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favorite What's your favorite Burger joint?

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
 
There are better burgers in the bay area, but for those you gotta sit down and get a menu and stuff like that. 
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I've really gotten away from the sit down foo foo burger joints. Almost all of them try way too hard to reinvent the wheel and invest more on weird shit-o-meter toppings, pretzel and ciabbata buns and assorted what not that I don't even like although I have tried to.
 
Give me fresh beef, preferable chuck, done on a flat top, with a decent white squishy bun. Give me a decent pickle and good ol' regular French's mustard. 1000 isle style sauce is okay once in a while too. I like it simple.
 
Back in the day of the dinosaur and caveman when I was a little kid, grandpa had a little town tavern with a little flat top off to the side. He sold a few burgers. He'd get the meat ground fresh from the butcher across the street. The buns were some Wonderbread style bun I can't remember. But damn! They sure were good. I reckon everyone had a similar experience with the first burger that really rocked and for me its been a small journey to get back to that place, to that thing, to that burger that really did it for me. So far the $12 foo foo burger doesn't do it for me so I've given up that hunt with that ilk. Chain or not, if the meat is fresh and done right, that $3 buck burger done right comes a lot closer. I suspect that Sam's joint is much like that in regard.
 
Spot on - Sam's is flat iron grill all the way. Burgers are lumpy and fresh made patties and oozing with greasy goodness. Yellow mustard, ketchup, pickle - you can order grilled onion so naturally I do that, and the onion's fried up right in the burger grease the way the good lord intended it. Bun ain't fancy, fries cooked crispy delicious and salty as I like.  It drips grease when you eat it and you're damn glad it does because it's juicy that way. 
 
I'm with you on the foo foo - spare me your pretzel bun'd blue-cheese and arugula havin "gourmet" bullshiat with the sweet potato fries - damn hippies. 

I might just hit up Sam's after my market tomorrow. 
:woohoo: 
 
Noah Yates said:
I cannot believe all of the 5 guys bashing... you all must have a different type of 5 guys...
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Yeah - I like 5 Guys burgers - they're pretty good for fast food. Bit salty, but I say that about a lot of foods. The fries at 5-Guys are epic. The cajun fries are a bit over-seasoned but the regular fries are ridiculously tasty. And they put out malt vinegar which is a nice bonus. 
 
Before INO mrs. blues favorite joint was Steak N Shake. When we first came back to Texas INO hadn't arrived so she took me there for the first time. I thought it was pretty good. They've been doing the smashed technique 'thang which I am a big proponent of for a long time. Hard to beat that maillard crust on the meat.
 
Last time we went to INO we drove by the SNS and I asked her if she'd like to go and and try it again.
 
Well, the look on her face at my question was all the answer I needed.
 
She went from dear sweet mrs. blues to Secretary of The War Department.
 
Luckily she was driving and she withheld the urge to pimp slap the crap out of me.
 
 
True story.
 
Really? No love for Red Robin? I am kind of disappointed in yall! We LOVE Red Robin!
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Lots of great burgers in Chicago.  My favs in no particular order:
 
Kuma's Corner in Avondale is great; big fat burgers served by heavily tattooed staff members while metal blares from above.  Burger names like The Slayer, Mastodon, Pantera, Iron Maiden, etc etc.  First time I ever had a fried egg on a burger was at Kuma's.  Wait times can exceed an hour.  They opened another location in Lakeview/Lincoln Park area that isn't as good.  
 
Leadbelly in Portage Park is kickass; plenty of burger options and good beer but best fries in my opinion.  The Black Betty is my favorite.  Bonus: You can take kids there without problems or troublesome looks from the staff = they're super friendly.
 
Au Cheval at Randolph and Halsted also is one of the best.  The place is tiny and cramped and the wait times rival Kuma's at times.  Then you eat the burger and understand why.  I've sat at the bar twice now - very cool to watch the cooks make and assemble each order.  
 
Chain wise we've got most of them.  I dig In n Out a fair amount, think it's probably the best.  Culver's isn't bad for out here and I like Steak and Shake too (nom little fries!).
 
After a long morning of fishing I like to hit up this gas station by the lake. Its the only place to get a bite for miles but the burgers are delicious and they recently got attention from the Dallas observer. Its one those country places where the regulars are smoking and stare you down when you walk in the the door. I think they banned the smoking part. In N Out with Five guys lol To me the fries of a burger joint can make or break you. If your fries suck the deal is off. In N out and steak n shake got those fries that remind of the potato sticks in a can, just awful! Smash burgers are small and their seasoning for the fries, OMG awful. 5 guys is not bad just pricey. I usually go to JC's  by my job when I'm in the mood for burgers.
 
Grass Snake said:
After a long morning of fishing I like to hit up this gas station by the lake. Its the only place to get a bite for miles but the burgers are delicious and they recently got attention from the Dallas observer. Its one those country places where the regulars are smoking and stare you down when you walk in the the door. I think they banned the smoking part. In N Out with Five guys lol To me the fries of a burger joint can make or break you. If your fries suck the deal is off. In N out and steak n shake got those fries that remind of the potato sticks in a can, just awful! Smash burgers are small and their seasoning for the fries, OMG awful. 5 guys is not bad just pricey. I usually go to JC's  by my job when I'm in the mood for burgers.
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You don't go to a burger joint for the fries.
 
You go for the burger.
 
You're doing it wrong.
 
Grass Snake said:
Don't be mean TB
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That's not mean.
 
If you want good fries go to a french fry joint.
 
I don't go to a bbq joint because of the cole slaw.
 
And I don't go to a steak joint for the baked potato.
 
But you go to a fast food joint for the burger.

I'll take my local joint any day!
 
You gotta enjoy the whole experience not just a part. I wish I could come up with a good analogy but after drinkin that is not possible.  
 
The Hot Pepper said:
But you go to a fast food joint for the burger.

I'll take my local joint any day!
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Negative.
 
Obviously you have never been to INO
 
Its not a fast food joint.
 
They don't cook the burger, the fries, or any 'thang else until you order it.
 
No heat lamps.
 
No warming drawers.
 
No freezers or microwaves.
 
And you can watch them cut fresh fries from real potato's and fry them.
 
Request them well done and you're golden.
 
And they'll do them up "animal style" topped with griddled onions, animal sauce, and melted american cheese.
 
So good its a sin!
 
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