Best Fast Food Burger

[heidih]

Still no one ranking Wendy's in the mix?

OK, I finally made it to Wendy's yesterday for lunch, and I agree with the others in this topic: of the Big 3, Wendy's clearly has the superior burger. It's not much of a contest, really. Honestly, I'm not at all sure it's not better than In'n'Out (maybe I am just overreacting to the massive and undeserved I'n'O hype, though). I think my current list goes something like this:

1. Freddy's
   
2. Smashburger
   
3. Five Guys
   
4. There is no number four, there is a gap here.
   
5. Braum's
   
6. Wendy's
   
7. In'n'Out
   
8. Whataburger
   
9. McDonalds
   
10. Burger King
    
11. Sonic
    
12. Carl's Jr.
    

Am I leaving anyone out? What are your lists?

FatBurger

Here's the best I could come up with, their locator is down, one may be nearby?:

http://locationsloca...rger/Thomas OK/

More Fatburger locations can be found nearby in Custer City, Oakwood, Putnam, Weatherford, Hydro, Arapaho, Watonga, Clinton and Greenfield

I do an event behind them every weekend. No good smell coming out of there and none of us want to go there. As I recall - flat smashed patties.

[bishop]

Oh, I will add the Johnny Rockets.

They do a good job all the way around, even the shakes.

Hate the fact they make the staff dance though ... tacky!

I feel bad for them ... slammed and then the lights go down and they got to get backed up.

[pacman1978]

I am a Brit but the best chain burger I've had in the states is definitely five guys.

[Martin Fisher]

No decent fast food burgers around here.

Red Robin served up one of the worst burgers I've ever tried! Real nasty tasting with a funky texture — like the texture of meat that's had too much phosphate added! Just horrible!

Five Guys — dry burgers and soggy fries.

[rotuts]

if we define  Five Guys as fast,

 

then hands down its Shake Shack  ( in the 'burbs :  no line if you are careful )

 

the Smoke Shake is the best commercial burger ive ever had.  )(  thick cut applewood bacon and Cherry peppers.

 

Had one last week.

 

Mmmmmmmmmm   good !

[Martin Fisher]

No Shake Shack within 150 miles or so of here. 

[rotuts]

Mine's 20 - 30 minutes away    just far enough so I have to think twice

 

a life saver.  any closer , well .............................

[Fava]

I would place Stewart's high on that list! I am familiar with the seasonally place in Matawan, NJ, on rt 79. Their Burgers are excellent, you can sit inside at the counter or outside under sun umbrellas. Or get served while staying in your car. (which I never do). I took my granddaughters there yesterday, they also love the Root beer floats!

[ProfessionalHobbit]

I need to experience In-and-Out soon.  Unfortunately the closest one I can think of (without resorting to Google) is the location at Fisherman's Wharf.

 

It's not exactly convenient to me.

[gfweb]

I think the definition of fast food burger needs refinement.

 

Five guys is a take out place, but its far from fast...no drive thru etc.

 

For me, a fast food burger must be fast...ie drive through speed. Five Guys and Red Robin and shake shack...not fast enough.

 

[Chris Hennes]

I agree -- I think we've hit a point where there is a third burger category. I used to think of burgers as being either the sort of thing you got cooked to order (e.g. a thick burger cooked medium rare) or one that was basically assembly-line processed, was always well-done, and was by definition very thin. Now we've got all these hybrids like Shake Shack and Five Guys, where the burger is thicker and slower-arriving than a typical fast-food burger, but still stylistically very different from a burger at, say, a steakhouse.

[Martin Fisher]

12 minutes ago, gfweb said:

drive through speed

 

But that's so '70s and '80s.

McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's around here. That's it!

Maybe "burger chain"  is more appropriate.

Maybe "chain burgers" is even more appropriate!

SO was gifted an Applebee's birthday gift certificate back in early May...so, we went to Applebee's and placed our orders.

