To me the secret to an outstanding burger is not so much how it's made; rather, how it's cooked. A burger on the pit, cooked until it has that red color- that's dope.
Cheeburger used to be decent but I wouldn't step foot in that place ever again. Service is disgraceful and you can really see it has taken a hit on their customer base and I think their quality went down as well. Place is a ghost town most days now.
And not overproduced. So many of these "gourmet" burger places are obsessed with doing something original to the point of making the burger worse. Burgersmith puts enough Tony's to choke you in it. Other don't use pure ground beef, but some kind of "specially" seasoned beef that tastes like meatloaf instead of a friggin' burger. Others are obsessed with thickness, size, and rareness. I want my burger cooked, thank you, and I don't need a half pound patty. Still other overdress a burger with twice as much crap as is practical. One tomato, a leaf of lettuce, some chopped onion and one big pickle is all that is needed. A bit of mayo and mustard, not a pint of it. Don't give me an onion ring, "special sauce", chili, gravy, jalapeños, mushrooms, and a partridge in a pear tree. Ciabatta bread? Sourdough? Getthefuckouttahere. Curse all gourmet burgers. I prefer a plain old bar-and-grill burger like Georges or Brewbachers or one of those small, tasty diner burgers like Louie's. I's rather eat a slider from White Castle than one of those $14 room-service hotel gourmet burgers.
I am not necessarily a burger fan but I have found a method that works perfect for me and the neighbors get something truly different. I look forward to burger night in the back yard. I trim the loose fat and grind chuck steak and bacon at about a 4:1 ratio. Season the meat with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper. Put it in the smoker at 225 degrees until the meat is 130 degrees. While the meat is smoking, I get the grill searing. (I have Grillgrates that block the flare ups and coverts the grill to IR heat). The burgers are finished off on the grill until the desired 'doneness' and there is a nice browned surface. They are juicy across the range of medium rare to medium well. The burgers don't take long to get to 130 and you don't need a lot of wood. Top it with your favorite condiments. I like a spicy mayo and pepper jack cheese with these. They compliment the smoked flavor well.
I like all kinds of burgers and rarely feel let down. I'm amazed at how many specialty burger places there are in my area, which include at least a few chains: Red Robin, The Counter, Jerry Built, Fielding's Wood Grill, Five Guys, Beck's, Fuddrucker's, Taco USA (only listed b/c their burgers are so good), and at least one or two others that I'm forgetting. While I agree with Red that basic burgers are sometimes better, I also enjoy specialty burgers at times like a Blue Cheese burger, a bacon BBQ cheeseburger with an onion ring, or anything that includes bacon, tomato, and grilled onions.
Five Guys is pretty decent and you get free peanuts. I haven't been to Fuddrucker's in a long time but I like that you can add your own fixings. I never heard of those other places except for Red Robin. I walked into a RR in Raleigh a couple of years ago and after I looked at the menu I walked out and went to the Dairy Queen next door. I'm not paying $10 for a burger even if they do include the fries. I made the right call. Dairy Queen burgers have changed from years ago and aren't as good but that Dairy Queen also served Orange Julius. I wish there was still and Orange Julius in Baton Rouge.
I like mine cooked medium so that there are juices running from the burger. Not rare and not well done but medium. One slice of tomato, a small amount of lettuce, 3 dill pickle slices and extra onion, sliced, not raw. Hellman's or Blue Plate Mayo, French's yellow mustard and sometimes a small amount of Heinz Ketchup. If it's going to be a cheeseburger I want a medium thick slice of real cheddar cheese melted on top of the burger. Not those processed Kraft singles. It should be on a regular bun made for hamburgers, not any of that specialty bread crap.
A few weeks ago, the wife and I were at Rouse's in Covington and found an Abita Rootbeer Glaze. We bought some store made burgers (not the frozen hockey pucks; these were made in the butcher shop and were about a half inch thick), she seasoned them up and I threw them on the grill. A few minutes on each side to brown them, then basted with the glaze. They came out juicy and just a touch sweet. Interesting side note: for Easter my wife bought the same burgers for her brother in law to grill for the family get-together. He dried them out so much that I looked like Chevy Chase eating turkey in Christmas Vacation. His son just happened to be at the house when we ate my burgers. After his second or third one he asked why we didn't get the same burgers for his dad to grill. The wife said, "We did."
