Philadelphia's Best Burger

[TarteTatin]

Thank you for the clarifications, both of you!

They really helped me try to understand;

but we still want

RARE MEAT!

[rlibkind]

Thank you for the clarifications, both of you!

They really helped me try to understand;

but we still want

RARE MEAT!

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Yeah. You ask for steak tartare and you get a strip steak with some mayonaisse based sauce with sweet pickles chopped into it.

[Furious Flav-or]

A lot has to do with the burger size.  I am not a fan of the humongous burgers which I consider to be anything larger than a third of a pound.  As much as I like to wear some of my meal, the giant burgers rarely stay with the bun and the ingredients slip out all over the place.  Restaurants keep building burgers bigger and bigger to justify a higher menu price.

My favorite Philadelphia area burger is from a place called Charlies in Folsom, in the airport area.  This is the classic American hamburger as it should be served.

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Wow, Holly, these burgers must be good, $145 for one burger?? Just kidding, the website forgot the decimal points.

Gotta tell you, from the pictures, they don't look good enough to rate 5 grease stains. That is high praise indeed but tell me what makes them so special?

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You should see my pics of White Manna burgers then. Beauty is in the eye of the eater. I show the burgers as they come off the grill to the customer. Restaurant verite.

Why better. Toasted buns, hand formed patties in the area of 1/4 lb, a glisten of grease on the bun crown, slightly squashed from the grill iron. Classic and the way a hamburger was meant to be served. So many of the designer burger places don't even make the effort to toast the buns. But the only way to understand and appreciate what a burger should be is to do as Charlie Mummer says and head to Charlie's.

The bars and restaurants do eight ounce burgers not because it is a better burger but because they can't charge $7.95 for a proper quarter pound burger. The mache, the goat cheese, the fois gras and all the other frills - build the perceived value and the size of the check. Same reason those places don't offer cups of soup anymore.

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Sorry, but our impression (ex-Delco, lived there for 10 years) of Charlies was meth den-cum-carnival sideshow. The burgers were greasy, watery, and served up by someone who looked to either be on work release, or an escapee. Don't agree with you on this one, Holly, oh my God, no way.

Chacun a son goût, je suppose.

[rockhopper]

Sorry, but our impression (ex-Delco, lived there for 10 years) of Charlies was meth den-cum-carnival sideshow. The burgers were greasy, watery, and served up by someone who looked to either be on work release, or an escapee. Don't agree with you on this one, Holly, oh my God, no way.

Chacun a son goût, je suppose.

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What is a watery burger? Except for that - whatever it means - the rest of your description sound like a place to visit for sure.

[Tim Dolan]

I haven't had a lot of time to resume my original post, and I don't have much time now so just a few quick things.

mrbigjas, I did have Black Sheep's burger and it's pretty good. I'd put it right behind Rouge, dead even with Bishop's Collar, and ahead of Standard Tap. The Guiness tap was working superbly that day because the bartender poured me a few excellent pints. I don't know why they were so good, but they were. It was a perfect match.

This is kind of unfair competition, but I've also had the Kobe sliders at Barclay Prime. I'd say they're as good as you've heard. Very small, but very tasty. I could easily put down about 10 of those bad boys in one sitting cause they're that small. Also, the fact that you could spend a small car payment at BC doesn't really help them though. But they're an entirely different beast, so I digress.

My next destination will be Grey Lodge. I can tell from their website that this is my kind of place. I'm actually excited to go there. After that I'll try to make it to Brasserie Perrier.

[Andrew Fenton]

i think this discussion is kind of interesting--it's hard to define what the best burger in town is, if you don't define what you're looking for in a burger to start with.

A good point! Maybe there ought to be some sort of systematic attempt to determine the city's best burger. You know, with defined categories and ratings... perhaps it could be some sort of "burger association" or "burger gang".

Naaah... it'd never work...

[Mummer]

...perhaps it could be some sort of "burger association" or "burger gang".

Naaah... it'd never work...

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I've been told that burger gangs can lead to dining clubs. Who know's what might happen then...

Just say no.

[Rich Pawlak]

You have it all wrong Mummser. Dining clubs lead to pizza clubs and burger clubs and mayonnaise clubs and....

uh, forget that last one.

[Furious Flav-or]

Sorry, but our impression (ex-Delco, lived there for 10 years) of Charlies was meth den-cum-carnival sideshow. The burgers were greasy, watery, and served up by someone who looked to either be on work release, or an escapee. Don't agree with you on this one, Holly, oh my God, no way.

Chacun a son goût, je suppose.

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What is a watery burger? Except for that - whatever it means - the rest of your description sound like a place to visit for sure.

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The whole thing was a sog-fest, from bottom of bottom bun to top of top bun.

[Tim Dolan]

I made it to the Grey Lodge the other night. I think this is a cool bar with a really good beer selection. Me and my girlfriend sat upstairs and had a good meal and chatted with a cool bartender. Basically they serve good bar food. I had the wings and their burger, which were both good, but I'm not sure they warrant a return visit. It wasn't bad, but there are places in my neighborhood that are just as good. Their beer selection definitely gets them extra points, but I don't think the Grey Lodge beats out my neighborhood haunt, CJ and Eck's, which is my barometer for "good" bar food. All that being said, I will give them one more shot for their cheesesteak. This would be my go-to place if it were in my 'hood because of the beer. Magic Hat is about as exotic as it gets in the Manayunk area.