I ordered a burger, and, it was real good (other than being a bit over-seasoned!)

I was shocked!

I was definitely not impressed with the place the couple other times I'd been there!!!!

Maybe it was a fluke! Maybe I had one too many beers! NEVER!!!!

No, it really was one of the best burgers I've had from a place like that!

The fries were also pretty good....stayed crisp, but also over-seasoned....and I'm a salt addict!

 

They say there's a Sonic in the works here...but i haven't found many sonic fans.

 

 

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

9 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

Five Guys — dry burgers and soggy fries.

 

I reckon, as with any franchise, your experience is subject to variance by location. Our local Five Guy's is very good. Pricier than McDonald's et al, but well worth it IMO. It's in the running for a "Best Burger in the Triangle" contest. I assume that is the various locations throughout the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, not just the location a mile from my house.

 

10 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

SO was gifted an Applebee's birthday gift certificate back in early May...so, we went to Applebee's and placed our orders.

I ordered a burger, and, it was real good (other than being a bit over-seasoned!)

I was shocked!

I was definitely not impressed with the place the couple other times I'd been there!!!!

Maybe it was a fluke! Maybe I had one too many beers! NEVER!!!!

No, it really was one of the best burgers I've had from a place like that!

Edited July 1, 2016 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

This post is in re the above quote from DDF. I couldn't type below it.

 

Applebee's recently began advertising their wood-fired grill capability. So it probably wasn't too much beer. Wood fire grilling can improve just about any meat, I think, so with your good burger report, I may darken their doors again after over a decade of giving up on them.

 

The best fast food burger I can get is at my house. If I have all the ingredients here, I can be eating a pan grilled one before I can drive to Five Guys or Corbett's (which is a good mom and pop burger joint), wait for my order and receive it. I might not beat them speedwise if I grill them over charcoal, but then the burger will be even better, and mine will be cheaper either way. My order is always right too. While Corbett's grinds meat in house daily, they have a hard time getting your order straight.

[rotuts]

Im sure I could go back and study the ShakeShack  ' Smoke Shack '  and reproduce it at home

 

but why ?   the meat at SS tastes like beef.   never tasted beef at McD or other truly fast burger places.

 

5 guys here is quite good, and you can add lots of items to the burger.

 

SS is better for some reason.   SS  had a bit of char to it   and the smokey applewood bacon added a lot to it.  and the cherry chili   and the   .....

[Deryn]

I only eat a burger perhaps once or twice a year - but, in the Asheville area I can recommend only one place to go and that is the food truck in the Home Depot parking lot off Fairview Road. They only use only Hickory Nut Gap grass fed beef and they are THE juiciest, tastiest burgers I have ever had. No other fast food joint (fixed or mobile) has beat them yet in my experience - and since grass fed is better for me anyway, I was thrilled to find this place.

[rotuts]

Wow

 

I do agree grass fed beef is very different that corn finished.  what do these burgers run you?

 

im only curious, as the only grass fed ground meat I can get is Fz, TJ's sells some, and at my farmers market there is a stand that sells their own

 

grass fed beed.   Ive gotten their sirloin steaks and SV's them    very interesting and nice.  they do the

 

butchering themselves  and vac-freeze the cuts.   the sirloin was not evenly cut, which does not matter at all for SV.

 

but Ive never had burgers from fz ground meat that was as good as ' fresh'

 

Ill stop by the Grass fed folks tomorrow and get a few sirloins   not for the grill

 

but for the SV'er.

 

grass fed beef has a completely different taste than corn finished, and lasts on the palate longer.

 

if that taste appeals to you , there is no better.

[blue_dolphin]

This thread is making me crave a burger, something that doesn't happen often.  When it does, I go to Umami Burger.  

It's a chain, but a small one and out of scope for this thread because it's not fast either but I like the burgers and I can have a beer, too.

 

[rotuts]

@blue_dolphin  

 

no UM burger near me

 

\Rats !

