NYCGOBEARS;842392684 said:

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I only like it. For me it's too tricky. Too much going on.

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That's exactly how I feel about Umami Burger...too much going on. FO has just the right amount of 'going on' for me.

NYCGOBEARS;842392684 said:

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I only like it. For me it's too tricky. Too much going on.

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+1, but they have a great beer selection and the one in Culver City is next to an amazing book store.

Oscars.....bacon cheeseburger with all the fixin's does it for me...here in Berkeley.

NYCGOBEARS;842392573 said:

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Here that is moderately expensive. You can get a lot of mediocre $15 burgers in NYC.

Corner Bistro is a fantastic old school bar in the West Village that has incredible ($6) burgers.

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Second that, great burgers but also great atmosphere.

KevBear;842392659 said:

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Some local to me in Berkeley/Oakland:

Phil's Sliders: the sliders are great, as are the tots. But they just don't give you enough food!
Smokehouse (on Telegraph): relatively cheap, good burgers, great fries and open super late. Cash only is annoying sometimes
Barneys: a chain, but still great. A nice Burger restaurant to sit, eat and converse. Love their skinny fries.

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I like the IDEA of Smokehouse, but, to me, chopped onion and shredded-or-chopped lettuce is a deal-breaker. I actually prefer the Jumbo Jack at Jack-in-the-Box, two blocks down (not bad, considering).

In terms of chains, I liked the Habit more than I initially thought that I would. Portion size is a bit small, but it's well executed. Umami Burger was also a pleasant surprise. As far as some of my other favorite chains, I think that I may prefer Shake Shack and 5 Guys to In-and-Out, but I like all of them.

The burger patty at the Counter always seems really juicy to me, but I actually don't like all the choices. I know that probably sounds odd, but I prefer someone with better culinary talent than me to make the key decisions.

Slater's 50/50 was a little disappointing to me. To avoid serving uncooked ground bacon, they have to cook the burger through, which makes for a somewhat dry burger. The general bacon flavor in the burger was distinctive.

The Black Label Burger at Minetta Tavern is a whole different thing. The dry-aged beef flavor is really intense and special. The server recommended against cheese on the burger, which makes sense. My wife and I actually shared the burger as an appetizer before ordering the cote de boeuf. That was a great meal!

That all said, Tommy's still has a special place in my heart/stomach. I'm sure my tastes and tolerances have changed, but when I was young and out late, it just seemed perfect.

KoreAmBear;842392636 said:

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I tried the Habit over in Woodland Hills for the first time a few weeks ago, and I loved it. After eating so much In N Out on my trip, I determined that I don't like it as much as I did before. It's kind of dry, and esp. if the bun is toasted. I like restaurant burgers, and I know that's a different category. I also love Fatburger and Fuddruckers (esp because of the fixins bar) for chains. Tommy's is good too. Five Guys is too greasy.

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Consumer Reports just named The Habit the best chain hamburger

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/the-habit-burger-grill_n_5613424.html

after reading this thread, i was craving a burger, but it was 9:30 on a Thursday eve... ended up trying a place in West Portal... Bullshead or something like that. It has a butcher counter w/ steaks and burgers in the display which gave me high hopes (along w/ 4 star yelp review).

burger was disappointing. i ordered it cooked medium, and it came out that way. passed the eye test, but burger lacked juice and flavor. just really bland w/ no taste or seasoning. I never thought I could eat a bacon avocado burger and not taste anything.

given the choice, I would've gone back to Hall of Flame behind SF State... that place is pretty solid. burgers always cooked to ordered doneness, burgers always flavorful and juicy.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hall-of-flame-burgers-san-francisco

rathokan;842392944 said:

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after reading this thread, i was craving a burger, but it was 9:30 on a Thursday eve... ended up trying a place in West Portal... Bullshead or something like that. It has a butcher counter w/ steaks and burgers in the display which gave me high hopes (along w/ 4 star yelp review).

burger was disappointing. i ordered it cooked medium, and it came out that way. passed the eye test, but burger lacked juice and flavor. just really bland w/ no taste or seasoning. I never thought I could eat a bacon avocado burger and not taste anything.

given the choice, I would've gone back to Hall of Flame behind SF State... that place is pretty solid. burgers always cooked to ordered doneness, burgers always flavorful and juicy.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/hall-of-flame-burgers-san-francisco

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Wow! I haven't thought of that place in at least 15 years. I used to go there regularly because a gal I dated lived close. It was always just ok. Surprised that it's still there.

thanks to you guys, just went to Habit. double-char....mmmm....

I like the Keens burger, and the corner bistro.

Zuni Cafe burger is pretty darn good.

I used to like burgers at the original Counter and the California burger at Houston's.

KoreAmBear;842392636 said:

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I tried the Habit over in Woodland Hills for the first time a few weeks ago, and I loved it. After eating so much In N Out on my trip, I determined that I don't like it as much as I did before. It's kind of dry, and esp. if the bun is toasted. I like restaurant burgers, and I know that's a different category. I also love Fatburger and Fuddruckers (esp because of the fixins bar) for chains. Tommy'ss good too. Five Guys is too greasy.

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[/I also love Fuddruckers as well as Tommys. (Tommys more for the chili on the burger). I would add Val's in Hayward as well]

I haven't eaten since this am. I would f&@k up a Tommy's burger like it talked about my mother right now.

calbear93;842393103 said:

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I used to like burgers at the original Counter and the California burger at Houston's.

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How do you go to Houston's and not order the ribs?

LACalFan;842393127 said:

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How do you go to Houston's and not order the ribs?

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How do you go to Houston's and not order the Hawaiian Ribeye? Seriously, one of my favorite steak meals anywhere.

I guess I'll have to give the burger and the ribeye a try. It'll be hard t pass up those ribs, though.

