The End of the Summer Search

*Sorry, it's really long...also, the spell check wasn't working, so I apologize in advance!*

 

This summer, as with every summer, Ashley and I go on searches for the best _______. This summer Ashley and I went on a search for the Best Hamburger. Shortly after starting our search, I realized that we couldn't just simply say the Best Hamburger, but we had to break it down into various catagories to find the best in each catagory instead of just the "best". I would either order what that restarurant was known for, or what I thought would taste better (just incase they were big on hamburgers with anchovies and mustard on top). Since this was just about the best burger, fries were just a bonus, so they won't factor into the overall rating. The ratings I will use are:" Eat it Tomorrow!" for burgers that are fantastic," Eat it" for burgers that are worth eating, and "It can wait" for burgers that can...well, wait. So, here is my review of the many, many, many hamburgers we (mostly I) ate during this summer (then I will have to do another post about the amount of pounds I gained afterwards). Starting in no particular order:

#1- Smash Burger - West Valley City, UT
Jalapeno Smash Burger

Taste: Not too shabby, it was a good burger but it didn't shout "Hey, I am delicious!"

Price: this is what really brought it down for me, I got a burger and a medium fry and paid almost $13. Way over priced for what it was...well way over priced unless I was eating a 12 oz. steak burger.

Menu: Their menu was average, not to complicated but lots of options.

Fries: remember this is just a bonus...good thing too becasue I thought their fries were absolutly disgusting. Their big seasoning they put on their fries is Dill. Yes you read that right, Dill. To help you know how it tastes, take a french fry and soak it in pickle juice, put some salt on top and eat it. Terrible, absoutly terrible.

Overall Rating: Eat it, it was a good burger but stay away from the fries...

 

#2-Five Guys - Ogden, UT





 

 

Hamburger with onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatos and pickles

 

 Taste: It was a pretty darn good burger. Despite the fact that in this picture, the mushroom hanging onto the bun looks like a slug (at least that's what Ashley said), it tasted almost like it was homemade on the grill.

Price: Well...not too bad, but more than what you would want to pay. For both Ashley and me to have a burger each and split a medium fry it was around $12 (that was less than what I paid for just me to eat at Smash Burger)

Menu: I liked it. I liked the simplicity and how you simply say you want a hamburger and they put all the usual stuff on it, but you have the option to add additional toppings for free. One thing I didn't like was a hamburger at Five Guys means two patties. If you only want one, its a "baby hamburger" what guy wants to order a baby burger???

Fries: Really good. They were cut right there and fried in front of me. They came with a nice side of some really good fry sauce (sorry to you Texans and Missourians out there without fry sauce) that really made them delicious.

Overall Rating: Eat it Tomorrow! I really liked Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I really liked the nearly Homemade taste it had...but if thats the case, I guess you could just go home and make one for a lot cheaper, but then you would miss out on their good fries and fry sauce!

 

#3- Big Jim's Burgers - Ogden, UT

#4 - Crown Burger - Layton, UT

#5- Warren's/Dylan's - Ogden, UT



Big Jim Burger

 

Crown Burger

 

 

Mt. Ogden Burger



 

I put these three together because they basically all tasted the same. Their big thing was a hamburger with some sort of lunch meat on top (or bottom on the case of the Mt. Ogden Burger from Warren's) At Crown and Big Jim's it was pastrami, and they both tasted exactally the same. The Mt. Ogden burger had ham on the bottom and it tasted very similar.
Taste: Pretty good. I almost didn't like the pastrami meat on top because it almost overwhelmed the burger with the taste of pastrami and you couldn't taste anything else. The Mt. Ogden burger from Warren's was the best of the three, but didn't jump out at me as spectacular.
Price: Pretty cheap. I don't remember how much I paid but for your entire meal (burger, fries and a drink) it was about $5.
Menu: Holy Cow...Big Jim's and Warren's menu was about the size of the first 3 chapters in a Harry Potter book. You had about 500 different burgers, 300 different types of chicken sandwiches, 200 fish sandwiches, 100 salads (not including the salad bar) 50 different types of drinks and to top it off 30 different desserts/shakes to get. The one good thing about Big Jim's was you had nice fancy schmancy leather (yes leather) couches to sit in while you read their menu for the next 3 hours. Crown Burger...I don't even know where to start. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go:



