Top Five Burgers

Suggested by: Brett (in honor of Stephen’s birthday and his all-time favorite food)

The Rules:

• This list is ranking specific styles of burgers, not necessarily favorite individual burgers from a particular restaurant or chains.

Stephen’s Top Five

Before I blogged Top Five lists with my buddy Brett, I blogged reviews of cheeseburgers I would eat in and around my hometown of Indianapolis, IN. I actually still do this. You can read that blog here. That being said, all the photos used in my list will be actual photos I’ve taken of actual burgers I’ve eaten.

5.) Spicy burger
I’m far from a chilihead, but I do enjoy some spice when it’s well-balanced and doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of what I’m eating… especially if that something is a burger!  Balance is important when it comes to a burger: I, above all, want to taste the meat without being overwhelmed by too much heat.  The best examples – like the Flamme Burger at Flamme Burger or the now off-the-menu Thai One On at Between the Bun – do this by tempering the heat through their choice of cheese, use of a creamy condiment, and the addition of bacon.  Done right, this can be a great burger!

4.) Patty melt
What’s not to love about a patty melt?!  A beef patty (preferably smashed thin) and topped with melted Swiss cheese and griddled onions with rich and creamy Thousand Island salad dressing and served on toasted rye bread – it’s a testimony to how certain ingredients can marry together to create something truly special and indelibly iconic.  There’s a delicate balance struck her – remove or replace just one of the ingredients and you tamper with that perfect balance. But do it well and your place in Burger Valhalla is all but assured! While it’s not a classic patty melt (it lacks the rye), the Phatty Melt at Between the Bun is a worthy, tasty option!

3.) Bacon cheeseburger
The beauty of the bacon cheeseburger is its simplicity.  Honestly, any good burger is all about the simplicity of meat-cheese-bun. but what the bacon cheeseburger presupposes is… what if there were two meats?  A few crispy strips of salty, smoky pork are all it takes to elevate the perfect food into something somehow even more perfect!  You can get them fancy-schmancy (like the Homecoming at Burger Study, with its thick-sliced, root beer-glazed bacon) or overwhelmingly simple with hyper-fresh ingredients (like the Bacon Cheeseburger at The Mug) – it’s almost impossible to go wrong!

2.) Breakfast burger
The only thing better than a burger with bacon on it is a burger with bacon and an egg on it!  The fried egg is one of the most decadent, luxurious, and underrated of all burger toppings! The runny yolk from the fried egg removes any need for a condiment and its overall richness is tempered by the fatty saltiness of the crispy bacon.  It is truly one of life’s most simple and worthy pleasures! I can’t get my favorite breakfast burger (which had ham instead of bacon) any more (since Scotty’s Brewhouse in Indy took it off the menu) or my second favorite (because B Spot moved back to Cleveland), but the Bacon & Egg Burger at Gatsby’s Pub is a good contingency.

1.) Double smashburger with cheese
The smashburger (while the newest innovation in burger gastronomy on the coasts) is a staple of the Midwest for years now and, as such, I’ve been eating them most of my life!  They’re smashed on the grill and develop a delicious crust on the outside and crispy edges, while staying juicy on the inside! The best, though, is to do it as a double cheeseburger, that way the cheese on each patty melts into the other, creating a kind of cheesy, beefy puck of pure goodness!  It’s a masterclass in simplicity of flavor and the elevation of the mundane – it’s truly extraordinary! Some of my favorites include the Cheeseburger at BoxBurger food truck and the Double Cheeseburger at Workingman’s Friend!

Brett’s Top Five

5.) Bacon double cheeseburger
A classic in its simplicity. It expounds on the original by simply just adding more meat, an idea for innovation that Ron Swanson would approve of.

4.) Goober burger
It took me forever to try peanut butter on a burger but sweet Jesus, did I never look back once I did. The nuttiness of the PB mixing with the salty and savory of the burger is just superb. I’ve had it paired with jalapenos as a topping and I’ve had it paired with blueberry jam between two Eggo waffles. All heavenly.

3.) Pizza burger
There’s a local drive-in restaurant here in Indiana called Mug N Bun. It’s where I first fell in love with a pizza burger, a mozzarella cheese-stuffed patty slathered with marinara sauce.  I’ve had this one between regular burger buns, but I’ve also had it between some garlic bread and MAMA MIA, that’s a good burger!

2.) Farmhouse burger
The flavors and toppings that come together for a farmhouse burger aren’t much different than a breakfast burger, but the differences are still important – namely, the cheese. I always go with a solid goat cheese. The egg and bacon round it out, but you could always go with a slice of ham instead. Whatever stays true to the “farm” theme, really.

1.) Breakfast burger
As I mentioned, it’s not much different from a farmhouse, but it’s all in the cheese. My favorite is the Punch Burger style of cream cheese adding to the breakfast feel more than the farm feel. You’ve always got your egg and bacon. Sometimes, you throw a sausage patty on top of your burger patty. Sometimes you go with pork patties with a drizzle of maple syrup. Sometimes you throw a stick of french toast on there or some sausage gravy. Look, a breakfast burger is what “ambrosia” probably was. That’s all I’m saying.

The Results:

Stephen	Brett
5.) Spicy burger	5.) Double bacon cheeseburger
4.) Patty melt	4.) Goober burger
3.) Bacon cheeseburger	3.) Pizza burger
2.) Breakfast burger	2.) Farmhouse burger
1.) Double smashburger with cheese	1.) Breakfast burger

What are YOUR favorite burgers? Let us know in the comments below!