Harris Poll Best Burger Brand

  1. Five Guys (never had)
  2. In-N-Out (I like)
  3. Shake Shack (never had)
  4. Wendy’s (?)
  5. Culver’s (never had)
  6. Whataburger (Texas - good)
  7. McDonald’s (I like the fries)
  8. Sonic (?)
  9. Smashburger (never had)
  10. Steak 'n Shake (never had)

Where’s Fuddrucker’s?

#9 should be #1. Never understood the #2 craze. #1 is about lots of fries, big deal. #5 is about the custard. #6 is old school and kinda good. Sonic and Wendy’s shouldn’t be on the list.

In-N-Out remains one of life’s great mysteries to me. I do not understand the devotion to this burger chain.

Like:
Five guys
Smashburger
Shake shack

Don’t like:
Culver’s
Steak 'n Shake.
White Castle [barf1.gif]

Nun of the above.

We must preserve the essence of our natural bodily fluids. And, our creatinine levels.

#1 for me - nothing quite like a White Castle cheeseburger smothered in mustard…

That’s a TMI, what did I do last night saga. I’m sure many a spouse met that way, trying to remember the name of their partner the next morning. Oh the good old days…

I don’t ever order fries, but I still really like Five Guys. It’s just the kind of burger I like - normal and not fancy (dutch crunch and gruyere is not for me).
In-N-Out is okay. Too salty for me. Definitely trendy.
The only others I’ve had on the list are McDonald’s (I’d give them a D-) and Wendy’s (C-).

Best burger I’ve probably ever had is PJ Clarke’s in Manhattan.
Sneaky good burger in Sonoma County is Ozzie’s in Rincon Valley.

I’m surprised Johnny Rockets is not on the list.

5-Guys is a good choice when you want a quick burger. Their buns need to be improved. I to do not get the In-n-Out craze. When I tried one in Salinas a couple of years ago I felt like I was eating an iceberg lettuce salad between a bun. Like Johnny Rockets but it’s more of a sit down place.

I like 5 guys a lot. The original was near our old apartment and I knew “the guys,” so that might be a thumb on the scale but the food is fresh, the burgers are about the beef, and the fries are outstanding. Among fast food burgers, it is in my #1 position and it isn’t close.

Shake Shack is very good too, but if you factor in the price and the wait it’s not something I seek out.

I’ve had In-N-Out once; don’t get the craze. It seems to exist for those who like a lot of slop on their burger, which kind of makes the burger itself incidental. Not a fan of that idea at all.

McD hamburgers are inedible to me – truly noxious stuff. If forced to eat at a McD’s I’ll get chicken (and pray). I haven’t had a Wendy’s for at least 15 years. In a pinch, I’d eat one of those before a McD’s.

We used to have a Whataburger in Richmond when I was a kid and I LOVED them. Haven’t had one in decades and I doubt the love affair would be rekindled.

The rest I have never had.

The best burgers are at my house. I’m not so good with fries, but I can beat their wine list by a mile.

I like Five Guys. I think their fries are better than their burger. Their burger is certainly a step up from Wendy’s and 10 steps up from Micky D’s.

Sonic and Smashburger have recently come to our area. Tried them each once and don’t see a need to go back. The fries at Smashburger were particularly repulsive and the burger kind of disgusting too.

There’s another place that opened in this area recently called BurgerFi. Not sure how wide their reach is, but the food is good and they serve beer and wine. If there’s one near you, give it a try:
https://burgerfi.com/locations/

There used to be one in Dallas, you get the burger and bun and there’s a salad bar kind of thing where you “build it yourself”. Not sure it’s even still there.
I’m stunned Wendy’s is on the list. In-N-out are showing up here more and more I don’t get it, but no offense to the animal style west coasters.

When I was younger my friends father opened up a burger place like that in San Mateo called Juicy’s. That was back in the early 80’s.

One missing from my POV: The Habit.

Competitive with the first three and better than 4 - 10.

Probably too small to “register” in the survey.

This.

I think Five Guys is quite good. Steak n’ Shake is pretty good too, based on an extremely limited sample size.

Also based on limited sample size, Epic Burger deserves to be somewhere in the middle of that list.

  1. Five Guys - I like the burgers, largely for the options of sauteed onions and mushrooms. Not impressed by the fries.
  2. In-N-Out - I like the burgers and loathe the “fries”
  3. Shake Shack - I like the burgers but usually buy the Shackago dog when I’m there. Fries are midway between 5 guys and I-N-Out (i.e., not a fan)
  4. Wendy’s - last time I went there I decided never to return. Might just have been a bad location
  5. Culver’s - never had
  6. Whataburger - never had
  7. McDonald’s - Fries aren’t great but are much better than Shake Shack or InNOut, I don’t really think of the burgers as burgers so much as a nostalgic piece of my childhood.
  8. Sonic - never had
  9. Smashburger - never had
  10. Steak 'n Shake - never had

Best by far for me is Byron in the UK. Their big smoky is my go to. Much better than 5 guys where I find the meat is always very dry. Had all the list except culver and smashburger.

WhataBurgers are huge, I think that’s why some people like them so much, I have no idea where they get their buns-proprietary I guess.