Chowhound - ranking the fast food cheeseburgers
 

Making the rounds on Facebook. Link is

https://www.chowhound.com/pictures/cheeseburgers-ranked

but to spare the click-baityness, here is what Chowhound says:

1. In-N-Out
2. Five Guys
3. The Habit
4. Fatburger
5. Dicks
6. Burger King
7. Wendy's
8. Jack in the Box
9. Shake Shack
10. McDonalds
11. Steak n Shake
12. Checkers
13. Culvers
14. Smashburger
15. Hardees
16. Carl's Jr.
17. Sonic
18. Burgerville
19. Elevation
20. Whataburger
21. White Castle
22. Krystal
23. Freddy's
24. Dairy Queen
25. A&W

McDonalds at 10 above Carl's Jr, Whataburger, and others is laughable, in my opinion. I much prefer Sonic even to McDonalds

Looking at those pics makes me glad I don't live in the USA. Would have a hard time containing myself. What we get here, the Byrons, Burgista Bros, etc. just don't cut it, IMO. At least Five Guys is making some inroads

There is something simple and good about a McD's cheeseburger. Price helps, too.

I just had a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger on Tuesday. They have gotten incredibly expensive ($9 not including fries). It's a very good burger, with the added bonus of so many more condiments available compred to In-N-Out. That said, In-N-Out still wins. Baby Swede also had a bacon cheeseburger, and she said she prefers In-N-Out, too.

I had Culver's last week. Their patties always taste... burnt.

Being the oddball that I am, I would also rank White Castle much higher (seriously, like #4 or #5 ). :D

Smashburger at #14 --- 4 lower than McDonalds???

Laughable.

5 names on that list I've never heard of, I'm personally shocked & now curious.

I disagree with a lot of these.

Inclùding, for me, two in the top five.

The list is not the same one I would draw up and I find it incredible that premade food like Burger King or McDonalds have a place anywhere on the list.

The Habit shouldn't have gotten #3 . Very bland burgers, IMO. They even managed to make the pineapple on a teriyaki burger have no taste whatsoever, which I didn't think was possible.

That said, their salads are surprisingly good. I'd probably go back for those, just not the burgers.

I looked at the article again and it makes reference several times to the results of Consumer Reports taste tests. Went to Consumer Reports and they say that the popularity of McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King is primarily with older people who grew up eating those burgers. Makes sense, I guess. I still have a fondness for Wendy's.

Of the places I've never heard of, Freddy's burger looks pretty good to me and I like that Smashburger uses red onion. I also use red onion on my homemade gourmet burger, along with toasted brioche bun.

Two that seem utterly unappealing to me are Checkers and Dicks.

Scratching my head over the low ranking of Steak & Shake. And I never have understood the fascination with In-n-Out.

This is a surprise but I have never had a "great" burger at Smash. Also how is Krystal even on the list, is what they serve considered food????

Maybe they had to really stretch to get that nice round number of 25. Off the top of my head I can't think of any other burger chains not represented on the list. I take that back, yes I can - Johnny Rocket's. I quite like their burger.

Don't see Fuddruckers. Are they still around?

hmm... I quite like Smashburger. Pretty much my go-to place when I need a quick fix of grease. Tasty.

For sure they are leaps better than Burger King, McDonalds, etc.

If this list was compiled solely based on taste (and not other inputs like value, etc), then I truly don't understand.

I think there are still some Fuddruckers around, but not sure I would consider them fast-food...though there is some ambiguity around the term.

For me, Checkers & Whattaburger are all about the burger as a whole being greater than than the sum of its parts, crisp texture/dare I say tasty produce being very important to me.yes and good catch^ For folks that prefer thick patties over thin, Fuddruckers will cook to MR (at least they used to), I was always pleased with Fuddruckers, plus they have a terrific pico de gallo mix at the toppings bar. http://www.fuddruckers.com
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A Krystal is just plain nasty. If you don't believe me, order one without mustard.

I have seen one recently. I think the burger is average but appreciate any place with a condiments bar where I can dress it my way.

I don't see Red Robin on the list. Because the menu is less than 50% hamburgers perhaps? I give them extra points for having a full bar anywhere I've visited. That means my grandson and I can both get what we want.

I like Red Robin. Ate at one on my last trip to St. Louis. Might not be considered fast-food for the purpose of this survey, though.

I don't like over-sauced burgers, particularly with thousand island, and that was how Checker's was described in the survey. Sounds like it is much better than described