What a fun top ten!!!

Good old fashioned this is going to kill my diet burgers: Alonso's, McCabe's, Dizzy Issie's and Five Guys.

Surprisingly healthy option turkey burgers: Miss Shirley's.

Upscale: Salt's sliders with foie gras.

Judge's Bench in Ellicott City. Great burger's with great names. Affordable too.

Now you're talking, some suggestions for best burgers: The Saturday Burger @ Claddagh's in Canton, The Wimpies @ Rocket to Venus in Hampden, & you really can't forget about Five Guys. The Wine Market has a pretty good lamb burger, as well. I know this is off topic, but best cheesesteak in baltimore, hands down goes to MaGerk's in Federal Hill. Make sure to get the 9th & Passyunk!

I second tennisgal's nominations of McCabe's and Five Guys.

I've always wanted to try Alonso's burgers but they're so huge (16 oz, I think?) that I've been afraid. For me, that's a lot of beef in one sitting!

I agree wholeheartedly with Saulo about The Saturday Burger from Claddaghs. The bun sells the burger. JD's also has a good selection of good burgers, but Claddaghs bun is absolutely delicious. Props go to Max's 3 cheese burger and Maggie Moore's Blarney burger

Kooper's in Fell's Point has fantastic burgers. I also second the vote for Dizzy Izzie's

Helen's Garden has great burgers with some interesting toppings - one with blue cheese and bacon and the other with cheddar and mango curry chutney. Adds interesting flavors to the traditional comfort food. With the inexpensive happy hour wine, you can enjoy a tasty, "upscale" meal and not spend a fortune.

Helen's Garden in Canton has a great burger.

Alright, here comes controversy...

Alonso's of Cold Spring Lane is the obvious front-runner. The Alonso Burger is huge, it's cooked to order, it's juicy. Yum.

For non-traditional burger, I dig the Crisfield Burger served up at the local Silver Spring Mining Company chain. Shrimp, Crab and Ham. Delish.

Finally, my guilty pleasure is creating my own burger at the national "Cheeburger Cheeburger" chain. Usually I'll go Mozzerella, Marinara and Black Olives. The chain gets double points for having the smell and feel of the long-departed Farrell's at Golden Ring Mall.

This one is steak on my plate.

In terms of chains (excluding the giant fast food giants like BK and McD's), Chee-burger Cheeburger and Five Guys are very solid! gread old fashioned burgers.

As far as the other places, here's a list of some of the best burgers in town (in no particular ranking):

Duda's in Fells Point: Mght very well be the best one in town, period!

Alonzo's on Cold Spring Lane: Not as good as in the pre-yuppified days when it was still an "old man" bar, but their 16oz. burger is still one of the best around.

Looney's in Canton: Tastes just ike it was cooked on the backyard grill, and comes with a generous mound of dee-licious fries. Even better w/ Gravy fries.

McCabes in Hampden: Consistent...just like everything they serve.

Mount Washington Tavern: A tad bit pricy, but top quality.

The turkey burger at Red Star is the only reason we still eat there despite the horrific service. So good.
And the Kitchen Sink burger at Kisling's is a favorite guilty pleasure of my significant other: It has, as the name implies, everything on it except the kitchen sink.

Sorry folks, I need to amend my previous list and ass one more place I forgot. Clyde's in Columbia should totally be on any regional Top-10 burger list for sure. Classic all American burger, compelte with fressh sesame seen bun. Just top quality ground beef, not too lean, not too fatt, but wonderful flavor.

Also, the one common denominator of all the places I mentioned is that none of them over-season their burgers or add a blend of spices and otther seasonings to the ground beef. I HATE when a place seves a burger like that. After all, it;s supposed to be a burger, not a mini meatloaf.

if they start adding things like garlic, and other seasonings, it tells you that they're using inferior quality beef, and are covering it up. When I order a burger, I don't want it drowned in spices that take away from the flavor of the ground beef. A good burger is made with quality ground beef that that alone without doctoring it up with every seasoning known to man. Mother's in Fed Hill does this to their burgers, which is why I will never order a burger there ever.

This omnivore asks whether we're going to include veggie burgers (perhaps a future list?) ... the black bean sliders at Friends would be at the top of my list. Otherwise, I'd second the vote for Rocket's wimpies.

Veggie burgers are another Top Ten, although I like my vegetables not pretending to be something else.

I had a great burger at a new place in Towson. It is called Burger Brothers. It is next to Strapazza's on Allegheny Ave.

The Good Burger @ Red Star

McCabes on Falls Road in Hampden has awesome burgers!

Are veggie burgers allowed if they're topped with bacon? [ducking and running...]

Of course, Hal, as long as it's SOY bacon! (My turn to duck and run.) Thanks for the laugh!

Actually, two of my stand-bys for burgers are Swallow at the Hollow or Jerry's Belvedere at York & Northern Pkwy. Unpretentious, big, tasty..what's not to like?

