People’s Choice:
#1: HBURGER (151 votes)
#2: Argyll (67 votes)
#3: ParkBurger (65 votes)
#4: Colt and Gray (64 votes)
#5: Cherry Cricket (46 votes)
Encore, Deluxe, Steuben’s, Old School Burgers, and Walk-In Burger rounded out the top 10.

All you can eat tastes of the best 10 burgers in town, plus unlimited beer and wine from O’Dell, Great Divide, and Barefoot. Net Proceeds to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado.

Cherry Cricket’s “Green Chili Cheeseburger”

Location: Cherry Creek

Price:  $7.5

The Skinny: Any Denver burger list worth its salt simply cannot neglect the patriarch – the godfather of the local scene: Our beloved… Cherry Cricket.

While I may not be as enamored with them as my peers, I completely get the reverence.  The place is unquestionably an institution – from the curious “Duffy’s” sign out front (name of 1960’s owner), to the cramped quarters when you walk in, to the comforting way they revel in their greasy rebelliousness.  I mean, come on… who doesn’t love a place where the tagline is: “if Cherry Creek North is the diamond, we’re the flaw”?  They’re loveable in a self-aware kind of way.  But it also helps that their burgers are renowned for their taste, and the Green Chili Cheeseburger is as good as any other variety in the joint to highlight.

Why is it as good as any, you might wonder?  Because it doesn’t matter one bit what toppings you put on their burgers, the terrific meat will save it.  It’s a sure thing.  That’s what the folks line up for.  And really, the toppings don’t do a whole lot to elevate it, either.  They can be fairly flavorless and bland as an accompaniment.  They’re like the other 2 singers in The Supreme’s – it’s not that they’re bad, but you just really only remember Diana Ross.  And that’s what their patty is like: a greasy, delicious Diana Ross… without the crazy.  The green chili and cheese merely give the beef a decent platform from which to shine.  Definitely a top 10 burger in Denver.

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Elway’s “Smashburger”

Location: Cherry Creek

Price:  $12.50

The Skinny: Elways, in spite of the marketing-gimmick name, actually does a lot of things right, and in some cases brilliantly.  They’re pleasant at the door, the servers are friendly and professional, the space is beautiful, and their food is absolutely rock solid. I’ve been here a few times and have literally left thinking it was one of the best dishes of its kind in the city.

At the center of this is Tyler Wiard – executive chef of Elways, and highly esteemed player in the local food community.  The guy transforms every meat dish in the place into a memorable experience – turning lamb chops and cheeseburgers into flavor milestones.  I might not remember my parent’s birthday, but I remember where I was sitting the first time I had the Elways Smashburger

I don’t know who had the idea of calling it a “smashburger” first, but the name graces the menus of at least 4 Denver restaurants I can think of.  Apparently, in addition to a catchy title, it is also a style of cooking the burger.  At Elways, they cook one side, flip it, and then smash the hell out of it.  This, according to my waiter, helps retain the juices and doesn’t bruise the beef – prime beef, for those keeping score.  However it’s done, it works.  And well.  The beef is tender and moist, and dominates the flavor of the burger, as a good patty should do.  This, along with the cheese, puts it head and shoulders above the other smashburgers (and non-smashburgers) in town.

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TAG’s “Cheeseburger”

Location: Downtown

Price:  $12

The Skinny: Ok, I’ll admit to being a little bit of an evangelist when it comes to TAG.  I discovered their food while doing the list of 100, and fell madly in love.  I introduced my parents to it shortly after.  They got along well.  Siblings and friends are next, then maybe I’ll think about a ring.  It’s just that I haven’t found one thing they don’t do well, and I almost wish I did, so I didn’t come off as such a shill.  No such luck in finding it with their burger – it was awesome.

The stamp of this burger is the meat and bun -the real cornerstones of greatness.  Put all the truffles and foie gras in there all you want, but the bun and meat better deliver or it’s sunk.  Maybe the picture isn’t amazing, but take a look at that bun there – see the pockets of air in the bread?  That, along with the buttery top gives the thing a lightness and slight crunch when you bite in, almost like a croissant.  In the middle of that was the delicious meat.  Fresh, perfectly cooked, and full of moisture and flavor.  Maybe more medium-rare than medium, which was fine by me in a joint like this.  I had a few fun toppings but the meat, as it should be, was the star.

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Park Burger’s “Park Burger”

Location: Pearl St (down the street from Sushi Den)

Price: $6

The Skinny: Fresh.  It’s something you can’t really imitate, right?  You can’t make something taste fresh with more chemicals, food coloring, a clever perfume, or whatever the hell they do in food labs in New Jersey.  Fresh is earned.  It’s the crispness of the break in the lettuce, the firm edge of a tomato, the brightness of the meat.  And you know it when you taste it.

