Hamburgers - Thursday, April 9, 2015

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
 ~ J. Wellington Wimpy from Popeye cartoons

Hamburger Hamlet in Westwood, California, is where I fell in love with gourmet hamburgers when I was in my 20s. My friends and I used to go to Hamburger Hamlet before or after a movie in Westwood. The food and service were always top-notch. We considered our meals there a grand treat. Their menu let you choose your toppings individually or you could order one of their combinations. One of my favorites was a teriyaki burger.

Homemade burgers are also a favorite: thick, juicy beef cooked medium well, topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado, bread-and-butter pickles, ketchup, mustard, relish, easy on the mayo, NO onions. A drippy, messy burger can't be beat.

Stanich's in Portland, Oregon, earned their reputation on AOL Cityguide's 2007 list of the "15 Burgers to Try Before You Die." Stanich's was on the list at number 11 in the nation. Here's the whole list:

1. All-American Drive-In, Massapequa, New York
2. Chris Madrid's, San Antonio
3. CityGrille, Denver
4. Dick's Drive-In, Seattle
5. Goldyburgers, Chicago
6. In-N-Out Burgers, Los Angeles
7. Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger, Oakland Park, Florida
8. O'Connell's Pub, Saint Louis
9. Peter Luger, New York
10. Roaring Fork, Phoenix
11. Stanich's, Portland, Oregon
12. Tessaro's, Pittsburgh
13. Thurman Cafe, Columbus, Ohio
14. Val's Burgers, San Francisco
15. 96th Street Steakburgers, Indianapolis

What makes Stanich's burger so wonderful? To me it was a feast on a bun, complete with a fried egg, over medium. Never before had I thought to put a fried egg on a burger. Genius combination! The burger was a menace to wrap your mouth around, but oh, so delicious!

One chain restaurant that makes this list for their burger selection is Red Robin. I love quite a few of their burger choices. You can substitute a leaner turkey burger on most of their burgers too. Now that they've added sweet potato fries to their menu, I'll be heading that way more often.

Even fast food burgers make my list, but with a lowered expectation. Dairy Queen has a decent burger; I love their special sauce. In Rice Hill, Oregon, on the west side of Interstate-5, is K&R Drive-In where our family stopped to eat whenever we traveled in the area. Their large and very tasty burgers are served with Tater Tots, which I find to be a nice change from French fries or potato chips. The piece de resistance, though, at K&R Drive-In would be the Umpqua Ice Cream cones in a rainbow of flavors.

We have been in San Antonio for three years, and have found some new burger places to satisfy my burger craving. Whataburger makes a decent fast food burger that will do in a pinch.

If I want a sensational burger in San Antonio, The Cove is my restaurant of choice. The Cove's motto is "sustainable, organic, local." I am in love with their Real Burger: grass-fed beef with American cheese, no onion for me, tomato, pickle, mayo and mustard. The flavor of the beef is what makes this burger stand out.

Last but not least is Mad Mack's Burger Company which opened three weeks ago just down the street from our RV Resort. Last night Bob and I had dinner there. It was very good. The menu is simple, but that's okay. There are plenty of yummy choices. The decor is straight out of a 50s diner. Having dinner there on our "h" word day in the blogging challenge made it easy to choose my word for the day: hamburger.

Interior of Mad Mack's Burger Company

Mad Mack's Burger Co.

Here's a look at what we ordered. I had an All-American Burger; Bob chose the fish sandwich.

All-American Burger

The fish sandwich is made with pollock. They hand bread the fish just before they cook it.
Be very hungry if you're going to eat this, or split it with someone else.

Fish sandwich

Where have you found good hamburgers?