So, in that microscopic font, their menu takes up the entire width of the buiding!! If you are currently going to med-school and have access to a microscope, you could read on the right side of the menu a fine selection of Greek Food. Yes, Greek Food. You have your choice of Gyro Plates, a Gyro, chicken kababs Oh! and don't let me forget some of the finest baclava this side of the Mississippi! Really Crown Burger? Really? If Big Jim's and Warren's was the first 3 chapters of Harry Potter, then Crown Burger is entire book of "The Order of the Phoenix". Anyways, its huge.
Fries: I am starting to wonder if these three places were once upon a time the same place because their fries all tasted the same, were cut the same and their fry sauce was the same. On that note however, their fry sauce was really good too.
Overall: It can wait. While they were good hamburgers, don't rush out of the room right now and go get one. If you are driving by and are hungry, want a hamburger (or a gyro plate) and have about five bucks, stop and get one.

#6- In-N-Out Burger - Riverton, UT



Double Double - Animal Style

Taste: Awesome. I loved this hamburger. I think had it just been a Double Double, it would have been good, but not as good. I love sauteed mushrooms and onions and when you throw them on top of a hamburger with that bun just slightly toasted, mmmmm....delicious
Price: Average, but worth it for the burger. Their price was your average price for a fast food hamburger, but I would have paid more.
Menu: I think hamburger restaruants around the world should take a lesson from In-N-Out. Their menu has Hamburger, Double Hamburger, Cheese Burger, Double Cheese Burger, Fries and 3 Shakes. It was beautiful.
Fries: Not too shabby. One thing I liked about them was they don't come pre-salted. I know you wouldn't believe someone who is eating hundreds of hamburgers and french fries is trying to eat healthy, but I like to not put salt on things and I liked that they gave me that option. Maybe that's why they weren't extremely good...hmm...
Overall Rating: Eat it Tomorrow! If you live in Northern Utah, the nearest In-N-Out is in Centerville, and you should drive there and go eat one. If you live in California, well then you are probably sick of In-N-Out. If you live in Texas or Missouri, make sure you stop on your way to or from the airport!

#7- Whataburger - Houston, TX

Whataburger

Taste: Pretty darn good. As soon as I took a look at the burger, I realized the saying was true and everything is bigger in Texas. It was a big burger, but it tasted pretty good too.
Price: sorry folks, I dropped the ball on this one. I can't even remotely remeber what we paid for it. I might need Angela and Jeff to do some recongenisis work for me.
Menu: Nice. It had some nice options available, but not overwhelming.
Fries: Really good. I thought the fries really good and Ashley too (as proved by this picture!) Where they lacked in fry sauce they made up for it in Spicy Ketchup! Two of my favorite things, Spicy and ketchup combined! It was really good.
Overall Rating: If you live in Texas, Eat it Tomorrow! It was a pretty darn good burger and the service was pretty cool too. They had people walking around offering you extra condiments and napkins and someone greeted you when you came in the door, pretty impressive for a fast food restrauant. If you don't live in Texas, make sure you eat one if you ever are.

#8 - Best Burger - Riverdale, UT

Best Burger

Taste: I can basically sum it up in one word: Incredible. This burger was amazingly good. Their Best Burger is a mushroom and swiss burger and man...they hit it out of the park putting this as their showcase hamburger. Delicious.
Price: It was about your average price of a burger, fries and a drink around $5-$6 for the whole meal.
Menu: I think it might be a "local" burger thing, but their menu was a bit complicated, but nothing compared to the other three. Lots of choices of hamburgers (including a veggie burger if you want to eat a burger without it tasting good) and lots and lots of choices of shakes and ice cream.
Fries: the fries at Best Burger are a rollercoaster ride. Your first bite you think, "Dang, these looked really good." then you take another one and dip it in thier fry sauce and think, "This is quite possibly the best tasting thing I have every put in my mouth." I think they could add a "Best Burger Fry Sauce" shake to their complicated menu and I would buy it. I know fries are just a bonus, but if you get the fry sauce with it, Eat them together tomorrow!
Overall Rating: Eat It Tomorrow! It is quite possible that Best Burger may just have the best burger.

