Hamilton Tavern

I have a great love of HamTav. Big ups to them, indeed.

But I have to give a shoutout to the Abbey. In fact, I'll be there later tonight.

Look for the fat kid wearing a wrestling singlet in the tub of foie taking on all comers.

Alewife's Smoke Burger is fantastic. It's not a real traditional burger, with a mix of lots of different cuts of Roseda beef, ground in house and mixed with cheese, but it's MEMORABLE in a really awesome way. We were ooing and ahhing so much the waitress told me how it was made. It's pricey at $15, but worth every penny. Yum. Must get back there for another soon!

let's hold off on this question till Gino's reopens.

Please tell me for the love of god how you pay $15 for a hamburger (any hamburger).

But the real question is why is it so hard to find a really good burger? It;s got to be juicy and how often do you see that? Rarely. And what's up with the teeny little "portion" of raw onion you get at least 90% of the time. I usually get a few separate little onion rings instead of a real actual slice of onion. Are they being cheap or do not a lot of people like a full slice. I want a full nice slice (sweet onion) a lot of lettuce and a nice red (not grayish red) tomato or tomatoes.

City Cafe and Duda's both have great burgers. I don't eat them very often, but would go to either place when the craving hits.

+1 for Hamilton Tavern

McCabe's, Blue Hill Tavern and Oregon Grille ($10 with a bloody mary on Saturday afternoon in the bar)

Ryleigh's has a really great burger. Big and cooked perfect with homemade chips. Perfect.

Vino Rosina's sixteen legged burger is outstanding.
Beef, lamb, pork, bison, cooked well done (usually a giant red flag but in this case it's perfect and juicy). About $14. Well worth it.

Kooper's is good for regular burgers too, especially for the price. (Not the overdone overpriced burger truck but the actual place.)

I used to be a fan of the Abbey but find it to be inconsistent, and the burgers fall apart easily. Mother's burgers, on the other hand, are consistently AWESOME and their fries (regular and sweet) are some of the best. (Not as good as Five Guys' fries though - that'd be impossible).

Would I pay $15 for an average burger? NO! But Alewife does not make an average burger.... (also I had a Groupon)

This is what you get for your $15:

Smoke Burger $15
An 11oz House Ground Ribeye, Brisket, Skirt and Filet of Beef Burger, Smoked Gouda, Gruyere Cheese, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Caramelized Cipollini Onion, Chipotle Aioli, Brioche Bun, Duck Fat Fries

I always like Koopers' burgers, the Bison & Elk ones in particular, but the Charlie Brown, a 1/2 lb monster, is hard to beat if you're really hungry. Ummm...burger...

Hamilton Tavern - it's a no brainer....

Ham Tav has the most consistently delish burgers. If only they had french fries!

I guess it depends on what you think makes a good burger. If it's simply straightforward, ground beef and cooked to order with standard toppings, then I'd vote for Mahaffey's; bonus points for the fried pickle chips and high-test beer.

If you like a little flare, for lack of better term, and just prepared really well, then I'd go for JDs. I'm a big fan of horseradish cheddar, which they use on their burgers, so that's usually where we go for our burger craving, especially on Wednesdays, when burgers are 1/2 price.

For fancy, it's Blue Hill Tavern. And for "craft" burger we actually cross the pond and go to Abbey Burger Bistro.

I vote for McCabe's because of the Springfield Farms beef. Hamilton Tavern uses Roseda beef, which is good, but the Springfield beef is like crack.