Saturday, November 8, 2008

Hamburger America: A Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints

I love the road. If you read this blog on a regular basis, you already know this. What you see on the road is generally better than anything you'll see on television.

Gravel roads are the best.
The road is full of culinary surprises:


A few years ago I embarked on a quest to visit every county in Kansas. I used an old map and a yellow highlighter to keep track of my progress.

I gradually chipped away at this goal. I was proud of my efforts until I read about a man who had not only visited every county in Kansas, but he also managed to eat a hamburger in each one. My accomplishments paled in comparison, so I became discouraged and abandoned my goal.

I'm thinking about getting back on that horse. After reading Hamburger America by George Motz and viewing the documentary that accompanies the book, I'm ready to hit the road. Motz criss-crosses America searching for the best hamburger.
Now I'm thinking about setting a new goal. Any ideas?

The following is his list of the 100-greatest burgers:

ARKANSAS


CALIFORNIA


COLORADO

  • Bud’s Bar - Sedalia

Connecticut

DELAWARE


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA


FLORIDA

  • Le Tub - Hollywood

GEORGIA

  • Ann’s Snack Bar - Atlanta

IDAHO

  • Hudson’s Hamburgers - Coer D’ Alene

ILLINOIS


INDIANA

IOWA


KANSAS



LOUISIANA
  • Bozo’s - Metarine
  • Port Of Call - New Orleans

MAINE

  • Harmon’s Lunch - Falmouth

MASSACHUSETTS

· Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage Cambridge

· White Hut West Springfield


MICHIGAN


MINNESOTA


MISSISSIPPI

  • Bill’s Hamburgers - Amory
  • Phillip’s Grocery - Holly springs

MISSOURI


MONTANA

  • Matt’s Place Drive-in - Butte
  • Missoula Club - Missoula

NEBRASKA

  • Stella’s Hamburgers - Bellevue

NEW HAMPSHIRE


NEW JERSEY


NEW MEXICO


NEW YORK


NORTH CAROLINA


OHIO

  • Cabill’s Hamburgers - Urbana
  • Gahanna Grill - Cahanna
  • Hamburger Wagon - Miamisburg
  • Kewpee - Lima
  • Thurman Café - Columbus
  • Wilson’s Findlay

OKLAHOMA


OREGON

  • Giant Drive-In Lake - Oswego
  • Elvetia Tavern - Hillsboro
  • Stanich’s Tavern - Portland

PENNSYLVANIA

  • Charlie’s Hamburgers - Folsom
  • Tessaro’s - Pittsburgh

SOUTH CAROLINA


SOUTH DAKOTA


TENNESSEE

  • Brown’s Dinner - Nashville
  • Dyer’s - Memphis
  • Rotier’s Restaurant - Nashville
  • Zarzour’s Café - Chattanooga

TEXAS


UTAH

  • Crown Burgers Salt Lake City

VIRGINIA


WASHINGTON


WISCONSIN


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I have one...but it's here in my home town in Ottawa, Ontario Canada: The Works - http://www.worksburger.com/ They must have a list of about 50 burgers. Sooo good!!!!

Lindastamps

Robert Zamees said...

Next time you're in KC, you should head over to Westport (just north of the Plaza) and have a Westport Flea Market burger... blows Winstead's away.

bigBADbob

Anonymous said...

My vote is to "breakfast" your way accross the land. Those little mom and pop cafes and diners have the best breakfasts. Some even have freshly grated hashbrowns and fresh eggs. My fondest memories of road trips have been the mom and pop restaurants. No chains and franchises for me. Nella

Anonymous said...

I went through the list by Mr. Motz. No mention of bowling ally burgers.

Kate said...

I second the breakfast suggestion. Hot dogs are good too, but the best ones are from places that are fairly unidentifiable and often transient.

I have two of those goals, but they're more like life-long lists: Visit every state park, run a marathon in every state. In the meantime, whenever I road trip, and even when I drive around in my area, I make it a point to eat at the diviest place I can find. Usually this works out great, sometimes not so much.

Also, I think Five Guys should be on the Virginia/D.C. list!