 

Im nominating you and confirming your nomination to study these places and report :

 

Umani

 

ShakeShake  ( when not too busy )

 

 

and In'N'Out.

 

I would not drive to SS  but you might find yourself near by for other reasons 

 

 

etc.

 

next time you visit Unami, ask why they don't

[blue_dolphin]

4 minutes ago, rotuts said:

Im nominating you and confirming your nomination to study these places and report :

 

Umani

 

ShakeShake  ( when not too busy )

 

and In'N'Out.

 

I could do that.  I'd avoided it due to the reported long lines but that Shake Shack is less than half a mile from where I get my hair cut so I'll keep that in mind for my next visit.  

[rotuts]

SS opens at 1130 am in my area

 

nobody there.

 

get the SmokeShake if you would love some Applewood smoked bacon.

 

the FFries are not worth it.

 

no potato salad either

 

pics always nice, for In'N'Out and SS and Umani.

 

[kayb]

There is a small "chain" of burger places in Little Rock called Big Orange (I think there are three, all in Little Rock, AR), that has without a doubt the best commercially prepared burger I have ever eaten. Anywhere. Local farm-raised beef, locally baked bread, top-notch condiments and add-ons (the avocado and blue cheese burger is, I swear, a Gift From God). If you're EVER in Little Rock, do not fail to eat there. The truffle fries are pretty awesome, too.

 

A similar, but not quite as good, burger place/small chain in Nashville is Burger Republic.

 

And of course, a million Mom and Pop burgers at diners and dairy bars across the land. My personal favorite of those, and I'm not sure if it's still in existence, was the Dairy Freeze in Hiwasse, AR, a tiny wide spot in the road that's probably now been swallowed up by Bentonville. Fondly known to all as the Hiwasse Hilton. Best burger ever. Hand-patted, flat-top grilled, piled high with lettuce, cheese, onion, tomatoes, bacon. Have mercy!

 

I had one there one night with Bill Clinton, back when he was still governor of Arkansas. He'd never been there, and I had ridden to an event with him to interview him for the newspaper. We passed it and I mentioned it (knowing his fondness for cheeseburgers); he vowed we'd stop there on the way back, and we did. Gotta love a small state where you know everybody; I'd called them and given them a heads up not to close at their usual time!

 

[Deryn]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

Wow

 

I do agree grass fed beef is very different that corn finished.  what do these burgers run you?

 

im only curious, as the only grass fed ground meat I can get is Fz, TJ's sells some, and at my farmers market there is a stand that sells their own

 

grass fed beed.   Ive gotten their sirloin steaks and SV's them    very interesting and nice.  they do the

 

butchering themselves  and vac-freeze the cuts.   the sirloin was not evenly cut, which does not matter at all for SV.

 

but Ive never had burgers from fz ground meat that was as good as ' fresh'

 

Ill stop by the Grass fed folks tomorrow and get a few sirloins   not for the grill

 

but for the SV'er.

 

grass fed beef has a completely different taste than corn finished, and lasts on the palate longer.

 

if that taste appeals to you , there is no better.

 

rotuts - Last time I was there (this spring) I think I paid a little over 6 dollars (plus tax but it didn't come to $7) for a burger (I didn't order with cheese which is a bit more) which comes with fries. Well worth the price .. and frankly that is pretty low these days I think for any kind of burger with fries.

[rotuts]

when I grew up in the Bay Area, there was a place called Kirks.  huge burgers, ground there

 

and a million different condiments you put on yourself.  you walked by the large frill area, placing your order on on end, the line snakes but the char area, and at the other end you

 

paid and picked up your burgers       and ate outside on real redwood BBQ tables.  it was the only place my parents took us.

 

Yum Yum.

[lindag]

Applebee's Classic Burger cooked med. rare is very good here.

However, we have a little hometown burger place in a town just south of here where they make the best burgers ever.  Great beef, cooked to order along with their grilled onions and onion rings!  Hoo boy!