Secrets of the City

American Burger Bar is a good place. I’ve neard not one good thing about Burger Jones.

Anything with a better name than Fuddrucker’s.

I admit to keeping my burgers relatively simple, and I don’t think there’s substantial room to improve on the average grill-and-bar burger, but I do like the selections at Town Hall Brewery, naturally with those delicious battered fries.

I don’t think it gets any better than the BBQ Bacon Bourbon Burger (aka: Triple B) at Shamrocks on West 7th in St Paul.

had a very good burger at busters on 28th last week. that’s kind of new, right?

yea, it used to be the river inn.
Buster’s is ok, we usually have a good experience there. the service is hit or miss in my experience, though.
Did you try the Bison burger with pickle mayo?

Blue Door! That peanut butter burger keeps me up at night…in a good way.

I do enjoy the occasional Culver’s butter burger. It’s a chain — but at least it’s a regional chain. I’m not especially into “gourmet” burgers (over-priced) anyway; I prefer my burgers (like my pizza) simple and cheap. You can’t go wrong with a DQ brazier burger with a side of onion rings, or the combo burgers at the former A&W drive-in in Newport.

@Charlie: High-five for the Blue Door, too. Pub burgers at their best.

@baker- no, just a regular burger with fried onions. the service was…odd. she didn’t bring a kid’s menu, didn’t know if they had any apple juice left, and got something wrong with the order. but she was super attentive and johnny on the spot with the refills. weird.

Last Saturday, coming back from Menard’s I stopped at the Sonic place on Central Ave. The drive through was closed and I didn’t want to pull into those drive in stalls. That’s all too complicated. There’s no counter in the place to order and walk out!

Went next door to Taco Bell. Had a Chalupa for the first time. Didn’t like it.

Burger Jones’ burger was bland. Service was okay, we think our server was embarrassed by the super long wait for everything.

I like Common Roots Cafe burgers. They are super good and use grass fed meat.

The Angry Whopper is embarrassingly good.

I’ve hit up the new Smashburgers in Columbia Heights and Golden Valley. Not a bad burger. Super messy and big with a tasty secret sauce. They have Haagen Das malts and beer too!

Who says poetry is dead, as per the New Yorker post? Rat is a straight-up poet:

Went next door to Taco
Bell. Had a
Chalupa for the first time.
Didn’t
like it.

Victory 44 has “the perfect burger.”

Thanks, andyst:

I strive for lean, elegant verse.

I really want to like the Common Roots burger b/c it’s responsibly sourced, but it always tastes flat to me.
And what’s with serving your burger with chips if you don’t have any salsa around? Yum, a handful of dry chips!

Mary2: That Smashburger is in St. Anthony, not Columbia Heights.

A group of us went to the Nook a few weeks back. Good burger. Excellent fries!

I went to the Smashburger GV on Sunday. Excited to have a non-Mickey D’s burger joint in my hood…disappointed that it’s Smashburger. Hada Twin Cities Burger. The accoutriment was fine and tasty, the bun passable (egg bread, tender enough) but the burger itself was charred to near-inedibility. A few more minutes and that chunk of carbon may have become a diamond. The fries were flaccid.

Granted, I tend to prefer a med or med-rare burger at places that use Grade A beef and offer cook temps(Capitol Grille comes to mind), but I don’t mind a flat greasy well done slider-style burger on occasion (Convention Grill & In & Out FTW)…but this was just too much crunch and not enough juice for this here burger lover.

Rat could be the Poet Laureate of MnSpeak.

I’m sad about Burger Jones, but maybe in a couple of months it will be better. Maybe.

Love the Nook.

I have to say that at Casa de Cat House, we are perfecting the grilled burger.

I think I am going to try a peanut butter burger @ the Blue Door after my softball games in SP tonight. hope it can survive the hype machine.

I had In ‘N Out for the first time in Arizona a month ago and I think it completely lived up to its hype. I want one here.

I believe my favorite non-Jucy burgers in town are still at the Bulldog Northeast. Those things are killers.

Most of the new buger places are far from inexpensive.

I went to Smashburger a few weeks ago and the smallest bacon burger was 5.99 add a coke and it was over 8 bucks.

I have to imagine Burger Jones prices are more.

My favorite burger is still one I make myself on the grill.

Oh man, yeah, Bulldog NE’s burgers are amazing. Probably my favorite in MN.

