There's one in Clemson that I stop at on the way to Grandma BamaVols. If I have someone with me, we stop. I like the idea of being able to dress your burger as you wish and they're a couple steps above Roy Rogers (they still around). I think they're okay but if they want to be top tier, they just need to raise their prices. :D

IMHO: In and Out Burger. However none in Oregon or Washington. Only AZ, CA and NV. And it's not really high end, just really friekin good. No freezers and everything fresh.

In the Northwest> Burgerville. Good, straight forward. Same model, local ingredients.

But for truly local and high end burgers, stay away from the chains and find something local....please. Fuddruckers does have the worlds largest burger in Las Vegas, but I can't justify it.

If you ever make it Portland, I'll point you in the right direction. ^

I agree with you about the fact that local places are the best if you want a true 'high-end' burger, but often you'll pay a lot more.

I really loved Fuddruckers, I like the interesting options, found it tasty and enjoyed the fact you could make your burger the way you wanted it. Haven't had a bad burger at Fuddruckers

The burgers at Fudd's usually aren't bad, and they cook them (medium-)rare for
me. Not the absolute most flavorful meat, except once in a while when I've had
one that tastes of putrefaction. I think on reflection I prefer an expensive
pink burger to the fairly costly gray thing from Five Guys or the fairly cheap
gray thing from In-n-Out. Except for that taste of putrefaction, of course.

They are decent, however 2 locations around me have recently closed.

Hmm, I dunno if we can forgive that. Burgers are big biz! ;)

I'd go with Culvers. Yummy.

Mike

"high-end" is a sort of misnomer when applied to burger joints.
Fuddruckers is priced slightly higher than fast-fast-food places and is in a sort of small niche with johnny rockets, red robin, and maybe something like becks prime which is a local chain. fuddruckers is the best of this lot

of the standard fast food burger places in-n-out is imo tops. (it is regional chain, however). whataburger is also very good. i prefer both of these to all of the above

as with most foods the best belong to independent local restaurants, either cheap "dive" bars or shacks or in fancier "gourmet" places (10-15-20$ burgers). for instance in austin texas one could list casino el camino, burgertex, fran/dan, huts, hyde park.

+1 on Culver's. Don't know if they've spread far enough to be considered a "national chain" yet, but they're way better than Fuddrucker's IMHO.

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D050; Blazer/4.3) 16;320x448)

Culvers.... Ok, will check them out next time Im in the USA.

There are Culver's and Fuddruckers here in Springfield Mo. Quite different atmospheres. Culver's is more traditional in decor and is known for frozen custard and butterburgers. I personally don't like butter on Hamburgers but YMMV. Culver's does have Pork Tenderloin sandwiches which I like. It is a breaded pork cutlet on a kaiser roll. I don't go to either very often but I get good use of the self serve condiments bar at Fuddruckers.
I can make a whole salad from it:-) Also Fuddruckers sells beer.

burgers are ok, butter burgers. Best thing about Culver's is the frozen custard. If you are ever at ORD, I'd be happy to take you to one seeing as I'm close to both ORD & a Culver's.


AGREED, I enjoy their burgers especially LOADED with their freshmade pico de gallo. I do mean loaded, my scoop of pico de gallo is as large as the burger as many a Fuddrucker's manager has commented.:D

FWIW, didn't think their Kobe burger was anything special.

I remember when they opened a store in New Orleans back in the early 1980's. It was on Tchoupitoulas, just around the corner from Mother's. They had the butcher shop with the hanging beef, burgers to order, a bakery, and awesome milkshakes. We all thought it was really good.

Judging from our store here in Alexandria VA it's just not the same quality product, and most of the features that made it special are gone. Still, I visit a couple times a year, and it beats most fast food.

I used to eat there a lot, but not so much anymore. The one closest to me, closed about 9 months ago.

Fudruckers is still around and is pretty good for a franchised burger place. They sell a larger thicker burger than your normal chains, and the meat doesn't appear to be the traditional frozen patties that is sold at many corporate food places (franchises), as it is generally jucier and you have a better shot at getting it cooked they way you like it than at other casual restaurant places.

Personally I like Five Guys better, and it is about the same price as Fudruckers. For a fast food burger, In N Out is a very good thin patty burger, and Culver's makes an excellent thicker burger that is a bargain. Problem is all of these are regional chains, which may be one of the reasons they are better than the national chains.

+1 on Culvers. When my wife is out I go there for a burger with onion rings and a chocolate malt!