[lindaterry]

TIM: Try the London Grill Burger again. Pretty please. Boursin and fried onions are most popular toppings. Ask for a Kaiser if you don't like the english muffin. The english muffin is a commitment from being around since 1968, when there was London, New London and the London Victory Club, all al la Warren Brown. When we tried to take it to another roll we got slammed. Happy Hour offers them as sliders, individual or "Wimpy" stacked, on a yummy mini roll. Drafts we're gulping his week: Legacy's Hedonism and Yard's GW Porter.

Bring this printable and the burger is comped!! Terry

My favorite sandwich at Bishop's Collar ('The Collar)' is the Tavern Ham and Cheese! Challah Bread, slathered, grilled...yes.

Also-see annual London/Bishops football bowl, for Children's Hospital, Tues Feb 28th! Check in at either, or better, both, bars to get more info.

[Jeff L]

I made it to the Grey Lodge the other night. I think this is a cool bar with a really good beer selection. Me and my girlfriend sat upstairs and had a good meal and chatted with a cool bartender. Basically they serve good bar food. I had the wings and their burger, which were both good, but I'm not sure they warrant a return visit. It wasn't bad, but there are places in my neighborhood that are just as good. Their beer selection definitely gets them extra points, but I don't think the Grey Lodge beats out my neighborhood haunt, CJ and Eck's, which is my barometer for "good" bar food. All that being said, I will give them one more shot for their cheesesteak. This would be my go-to place if it were in my 'hood because of the beer. Magic Hat is about as exotic as it gets in the Manayunk area.

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But did either of you have the fries? If you did, there would be no question as to a return visit. We all have our favorite neighborhood bars and taverns but the fries here are outstanding, really

Oh, and good move to order the rib eye cheese staek, it's really great too.

This isn't exacxtly close to me, about 30 minutes away but I will be back and soon!

Jeff

[Tim Dolan]

Terry, you don't have to actually comp my burger, but I'll return simply because you extended the courtesy. Thanks, I appreciate it. Besides, everybody deserves a second chance, right? Like I said, I didn't think your burger was bad at all, it just didn't ring my bell. I ran into your bar the night before Valentine's Day to grab a bottle of Lindeman's Framboise for my V-Day dessert, so I owe you one.

Jeff, I actually didn't order the fries because I incorrectly assumed that they would come with the burger. However two guys sitting next to us at the bar ordered them as we were leaving, and they did indeed look pretty good. Next time I'm there for the cheesesteak I'll get the fries.

[kretch]

One of the absolute best burgers around Rittenhouse (better than Rouge, Loie, etc IMHO) that nobody ever really seems to hype is the burger at 20 Manning. Consistently excellent. Outstanding fries as well. And the perfect bar to eat it at, as long as it's not a Friday or Saturday night (too crowded.)

Shame you can't get it until after 10:30, or whenever it is that the bar menu kicks in. Unless that's changed.

tmk

[Tim Dolan]

Speak of the devil I'm going to Twenty Manning tomorrow night. It will be well before 10:30 though, so perhaps another time...

[stephenc]

Good Dog

[vw8v]

Five Guys. Only thing missing are good shakes - the burger is excellent, and the fries are perfect.

Five Guys

[aaronwcpa]

Five Guys.  Only thing missing are good shakes - the burger is excellent, and the fries are perfect. 

Five Guys

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When we were visiting Arlington VA area year or so ago we passed several Five Guys and failed to stop only to learn later about the quality of its burgers from a fairly reliable source.

Waiting for one to open in Lower Bucks County. Every conceibable chain is here and Five Guys should be a matter of time.

[MarketStEl]

Five Guys.  Only thing missing are good shakes - the burger is excellent, and the fries are perfect. 

Five Guys

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One of these evenings I should just hop off the 109 in Clifton Heights and do a scouting report.

[mod*betty]

There is a 5 guys Burgers on 202 between West Chester and Delaware- we stopped there once on the way to Rehoboth and it was OK. The burgers were good, but the fries were a bit raw & limp. It seemed to take quite a while for our order to be made, even though we were some of the only folks in there- they ease the pain of the wait by having buckets of peanuts in the shell on each table, but eating them made me less than hungry for what we had ordered.

My vote for best burger is just over the line in DE at the Charcoal Pit. Definitely the 202 location for ambiance too.

[herbacidal]

There is a 5 guys Burgers on 202 between West Chester and Delaware- we stopped there once on the way to Rehoboth and it was OK. The burgers were good, but the fries were a bit raw & limp. It seemed to take quite a while for our order to be made, even though we were some of the only folks in there- they ease the pain of the wait by having buckets of peanuts in the shell on each table, but eating them made me less than hungry for what we had ordered.

My vote for best burger is just over the line in DE at the Charcoal Pit. Definitely the 202 location for ambiance too.

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I hope it's not one of those cases where the farthest outposts of a generally good chain suffer because of their distance.

The Clifton Heights and Glen Mills ones are the only locations in PA in the area, although their only NJ location is on 168 in Mt. Ephraim relatively close to me.

[Holly Moore]

My experience at a Five Guys in Arlington VA was quite disappointing, espeically their burger. Way overcooked. Dry. Lousy. I'm hoping things will be better hereabouts.

[john b]

It looks, based on the menu, that they could be the east coasts's answer to In-N-Out Burger, if they can put out a consistent product.

[herbacidal]

My experience at a Five Guys in Arlington VA was quite disappointing, espeically their burger.  Way overcooked.  Dry.  Lousy.  I'm hoping things will be better hereabouts.

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Hmm, maybe it's not a generally good chain.

Maybe one of their outposts is really good (for whatever reason) and the others mostly suck for different reasons.

[philadining]

I'm voting with mod*betty for the Charcoal Pit. I grabbed a cheeseburger and a black and white shake about a week ago, and it was just perfect.

OK, it's stretching things a little to call that Philadelphia, but hey...