100% agree on In N Out burger. Unfortunately they have vowed not to expand as it doesn’t really fit with their mission. they have one beef production facility (SoCal) and have vowed never to freeze anything (except those tasty milkshakes and ice for drinks)
http://www.in-n-out.com/freshness.asp

My little brother is having them cater the late night drunk food @ his wedding in Vegas this October. This is how they roll…
http://www.in-n-out.com/cookout_trailer.asp

Bulldog NE has a really good burger. But if you can spend $20 on lunch, get a med-rare burger and parmesan truffle fries @ Capitol Grill. Nobody comes close.

I’ve been disappointed with Bulldog NE’s burgers lately- but maybe that’s because the first Truffle burger I had there was so outstanding. Last one I had didn’t taste like truffle at all.

I love the Nook’s burger. I think Burger Jones has potential.

And I agree with the comment on the cost of these places. Smashburger was $6 for a burger, no fries. Burger Jones is sit down — but more like $8 -$10 for a burger, no fries. Is that really cheaper than going to Salut (another Parasole restaurant)?

Goes to my theory that this isn’t really about dining more cheaply… it’s about rich people giving the perception that they’re dining more cheaply.

truffle oil is like any addictive substance, jason. your body builds a resistance and you’ll have to continually up your dosage to get the same feel. eventually you quit or OD.

Goes to my theory that this isn’t really about dining more cheaply… it’s about rich people giving the perception that they’re dining more cheaply.

Nice. Pricey burgers are the new designer slummin’ food.

I think its about perception but it’s aimed squarely at the middle of the market. The idea being that they will trade down to a burger from a steak. Then they wrap their tendrils into you with the extras.

Same story as chipotle…burrito isn’t that pricey but guac is like $1.80 or something. All of the sudden you realize you just payed ten bucks for a stomach ache and you have to go back to work sleepy as hell.

I bought a headache. $8.50.

I had In ‘N Out for the first time in Arizona a month ago and I think it completely lived up to its hype. I want one here.

Fat chance (figuratively speaking) of that happening.

[From the company site:] In-N-Out remains privately owned and the Snyder family has no plans to take the company public or franchise any units.

I had a good experience at Burger Jones. It was crazy busy so our service wasn’t awesome, but the waitress wasn’t bad. Food just took awhile.

I had a bleu cheese burger that was delicious and they use local cheese and beef, so I feel like the $10 I paid was very worth it. I expect to pay a little more for high quality food.

Also, the asian burger at Muffuletta is awesome. There are peanuts in the burger, which is pork, and a nice slaw and spicy peanut sauce on top. It was so amazing…

Andyst, I agree. Nothing pisses me off more than that side of chips. Lots of other restaurants do it to and it makes me stabby…especially when they charge you extra to substitute a salad or coleslaw.

Fucking chips.

I enjoy Mother Bixby Burgers made on a George Foreman Grill.

This burger renaissance doesn’t affect me as I don’t eat ground beef anymore.

Sad, I know.

How did you arrive at that decision?

Rat, I physically can eat it anymore, it makes me sick. I like it, just can’t eat it.

/physically can’t

If it isn’t going to be a Matt’s juicy lucy it has to be the shaw burger at Shaw’s on University and 15th. It is super simple and amazing.
you want cheap? last time I was there they had a $1 whiskey shot/ cocktail h/hour

I tried Smashburger. Really good burger, price wasn’t bad at all.

I hit up Culvers a lot, and it’s always consistent.

As far as In-N-Out burger, it’s really good too. It’s really similar to Smashburger as far as quality. My favorite burger place is FatBurger in L.A.

I also tried the burger as Cosmos in downtown mpls., and Very good for the prices as well…

The Shortstop in Coon Rapids does a nice 1/2 lb. burger. Real juicy and flavorful. You can get it with tater tots, for that true Minnesota experience.

I think the Bulldog NE is the best I have had in a while. Busters is also good but service is inconsistent , good beer selection. There is a good small diner in Eagan named “Junior’s” that makes a pretty good burger, no beer there though…maybe 8 tables and a small counter , located in a strip mall..make sure you tell them how you want it done or it will come well done.

Sandy’s on 66th & Penn in Richfield has awesome burgers!! Tried the new and improved Gold Nugget in Minnetonka and it was awful. Looking forward to checking out Galaxy Drive-in in St. Louis Park – I will wait until they are opened for a while longer.