well but Culver's just has better variety. I can get my cheese curds and frozen Custard for desert. More choices for the kids too.

When we do the poll for best fast food chicken place my vote goes to Raising Cane's over Chick-fil-A.

This 100% ! They're basically the same business model In 'N Out except that they sell chicken strips instead of Burgers. Their fries a just okay, but the Texas Toast the serve is great. And you get quite a bit of food for your dollar there. The only problem is that like In 'N Out, they tend to have long lines. A new one just opened in Anaheim last week that I had to walk away from because the lines (inside and the drive thru) were so long.

Ugh. Cane's has exploded here in the last 5 years. They're freakin' EVERYWHERE around me. Like seriously guys, we don't need 10 of you within a 5 mile radius.

Culver's is my favorite fast food restaurant - White Castle is my favorite 'snack' burger. Everything Culver's makes tastes fresh & delicious. As my family & I travel to central Wisconsin a few times every month, we routinely stop at the "World's Largest Culver's" off of I-90 in Edgerton. (It's really not much bigger than any other Culver's I've been to, but they advertise it this way!) If traffic is snarled on the way back home, we occasionally get off the highway in Baraboo & head towards the Culver's in Sauk City off of Rt. 12. I think that's the same Culver's you are referring to as they have a plaque outside as you leave the drive-thru. Good stuff!

BTW - In agreement, White Castle's jalapeño cheeseburgers are the best! (Make it a double when you're near one again - you won't regret it!)

Wait a second!

What about Krusty Burger?!

Yes, that is the same Culver's. They actually bulldozed the original Culver's which was at that location and built a new one about 10 years ago which is what the plaque is for. There's also a place a couple miles from there called the Blue Spoon Cafe which is an upscale "dine in" Culver's which overlooks the river. I kind of take Culver's for granted since there are so many of them around here (they outnumber McDonalds) but I really don't have anything bad to say about them. They are usually managed well and are a good reliable choice if you are looking for fast food.

I'm a bit envious that Illinois has so many Portillos as that's a great place for hot dogs and Italian Beefs. We finally got our first one in Madison this Spring. I'd trade you a couple of Culver's for another Portillos
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I just assumed everyone knows that KrustyBurger makes the finest burgers being that they were voted the "Official Meat-Flavored Sandwich of the 1984 Summer Olympics". My personal favorites at KB's is the Ribwich, The Clogger and the now discontinued Whatchamachicken.

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While we’re talking burgers can we agree mayo on burgers is a fucking travesty? Who thought hot mayonnaise sounded like a good idea? Nasty.

Hell no, we dont agree. Mayo not going to be any hotter than the cold lettuce, tomato or pickle. However, I like mine with sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms...and mayo of course.

Thin smear of mayo on a toasted bun keeps it from getting soggy; oil is a water barrier. Veggies between mayo and beef.

Mayo if using lettuce for sure for me. Better if you make it into some kind of spicy garlic aioli.

I just like my burgers with cheese, pickle, bacon, and if available a fried egg and chips, either way no other condiments.

I hear Portillo's has a pretty good burger also. I've never had one though because I can't go there and not order the Italian beef. Like you say about Culver's there are so many here we take them for granted. I'm glad Portillo's is a little more scarce as it's more of a treat when you get it.

Everytime I go to Portillos, I tell myself I'm going to try the burger. Just can't do that though when they sell the best hot dogs around.

Burger Chef, lol haven't seen one of those since I was a kid.

We had a couple of them with that design in the late '60's-early '70's. Then the went with the basic box buildings before shutting down. Burger Chef & Jeff...

Gotta love this shot. I worked there at this very location. Food was way better back then and I could custom make myself a triple star. It's now a 7/11.

To the right is one of the very first KFCs in the area with the spinning bucket and all. We used to trade the workers food on the night shift.
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Remember when they used to keep track?

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Best burger I had is from a chain in Iowa called B-Bops. I moved to Texas about 13 years ago, but still stop at B-Bops whenever I go back to Iowa. They also have a really good pork tenderloin sandwich.

B-Bop's has won Cityview magazine's Best of Des Moines award in the category of Best Burger for twenty six years in a row!

https://b-bops.com/

If you're ever in Des Moines, I highly recommend you try them out.

I remember counting them up in the '60's and early '70's from 5 to 6 was the first I remember. We wondered how "10" would fit on the new, smaller sign on a pole at the one we went to.

McDonalds was great when they used to cook all their burgers fresh, instead of just cramming all the cooked patties in a drawer to be used later. And before they changed whatever oil they were cooking their fries in.

They have made a slight comeback with the fresh beef quarter pounder, but the fries will never be the same.

When was that? I worked there for a summer in high school probably 1990. We would cook 12 at a time, wrap them up and put them in the big warmer behind the cashiers. Filet of fish would sit all day and we would just throw them out at the end of the day.

70s maybe into the 80s. You could always see the grill going. Finished burgers were then wrapped and slid down metal tracks where the cashier could grab them.

If you were in doubt about the freshness, just order it special like with no pickles, and they would always pull you a hot, juicy patty right off the grill. With the patties in a drawer now, you still get a stale one no matter how you order it.

Unless you go quarter pounder of course. Those are really juicy and good now.

It was the same way at Carls Jr. We never threw a patty into the charbroiler until it was ordered. Now you can tell they were cooked long before.

I would make my own just like that off the grill and it was good. The nuggets out of the fryer were outsounding. Pop those in when nobody was looking!

I liked the old nuggets better. I ate enough of the newer ones when my kid would order them. They come out of a drawer now too.

I used to do that as well when I worked there. And we traded food with the Pizza Hut night crew across the street.

I really miss the old Carls Jr fries made from Frispos...

Hard to believe freeze dried Frispos pellets were so darn good. I took them over the real deal back then.