I used to love the Big Daddy Pub burger at CVP in charles village. haven't had it in forever though, so I don't know if it's good anymore. I'd put 5 Guys ahead of cheeburger cheeburger any day. And, depending on who's cooking it, the burgers at Pete's Grille are actually decent. (the old guy presses the burgers, squeezing all the juices out- it cooks faster, but loses a lot of flavor).

An unexpectedly great burger - The Speakeasy in Canton. Perfect burger complemented by excellent fries. Consistently great burger - 5 Guys!

Kooper's in Fell Point, Tuesday burger special is the best. Open flame grill, always done to order. Relatively fast service. Good crowd. Cold beer. Nice wine selection for the ladies.

The Saturday Burger @ Claddagh's gets another strong arm of support and for the price, it certainly can't be beat!

Clyde's in Columbia has very very good burgers. There's nothing like a good old fashioned bacon cheeseburger, and Clyde's does it as good as anyone around. The sesame seed bun gives it that added tough. overall, they have good classic tavern food, but the burgers realy do stand out!

Call me crazy, but Checkers has unbelievably good olfd fashioned greasey burgers. I know this shouldn't be a list for the likes of McDonalds and Wendy's. But there's something about the burgers at Checkers that takes you back in time. maybe it's the drive-up window, but there burgers are right up there w/ Five Guys.

The first time I ever had a Checkers burger (about 3 years ago), I had a reaction similiar to sam l. jackson's character in Pulp Fiction: "Mmm-mmmm! That IS...a TASTY burger !!!"

If you've never had a Checkers burger, you really should try one. It blows away the traditional fast food joints away (burger king, mcdonalds, etc..)

Hal Laurent wrote: "Are veggie burgers allowed if they're topped with bacon?"

NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT !!!!

Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. ;-)

Mitzi - the Alonso burger is also great because it more than enough to make two meals out of it. I can never finish a whole. Half a burger is the perfect size meal for me. The rest goes home.

Miles - you're right about pre-yuppified Alonso days. My mom took me there when I was a freshman at CND around the corner pre Eddie Dobkins era. It was an old man type bar but boy those burgers made quite an impression. But IMO they're still pretty damn close to the original.

Reggie - Good call on the Checkers burger....no argument there!!

Hightopps in Timonium (next to the Fairgrounds) has some good burgers. They had a great cajun burger (for some reason removed from the menu. And some guys on my football team love the Terrapin - crab meat on a burger.

Can't claim they would make a "Top 10" though, usually I'm grilling my own when I want a good burger.

Seems to me a generous helping of bacon on top is all that would make a veggie burger (that hurt just to type) edible. BTW, are you limiting the veggie burger (hurt again) to free-range veggies, only? And since you would add lettuce, tomato and other 'stuff' to a burger to 'improve' it, why not bacon or a little ground beef to improve the veggie thing? Seems to me all your doing is changing what's on top.

Since proximity is relative the best burgers from a chain go to White Castle.The smell of the onions, the sizzle of the frozen patties as they hit the grill and the sight of the buns as they soften. And then the taste. Ahhh. No ketchup please.Truly a feast for the senses Best at 3AM or anytime. I remember when they were 12 cents, now they are the same size and cost 52 cents. Accounting for inflation (58 cents) they are a bargain

Definitely Dizzie Issie's!!! They are so good! Nice and juicy, served on a super soft roll with seasame seeds on top. And they are soooo reasonably priced!! Okay, now I'm hungry!

T-Bonz, in Ellicott City at the intersection of 103 and 104, has unbelievable burgers. Sometimes the service is a little slow, but the staff is always polite and the food is worth the wait. I drool just thinking about their Southwest Burger.... mmmmm....burger.

There is a little place in Parkville where I would go when I lived there called The Emerald Tavern. They had terrific burgers back in the day. My favorite was the bacon cheeseburger. One of the bartenders used to play for the Colts and Steelers. I can't remember his name, but he told some great stories. Now that I'm writing this, I'll have to make the 2 hour trip, and see if they're still as good as they used to be.

A second to Duda's of Fells Point, and a nomination as well to Pete's Grill of Waverly. Milton's Grill on Charles St. once served me a burger that was rare-to-the-point-of-raw in the middle by accident, but that was actually quite good if I had been in the mood for so-rare-it-should-moo-when-I-bite-it.

2 words: LITTLE TAVERN !!!!!

'Nuff said!

This list must include Five Guys -- a great, greasy, paper-bag burger, but with all the freshness of something much pricier. And the topping combinations are limitless. Bless you, Five Guys. Bless you.

BURGER BROTHERS IN TOWSON
HAS THE MOST AMASING BURGERS I HAVE EVER EATEN. WHEN IN TOWSON TREAT YOURSELF TO ONE OF THESE CULINARY DELIGHTS. BEWARE THEY BECOME HABIT FORMING

Ok. I grew up in Southern California, and aside from missing the weather, the only other thing I miss is In-N-Out Burger. My husband grew up across the street from the original in the 1950's and it is still a family-run business..They are packed at all times of the day and night. Inexpensive, great service, sourdough buns, and of course, the best burgers EVER.
We would love to bring it here, but the family won't franchise. We hope they will someday.We will both quit our day jobs. There's no risk in this one.