Houston's is super solid for a chain restaurant.

calbear93;842393103 said:

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I used to like burgers at the original Counter and the California burger at Houston's.

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The counter is good but the prices a rediculous. A friend and I had a $50 gift certificate and managed to spend the whole thing on a meal for 2. We did upgrade to bison and pretzel buns and got shakes though. Their shakes are awesome (try the peanut butter).

-kap

kaplanfx;842393254 said:

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The counter is good but the prices a rediculous. A friend and I had a $50 gift certificate and managed to spend the whole thing on a meal for 2. We did upgrade to bison and pretzel buns and got shakes though. Their shakes are awesome (try the peanut butter).

-kap

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truth. friend and i went to Counter last week, spent $20 each. didn't even get a shake just 2 burgers, sweet potato fries & onion strings...

that peanut butter shake sounds great right now.

Damn I'm hungry now. My vote goes for fiveten burger. The owner opened up Handlebar recently and sells the burger there as well.

Just ate at glenns on 35th and mac and it's a solid spot.

Zuni Caf Signature burger is really good, not cheap though. I would order the Caesar and a balsamic Bloody Mary along with it.

NYCGOBEARS;842392573 said:

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Here that is moderately expensive. You can get a lot of mediocre $15 burgers in NYC.

Corner Bistro is a fantastic old school bar in the West Village that has incredible ($6) burgers.

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This was my go to in NYC. Nothing fancy, just a fantastic burger.

NYCGOBEARS;842392673 said:

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I like the Apple Pan in LA a lot. That's a great old school burger.

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Apple Pan in LA is very good as is the Shake Shack in NYC, as someone mentioned.

If you are ever in San Luis Obispo and want a great burger, try the ABC Burger (avocado, bacon & cheese) at Firestone Grill. They are most known for their tri-tip sandwiches (which are awesome, by the way!), but their ABC Burger is pretty doggone great too.

slobear;842393479 said:

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Apple Pan in LA is very good as is the Shake Shack in NYC, as someone mentioned.

If you are ever in San Luis Obispo and want a great burger, try the ABC Burger (avocado, bacon & cheese) at Firestone Grill. They are most known for their tri-tip sandwiches (which are awesome, by the way!), but their ABC Burger is pretty doggone great too.

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I also recall firestone grill having endless fries and they were good fries too. I've always wondered why the haven't expanded, it's pretty good / popular despite just the one location.

-kap

I had heard about Firestone Grill in SLO for years now, and finally got the chance to try it a few months back on a drive down to LA. I thought their famous Tri Tip sandwich was just meh - maybe because we're spoiled in the Bay Area with great food. I guess if you live in SLO it might be the cat's meow.

kaplanfx;842393516 said:

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I also recall firestone grill having endless fries and they were good fries too. I've always wondered why the haven't expanded, it's pretty good / popular despite just the one location.

-kap

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Yes, they are good fries. They have two other locations in Fresno called Dog House Grill (near Bulldog Stadium I believe) and in Cambria (Main Street Grill). http://www.firestonegrill.com/dog-house-grill/
The owner is a super hard working guy (and former FB player at Cal Poly I believe). My guess is that he wants to keep it all fairly local so that he can keep his hand in it for quality control purposes. Plus, I don't know how well Dog House and Main Street do (but am guessing pretty well) but Firestone always does a nice, brisk business. Good place to watch sports and drink some beer too.

Have any of you guys tried JJ Burger on Grand Ave. (near the Star)? It's pretty new and by far my favorite hamburger in Oakland. (I have tried many on this list.) I highly recommend any local burger lovers check it out. (Their Yelp reviews are off the charts too.)

The Habit is usually very good .eat ar foster city location once a week. Daly city now open as is vacaville near nut tree

If you consider outside of the Bay Area, check out the Broderick Roadhouse in West Sacramento. Great, huge burgers, delicious fries, excellent bar and friendly service. This place is highly rated on yelp.com and other sites and definitely does not serve health food. The also serve excellent sandwiches and is a great place filled with singles and families. This must be one of the best burger joints in the Sacramento region and is one of those places we can only visit once or twice a month or we fail our blood tests at Kaiser.

Gizzly Bear;842458410 said:

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Have any of you guys tried JJ Burger on Grand Ave. (near the Star)? It's pretty new and by far my favorite hamburger in Oakland. (I have tried many on this list.) I highly recommend any local burger lovers check it out. (Their Yelp reviews are off the charts too.)

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That's my stomping grounds and I like burgers. Will check it out. Is it all crowded, or good to walk into with lil' kids?

Too bad the "new" Kwik Way closed. They might have ben trying a bit too hard with their burgers, but I liked the fact that they had re-started the place. (The original Kwik Way had cheap-azz burgers, halfway decent, but their pies were good and everything was cheap.)

Big C_Cal;842458597 said:

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That's my stomping grounds and I like burgers. Will check it out. Is it all crowded, or good to walk into with lil' kids?

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I think each time I've been there were one or two other tables in use, with several tables to spare (although it's not particularly big inside). The burgers are six ounce paddies so maybe a little big for a small child, but they have milk shakes and ice cream too. I think people are still finding out about it, but judging by the Yelp reviews it's a big hit so far.

The burgers at mcgees in Alameda are bomb. So are the bacon cheese burgers at la penca azul. Both on park street.

Walnut Creek has a lot of burger options, but if you like fanciful then go to http://www.310eatery.com/menu/ and get the 405 burger, it is fantastic. Their other offerings are just ok IMO, but the 405 pops.

Cheesesteak Shop, The Counter, The Habit, Fudds, InNOut up the road, and a bunch of others, a lotta burger choice.

Grew up near a Tommy's 405/Magnolia - always ready to grind one of those down and they wait for you 24hrs a day.