January 18, 2010

Best Burgers Of 2009

The year's best burgers, in no particular order...pardon the mostly terrible iPhone photos:

Minetta Tavern - New York, NY
OK, I won't rank the rest of them, but this was definitely the best. A mix of prime dry-aged ribeye, skirt steak and brisket, hailing from Creekstone Farms in Kentucky. At $26, it was definitely the most expensive one this year, but absolutely worth it. Probably the best burger I've ever had.

Father's Office - Santa Monica, CA
Another dry-aged monster...this had been on my 'must-eat' list for a couple of years, and it lived up to the hype.

Shake Shack - New York, NY
I convinced myself to deviate from my standard 'Shack Burger' order and went for the 'Shack Stack' - the big breaded ball you see here is a portobello surrounded by melted cheese - it was really more of a big cheese ball than anything. I think it would actually be better without the beef patty.

Comfort - Richmond, VA
Nothing fancy here...no dry-aging or proprietary beef blends, just a perfectly-made cheeseburger.

Larkspur - Vail, CO
Certainly the best food I've ever had on a ski hill...

Holeman & Finch - Atlanta, GA
This one is so good that we dedicated an entire page to it when we designed H&F's website.

In 'n Out - Los Angeles, CA
The first stop upon leaving the airport, wolfed down in the car.