Cheeseburger is Paradise

Who has the best burger? There are several levels of burgers, based on how nice a restaurant you go to: (1) fine dining, (2) specialty restuarants, (3) chain restaurants, and (4) fast food joints. In the burger world you get what you pay for.

Nice restaurants like Buckhead Diner and King + Duke serve great burgers, because everything they serve is good. Also JCT Kitchen and J Christopher / Redlands (Peachtree Corners). They are cook the best meat perfectly with a great-tasting bun that holds together but still light, not heavy and a chore to eat. They usually get the fries right as well: crisp not soggy, not big potato wedges.

King + Duke (Buckhead)
JCT Kitchen (Westside)
Buckhead Diner
Canoe (West Paces)
J Christopher / Redlands (Peachtree Corners)
Bonefish (Johns Creek)
Century House Tavern (Woodstock)
Whiskey Bar Kitchen (Augusta)

Is Ted's Montana Grill a nice restaurant or burger place? They're light years above chain restaurants. I've had both bison burgers and beef burgers there, and both are excellent. Fries are good as well.

The H&F Burger at SunTrust Park is hit and miss. Tasted great the first couple of times I ate one at Turner Field when the stand was located out of the way in the outfield. Now it's on a main thoroughfare and kind of rushed. Hard to enjoy a great burger when you have to eat it out of a paper container balanced on your lap, in a cramped stadium seat.

For me too many add-ons spoil the burger experience. Having several different tastes is fine: cheese, ketchup, mustard, tomato, grilled onion, pickle – but many more can make the bun turn soggy and fall apart, and the whole thing becomes a mess. Pro tip: hold the mayo. Every now and then a fried egg is a great addition.

For the most part if you put a burger and fries in front of me, I'm happy. Nothing like a perfect burger, and a messy, falling apart burger can be frustrating, but anything in between is pretty good. Same with fries. Here's my ranking of Atlanta's "normal" restaurants…

TOP FIVE:

1. Fuddruckers. Big fresh patties of various sizes. Buns baked fresh on site. Plenty of fixins you add yourself. Good fries or rings. And shakes.

2. Moxie Burger (Roswell, Paper Mill, & Lassiter). Heathy but tasty patties and buns. Good fries or rings. Like Lucky's, bring your pooch.

3. The Vortex (Little Five Points). Plenty of options, including two grilled cheese sandwiches for a bun. Tater tots too.

4. Cheeseburger Bobby's. A good size burger. You add your fixins. Good fries and shakes.

5. Five Guys. Smaller burgers you can load with extras. Everyone talks about all the fries you get. I must be ordering wrong, or I have high expectations.

6. Bocadu Burger (Avalon). A good burger.

7. Bad Daddy's Burger Bar (Chamblee). Lots of options.

8. Lucky's Burger & Brew (Roswell & Brookhaven). Decent sized burger with plenty of options, including tater tots. Take your dog and sit on the patio.

9. Smash Burger. Decent burger. Weird smash gimmick.

10. El Felix's Mexican Burger really doesn't belong on this list. With all the ingredients you pretty much have to eat it like an open-faced sandwich. Huge and delicious. Was embarrassed to order it, but I wasn't feeling other items on the menu that day. We've I

11. Burger Fi

12. Flip Burger: fancy and expensive.

13. Shake Shack: lots of hype, but no better than Yeah Burger or the like.

14. Yeah Burger: smaller but decent burger. Weird soft drinks.

15. Steak & Shake. Love the skinny fries.

16. Red Robin. Tasteless bun falls apart while eating. The all you can eat steak fries aren't that great. Onion rings too large.

17. OK Café: the burger is an afterthought. Generic. Order something else.

I haven't eaten at Wahlburgers (The Battery), or Dale Murphy's restaurant in the Galleria.

Chain restaurant burgers are similar. But was the patty fresh or frozen? At chains the bun is often the deciding factor.

Ted's Montana Grill
Marlow's Tavern (The Prado, Avalon)
Outback
Longhorn
Applebees
Tin Lizzy's
Chilis
Ruby Tuesday. Can be messy.
O'Charleys.
Dave & Busters comes in last.

Fast food burgers are another step below: Hardees, Wendys, McDonalds, Burger King, Krystal. For what you pay for an upgraded burger at a fast food place you can just about pay the same price for a tastier basic burger at a chain restaurant. I ate at a Whattaburger years ago. Some people rave about them but I don't know what the big deal is. Eating at the Varsity is an experience, but the burger is nothing to write home about. Same with Waffle House - order the breakfast instead.