#9- Burger Bar - Roy, UT

Big Ben

Taste: this picture doesn't really do it justice. I think it rivals the Whattaburger in size but beats it in taste. It was a really good hamburger and I know this may sound odd, but the bun was really good. They get the buns from Topper Bakery here in Ogden (on about 26th and Monroe incase you want to get some) and they are delicious.
Price: for what you get, its actually not a bad price. I don't remember the exact price but I think it is somewhere in the $6 range for the meal, except the burger is huge and the fries are overflowing.
Menu: Again, a local hamburger place so naturally its a bit complicated. It doesn't have anything on Crown Burger, but still a pretty busy menu. I did however, hear that their shakes are awesome, but since is is about burgers we will have to save that for another time.
Fries: Really good. They were really good on their own, but when you throw in the fry sauce with them, they get that much better. I wonder what would happen if you combine them with fry sauce from Best Burger...I think I might have just blown my mind...
Overall Rating: Eat it Today! If you are hungry and need some food, go here. The burger is huge, and will keep you full for about 2 days afterwards. Just make sure you go when they aren't busy or you might run into some crazy customers...

yes that is girl and yes, she has a tail. I wouldn't have been able to take this picture were it not for their big menu. So, I guess big menus do serve a purpose!

 



 #10, #11, #12, #13 - The Fast Food Guys -
McDonald's - Riverdale, UT

McDouble

Wendy's - South Ogden, UT

Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe

Burger King - Ogden, UT

Of couse, with a sign like that I had to get....The Whopper!

Carl's Jr. - Ogden, UT

The Six Dollar Burger
Taste: I think we all at one point in time in our lives, have had a hamburger from one of these places. If you have a few bucks and need some empty calories, have at it.
Menu: McDonald's wasn't bad, lots of stuff and easy to follow. Wendy's, Burger King, Carl's Jr was about the same, not too bad but lots and lots of stuff.
Price: Hey, I got the McDouble and the Jr. Cheeseburger for a buck! You can't beat that! I think the Whopper was around $3 and the Six Dollar Burger was...this is funny becacuse I can remember seeing comercials when they first came out with the Six Dollar Burger saying how you didn't need to pay six dollars at a fancy restraurant to get a good hamburger. Well, they got the part about going to a fancy restraurant part right, but I think after tax it was around $5.40, so basically six dollars.
Fries: Wendy's - average. Carl's Jr. - average. Burger King - average. McDonald's - well, I'm going to refer you to Jim Gaffigan on this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDTfEhChgw

starting at 2:05 to 4:20...but the whole thing is pretty good

Yes, McDonald's fries are really good...

Overall Rating:  Out of all of these places, Carl's Jr. would win with the Six Dollar Burger, but let me just put Ashley's favorite picture here again, and you tell me if you would want to eat it:

I'm not sure where the "Deluxe" part is...

I can hear you all saying, "It can wait"





 

Well, there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed reading about my Best Hamburger search as much as we did searching. Despite having gained 275 pounds, it was fun trying all new places (some old) and seeing how they all put their unique twist on hamburgers. You can all be the judge of your favorite places but for me, my overall favorite was.......(I hope you are hearing a drum roll in your head)

 

Yep, the name pretty much sums it all up. You can find the best burger at Best Burger, that is assuming you like mushrooms and swiss on your hamburger. As an added bonus, you could go there and get that fry sauce and if you put it on everything you ate for the rest of your life, if you didn't make it through your triple bypass you would at least know that you would die happy. Eat it Tomorrow!!!