Best burger on earth?

[Cruiser]

I was out in Chicago last weekend playing around with my sister and her husband and they too me to Kuma's Corner. My bro-n-law says on the way there, "This place has the best burgers on earth." I was skeptical cuz that's a pretty damned bold claim. But after having had the Led Zepplin and a couple of pints of Zombie Dust I'm hard pressed to recall a better burger.

I mean shit, this place did everything right. The 10oz burger was just slightly pink in the center since I ordered it medium. The bun had the perfect amount of chew with great absorbency. The toppings were gratuitous without being completely overblown. There was no sad little burger salad on the side. The hand cut fries rocked despite no longer being the waffle fries that all the local have come to love. Even the ketchup had cut up hot peppers in it. The staff was heavily tattooed and pierced. Pantera was blaring when we walked in. There were pics of naked pinup girls on the walls. They even had a sign out front advising hippies to enter through the back door.

http://www.kumascorner.com/

[SterlingSpikeDancer]

I don't know about best on Earth, but the best I have ever had was at the Steakout Saloon on Mountain Ave in Ft. Collins, CO. Great fries, and goes great with an excellent on-tap selection. I eat there every time I am REMOTELY close to Ft. Fun.

[Viva]

I had a pretty fucking good burger a week ago in Palo Alto, of all places. Just across from Stanfraud Univ.

[sidewall]

Best burger I've had was at Ted's Montana grille.

Kumas looks awesome.

[BmillsSkier]

Terry's Turf Club in Cincinnati.

No better burger in the world.











It was the best kept secret till this douche showed up and then Bobby Flay named it the best burger in the Midwest. Now you have 2.5 hour waits on weeknights from people driving from all over the country to eat there.



http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/32/36328...lub-Cincinnati

[iceman]

No place is better than Mr. Bartley's. Some places are very very good, and different than Mr. Bartley's, but they're not better than Mr. Bartley's. This is a known fact.

From the menu:

No Credit Cards. Sorry, Cash Only (Real Food, Real Money)

And the place is always jammed.

[MakersTeleMark]

Ah, Bartly Burger. Ate many of them on my commute through Harvard Sq.

THE MAYOR MUMBLES MENINO
(1st non English speaking mayor) topped w/ fried egg, bacon, cheese & fries

[Hugh Conway]

I had a pretty fucking good burger a week ago in Palo Alto, of all places. Just across from Stanfraud Univ.

Palo Alto Creamery?

[That was Pontus]

Just had a cream cheese stuffed burger topped with sundried tomatoes & leafy greens on a kaiser roll at the Funky Monkey in Nelson. One of the best burgers I've paid for. A buddy of mine however, makes a super simple bison burger that is other wordly, just fantastic.

[advres]

No place is better than Mr. Bartley's. Some places are very very good, and different than Mr. Bartley's, but they're not better than Mr. Bartley's. This is a known fact.

From the menu:



And the place is always jammed.

Passed by today as I was working practically next door. The line was down the street as per usual. They actually had the old dude and a waitress passing out menus in line. I go there frequently.

They're WINNING!

[iceman]

Just had a cream cheese stuffed burger topped with sundried tomatoes & leafy greens on a kaiser roll at the Funky Monkey in Nelson. One of the best burgers I've paid for.

I'm sure it was delicious. It was not a burger.

Bison is very questionable too, there is simply not enough fat to make a proper burger. But my wife and daughter like them. My son, thank god, is not a woman.

[iceman]

Passed by today as I was working practically next door. The line was down the street as per usual. They actually had the old dude and a waitress passing out menus in line...

Nice. The old dude is Mr. Bartley. Seriously, that's him. Started the place in 1960 and keeps on keepin' on.

[advres]

I assumed that Icey, but was never 100% on it. Thanks for confirming!

[zartagen]

I think the best burger I've had was an elk burger I made myself. A friend of mine gave me about 15 pounds of ground elk burger he got from a successful hunt. I made up a batch of burger patties, grilled them to medium over charcoal in a fire pit, and topped them with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, and tomato. I'm definitely biased on this, and they were certainly not the best on earth. But this was the 4th batch of elk burgers I had made, and I got the recipe just right.

I wish I had some elk burger to make some now. I'm hungry.

[Viva]

Palo Alto Creamery?

Nope, Sundance Steakhouse.

[trainnvain]

Kumas rocks! Great burgers, beer is awesome and nothing but good music.

A good burger to me is at least 20% fat (grind it yourself), flattop it, clarified butter on that bun, steam lids for cheese, garlic pickles, shredded lettuce n sliced tom

[iceman]

train, do you have a meat grinder? if so what brand? and how do you figure the fat content, just eyeball it going in or what?

[RootSkier]

ice, go to aht.seriouseats.com and find Kenji Lopez-Alt's burger recipes. I believe he uses a food processor and a certain mix of brisket, short rib, and chuck. Easily the most comprehensive and well-researched burger recipes in existence.

[trainnvain]

train, do you have a meat grinder? if so what brand? and how do you figure the fat content, just eyeball it going in or what?

I have an attachment for my 20qt mixer. Definitely measure, but can usually eyeball by color and how it reacts.
The only reaeson I say grind it yourself or have a butcher do it is because of the unsavory methods meat companies use to separate meat from bone.

[iceman]

Will do root, thanks.

Yeah train I never buy the pre-packaged crap from the processors, I get the store-ground stuff but even that can be dicey, I actually used to work in the meat industry years ago, I could tell you stories. I've been meaning to buy a grinder for years.

[Tippster]

Make your own. Seriously - best burgers I've ever had I cooked myself.

Total control over ingredients and access to a good bun (Heller's Kaiser Roll!) is key. Made some this summer where I used a food processor to lightly chop up a 50/50 mix of Short ribs and chuck roast - formed into a loose patty using just the fingertips, and cooked them in a cast iron pan.

Slice of good Vermont cheddar, fresh beefsteak tomato, red onion sliced very thin and marinated a bit in salt & Pepper, 2 slices of avocado, and some good ole Duke's mayo = burger heaven for me.

So good.

[Spats]

The best burger in the country comes off of the grill on my patio.

Fact.

[Sirshredalot]

I don't believe that any place either a.) in Cincinnati or b.) endorsed by Bobby Flay could be any good, but I'll give it a whirl next time I'm through.

I think the best restaurant burger I've had may have been Ray's Hell Burger. But I had just come back from a twenty mile trail ride and skipped lunch, so that may have biased me. I heard so much hype for Shake Shack but I thought it was kinda meh. Fine, but not my style.

[MakersTeleMark]

Home ground fat:



Elk burger with LB's lardo, avocado, L&T, mayo, ketchup, S&P:



Ready to chow:

[BmillsSkier]

SirShred, trust me the burgers are fucking unbelievable. It was probably one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest for years until the Food Network stars blew the lid off it.

Don't let that jerkoff in the flame-shirt or Flay dissuade you it is absolutely with the trip. Only problem is now there's a lot longer wait. Every time I pass through and talk to those having drinks outside waiting they tell me they're from Florida, Canada, New York... I swear half the crowd on a weekend night is from out of state making a point to hit it up as they pass through.

Their beer selection is pretty kick ass too.