Favorite local burger joints

[M_Dildine]

@timmy roos

@M. Dildine

The Grill at Carmel Vallley Ranch makes very tasty ones.

The best out here (hands down) is the legendary Nepenthe (Big Sur) “Ambrosia Burger.”

Part of the allure of the Ambrosia burger is the view

Yes it is and I’ve often wondered “how would this taste on El Camino Real in Palo Alto at rush hour”?

I’m thinking - “damn good”!

[Peter_Petersen]

Father’s Office is pretty good, but I’ve had better burgers at Akasha. But I’m also a purist in that I don’t want my beef mixed up with too many other things and I prefer grass-fed beef.

Then again there is the memorable duck burger at Melange. Only had it once though, but that was good.

[dteng]

Jack’s Prime in San Mateo is great.
We go regularly.
Sweet potato fries with aioli is excellent.

[Craig_G]

@dteng

Sweet potato fries

Abomination.

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

@Craig Gleason

@dteng

Sweet potato fries

Abomination.

But aioli is good

[M.Kaplan]

@Craig Gleason

@dteng

Sweet potato fries

Abomination.

^This.

[dteng]

@Craig Gleason

@dteng

Sweet potato fries

Abomination.

I may generally agree but theirs is deLish.

Offline!!?

[Joe_B]

Log cabin in conover Wisconsin

[Craig_G]

@dteng

@Craig Gleason

@dteng

Sweet potato fries

Abomination.

I may generally agree but theirs is deLish.

Offline!!?

Happy to, but I’m not eating any f**cking sweet potato fries!

I do like aioli. On proper, non-abominational fries.

[Steve_Manzi]

@Mark.Ricca

Still waiting on a post for NJ. Luger’s sounds great but that would require pre-planning.

Nothing in central Jersey at all?

Most of the local pubs around here have no clue and still serve a really mediocre burger with obviously frozen FFs which I have already voiced my bias against.

Mark,

I’m with you. Some tasty burgers, but none are memorable that I have found in are of 138GSP. I’d be interested in hearing what you say about Stage Left. You’ve not posted, so I guess you either didn’t go, or it wasn’t memorable.

[G_Greenbaum]

The Burger at Golden State (Fairfax across from Canter’s) is probably my favorite burger right now.

The greatest burger in LA could be found in the most ironic of places. Ironic, in that the place was called Thai American Express. It was on Rowena in Silverlake in what is now Blair’s. Pad Thai, Pad Kee Mau, Tom Kung Kai, etc was readily available, but it was the burger everyone was after. The meat was good quality, but nothing transcendental. The burger came on a nice toasted bun with all the fixins on the plate. There was crisp bacon, sauteed mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, cheese and avocado plus all the various bottled condiments. What catapulted this burger into greatness was this onion/sauce concoction. Sauteed onions, spices and some kind of tangy (A1 like) sauce. It was perfect. The ingredients on their own were nothing that special, but combined it made for a perfect burger. Sadly it served it’s last customer in 2003. Man I miss that place.

[Steve_Manzi]

Not someplace that I would call memorable, but my wife just reminded me that we had a burger a few weeks ago in Westfield, NJ at http://www.16prospect.com/ for lunch. We had never been, and stopped in for a quick bite, and it was a tasty burger. Nothing fancy, just solid. I’ll try it again and report back. It is just not a WOW burger joint, like Mark says he’d like to find.

[Larry_Stein]

@dteng

Jack’s Prime in San Mateo is great.
We go regularly.
Sweet potato fries with aioli is excellent.

We like Jack’s, too, but I think The Counter does just as good a job. The fact that they’re a chain made me wary at first, but we got a couple of 2-fer-1 coupons when they opened at Hillsdale. They also have a way better beer selection on tap. Last time I was there, they had North Coast Pranqster, $6/pint! We go to both places, depending on our mood.

I’m agnostic on sweet potato fries.

[Steve_Manzi]

Oh, and I forgot because I’ve not been there in some time, but Blu Next Door in Montclair won the NJ Monthly Burger Contest (yeah, I know, big deal) but it is a really good burger, and $14 I see now when I look at the site. http://www.restaurantblu.com/nextdoor/ It used to be $12 I believe. BYO of course, and really good food at a cheaper setting and price, than its headline restaurant http://restaurantblu.com/...also BYO.

Here is the cast of characters from the NJ Monthly contest. At least you can see them. I hate those stacked burgers. If I can’t get MY big mouth around it to bite into the whole thing, then WTF good is it? The Best Burgers in New Jersey-www.njmonthly.com

[Eric_LeVine]

More fine dining, but the Harissa burger here is pretty killer: Cuisinebank | All About Cuisine News, Healthy Eating Ideas And Tips

[Matthew_B]

In San Diego…Rocky’s in PB, The Neighborhood in East Village, Encinitas Ale House. Seriously now I am really hungry.

[dteng]

@Craig Gleason

Happy to, but I’m not eating any f**cking sweet potato fries!

I do like aioli. On proper, non-abominational fries.

You must be part of the AF-FF-E!

[Mark.Ricca]

@Steve Manzi

Oh, and I forgot because I’ve not been there in some time, but Blu Next Door in Montclair won the NJ Monthly Burger Contest (yeah, I know, big deal) but it is a really good burger, and $14 I see now when I look at the site. http://www.restaurantblu.com/nextdoor/ It used to be $12 I believe. BYO of course, and really good food at a cheaper setting and price, than its headline restaurant http://restaurantblu.com/...also BYO.

Here is the cast of characters from the NJ Monthly contest. At least you can see them. I hate those stacked burgers. If I can’t get MY big mouth around it to bite into the whole thing, then WTF good is it? The Best Burgers in New Jersey-www.njmonthly.com

“Kneel before Zod!”

- YouTube

[M.Kaplan]

@Brett Johnson

@Charlie Fu

Fathers office has the best burger ever. Culver city and Santa monica

I’ll second FO,though I find the SM location better; maybe I’m just nostalgic.

A VERY close runner up is the standard burger at Rustic Canyon.

Rustic Canyon burger is no longer on the menu. New chef. But, if you ask, they often have them available earlier in the evening. They tend to run out as it gets later, as it is no longer a regular menu item. Ate one last night and it was very good (same as it ever was, new chef notwithstanding).

I also like the burgers at Tavern, Suzanne Goin’s and Carolyn Styne’s restaurant/bar in Brentwood. Chicken is good, beef is better, pork is best (a universal truth). They now serve them all of the time. Until relatively recently, they stopped serving burgers (except at the bar) at 7pm.