BURGER INSPIRATION

Best Burgers in the U.S.

The burger, America's quintessential comfort food, can now be enjoyed in an impossibly endless number of ways. There are round-the-clock burgers at 24-hour-roadside joints and ephemeral late-night burgers sold out in mere minutes; burgers grilled in hundred-year-old cast-iron broilers and burgers steamed in state-of-the-art ovens; burgers crafted from Kobe beef imported from Japan and burgers made with Black Angus beef from just down the road; burgers innocuously topped with melted American cheese and burgers piled high with crumbly, statement-making Roquefort cheese. It's clearly a great time to love the burger.  By Ratha Tep, Lawrence Marcus

New York City: Minetta Tavern

Photo © Sylvia Paret.

Signature Burger: Black Label Burger (topped with with caramelized onions).

Minetta Tavern's excellent burgers use a beef blend—dry-aged rib eye, skirt steak, brisket and short rib—from famed purveyor Pat La Frieda, and buns from Balthazar Bakery. minettatavernny.com

Atlanta, GA: Holeman & Finch

Photo © Jeff Moore.

Star chef Linton Hopkins announces "burger time"—10 p.m.—with the ringing of two bull horns; that's when two dozen grass-fed beef burgers are up for grabs and consistently sold out within minutes. The burgers are also available on the Sunday brunch menu. holeman-finch.com

New Haven, CT: Louis' Lunch

Photo © Michael Franzman

Signature Burger: The Original Burger
(prepared with a combination of chuck and sirloin beef).
Many restaurants claim to be the birthplace of the hamburger. Louis' Lunch, in New Haven, Connecticut, since 1900, is a leading contender. The meaty hand-shaped patties are grilled on antique cast-iron broilers over an open flame. louislunch.com

Posted by Chef Bill Brooks, Corporate Chef, U.S. Foodservice, Inc

Opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily

reflect those of U.S. Foodservice, Inc