That’s the overall stamp of ParkBurger.  True, they also show some fun creativity with the menu (burger with ham, fried egg, and swiss anyone?), but the baseline part of the burger – beef, bun, cheese, the usual toppings – fresh as a daisy.  I got mine with caramelized onions and 2 kinds of cheese, but you can make a good guess that all of the options are pretty great.  They all start with this same, fresh baseline.  Mine was delicious.  I basically wolfed it down in 5-10 minutes.  It’s one of those that you can’t wait to have the next bite, so you just keep taking it.

The beef yields a perfectly medium rare center – pink and bright against the seared brown outside.  The bun toasted and steamed, holding together just long enough for me to finish – maybe not much longer.  Globs of melted cheese moving and gathering, picking up stray sweetened onions along the way.  All of it fresh, all of it delicious.  Got to be one of the 5 best burgers in the city right now.

AGREE OR DISAGREE?

It was decent – I’m not going to say it was bad, but it didn’t make the cut. Aside from the cheese not being melted, the burger was like a softball in the middle of an umbrella of bread. Reminded me of this clip from Eddie Murphy:

Here is a pic of the burger:

Deluxe Burger’s “Denver Burger”

Location: E Colfax

Price: $7.5

The Skinny: The story goes that one hot summer night, Deluxe,  a successful and well respected restaurant, had a few too many drinks at the bar, and armed with lines from VH1’s “The Pick Up Artist”, started throwing his game out there.  The bait lured barfly Mod Livin, a stylish, modern furniture joint, single for 9 years and hanging out on the streets of Colfax.  Sparks fly, birds chirp, and Deluxe moves in months later.

Feb 26^th,, 2010 – the birth of this union: “Deluxe Burger” – dubbed by the owners as “Love in a Bun”.  ½ rock solid food, ½ hip, mid-century design.  The result is an excellent, sweet, spicy and messy affair… much like love itself.  (And yes, that’s Shakespeare rolling over in his grave.)

On this occasion I got the “Denver Burger” – a spice and flavor guarantee with melted cheddar, sautéed chilies, onions, pico, and smoked jalapeño aioli.  That’s right, jalepeno and chilis – pico and onion.  Redundant?  Perhaps.  Especially with the pico.  You already get onions and tomato in the burger – having pico there gave only slightly more acid, but not much more flavor.  It also made the burger a bit of a mess, with the pico soaking into the bun.  Even with a sloppy bun, it was still terrific – the subtle heat from the spicy, mouthwatering aioli mixing well with the sweet onions and house-ground beef patty.

And that’s the other thing to mention about Deluxe Burger – everything, yes everything is homemade – from the fries down to the condiments and pickles.  An impressive feat, for sure, but on this visit it was the fries and condiments that were the most out of sync.  Chef-owner Dylan Moore is too good to let that go on, and I’d expect this to get smoothed out over the next few months as they find their stride.  Overall, a very strong burger.

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My Brother’s Bar’s “Johnny Burger”

Location: Riverfront

Price:  $6.5

The Skinny: The secret to this burger is the use of pickles.

It’s an absolute dynamite cheeseburger: perfectly cooked meat, soft grilled onions, and 3 cheeses, including jalepeno cream cheese on the bun. With all of that, it’s practically begging for an acid, and that’s where the pickles take it to another level. Served alongside the burger is a tray of extra condiments, including pickles, that you jam into every bite. It’s the delicious combination of fat and acid, sweetness from the pickle, and spice from the jalapeno that makes this burger the best in the city.

AGREE OR DISAGREE?

Jack n Grill’s “The Kathy (Albuquerque Burger)”

Location: Federal

Price: $7

The Skinny: The Travel Channel is in love with Jack n Grill. The kind of love that only food obsession can bring – that maybe a 13 year old girl understands.  I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if they dot their “I’s” with hearts while scribbling the restaurant’s name in their diary.  Maybe it’s the portions, the greasy spoon vibe, or the visible family behind the enterprise – whatever it is, they’re swooning.  They featured the place on “Man vs Food”, as restaurant owner Jack Martinez challenged the network to eat his 7 pound burrito (winner: burrito).  They list the spot as one of the top 10 places in the country to pig out, and in the top 15 on their “101 tastiest places to chowdown in America” list.  Obsession like this piques my interest – what’s the fuss about?

Answer: Size.  Sheer, circus-like size.  And their ability to pull it off and still make the food taste oh-so greasy-good.

The burger comes out all huge and freakish – like a mini basketball with meat in between.  It’s nearly embarrassing when served, except for the fact that every dish in the diner is somehow this same size.  After you manage to get your mouth around the son-of-a-bitch, it’s really an excellent burger.  Perfectly cooked meat, the outside seared to a deep brown hue, and the inside pink and tender.  This version, The Kathy, gets a topping of green chili and cheese – good mates for any burger, including this one.  If I had one complaint, it’s that the bun-to-meat ratio was a little slanted towards too much bun, but only by a little.

And, I kid you not… I had the “small”.  There actually is a “large” version of this monster.  Kudos to he or she who can conquer it… Travel channel?

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