This list is packed with classic, straight-shooting burgers and the old-school institutions still making them.
By David Landsel of Foodandwine.com
You never forget your first visit to Swenson’s Drive-In, pride of Akron, Ohio, one of the finest little restaurant chains in the country that most Americans haven’t heard of. The house specialty is the Galley Boy, one of the most curious burgers in the country, a double with cheese in the middle, served with two special sauces: a smoky, sweet, and just-a-little-bit hot barbecue and a tartar-like sauce that tastes like it was made with dill pickles and some onion. A toothpick sporting a stuffed green olive ties the whole thing together, and believe me when I tell you that this is one of the more memorable fast food burgers you’ll ever try. It is also one of the ugliest.
Swenson’s goes all the way back to the end of the Great Depression, long before the advent of the visual age in which we’re now trapped. They didn’t get to where they are now—with a nearly-global fan base that includes hometown legend LeBron James—making pretty food. Not so long ago, this wouldn’t have been all that remarkable, but after collectively staring into our phones for what feels like an eternity, the way our food looks has become almost more important than the way it tastes.
Certainly, there is beauty in a well-composed tray of barbecue, or a painstakingly-constructed sandwich, or one of those Detroit pizzas that probably wouldn’t be nearly as popular if they didn’t look so good on social media, but when it comes to the hamburger, everything runs aground. Here’s why—too often, burgers have become not about the meat, but rather the way they look dressed up for the camera. Nowadays, the guy at the corner diner still grinding beef daily for his boring-looking (but delicious-tasting) burgers is hardly ever going to be lucky enough to be as famous, or appreciated, as the food stylist down the street who knows how to make the cheese look just so, as it melts down the sides. Both burgers might be spectacular, but only one of them is going to be Homecoming Queen.
That day at Swenson’s, I had to admit that I’d fallen into the same trap as everyone else who spends too much time scrolling. I had to eat one, then two, then I don’t know how many more burgers in Akron to understand where exactly I’d gone wrong. To this day, I haven’t managed to take a picture of a Galley Boy that would entice someone to eat one, but it doesn’t matter. I know it’s delicious.
Since then, my attitude towards burger research, something I’ve done extensively, both on and off the clock over the years, has changed significantly. Like a Texan waiting in line for barbecue, what I care about most these days is the meat. Is it good? Source high-quality beef, season and prepare it correctly, and I’m in. Put it on a really great bun, and we’ll be friends forever. Hold all the toppings or condiments, at least until I know what kind of foundation we’re standing on. Does anybody else feel me on this? The following list, packed with classic, straight-shooting burgers and the old-school institutions still making them, is for you.
Alabama
The first thing to know about Mobile is that the city’s first recorded Mardi Gras celebration took place in 1703, a decade before New Orleans was even founded. So fine, one city became more famous than the other, but the similarities between the two remain striking, perhaps nowhere more than in Mobile’s own Garden District, a charming patch where Callaghan’s Irish Social Club has thrived since the 1940s, evolving over time to become a prime destination for not only live music and good times, but also for a near-perfect bacon cheeseburger. The bedrock: Angus beef, hand-smushed but never smashed, cooked up on a vintage flat top and topped with quality vegetables, plus very good bacon. Instead of fries, there’s a cooling tomato, cucumber, and onion salad to balance things out.
Alaska
For steaks and martinis in cozy surrounds in Anchorage, it’s always going to be the neon-lit Club Paris, or at least we hope so. One of the city’s finest classic haunts for well over half a century isn’t just a top pick for a blowout dinner, it’s also home to one of downtown’s best lunch specials. That is, a high-quality, reasonably-priced burger, made with the day’s filet mignon trimmings. Make that burgers, because you’ve got choices, starting with the superior Paris Special: 8 oz. of ground tenderloin, broiled (perfectly), served on a French roll with au jus on the side.
Arizona
Sizzling beef on the grill, anointed with liberal splashes of red wine, both for the purposes of funk and juiciness—why didn’t we think of the wineburger before? That’s okay, because somebody else did, somewhere on the East Coast, and a very long time ago. These days, Phoenix is where they are mostly found, and Harvey’s Wineburger, appearing on the scene in the 1950s, is the current standard-bearer—good Bordeaux cooking wine, good, fresh-ground beef, crisp veg, no other condiments. These burgers are an affordable treat; go ahead and add a second patty for a couple of bucks more.
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