The Great Burger Hunt — Part 19

Welcome to even more of the hunt for the best burger in San Francisco. In Part 18, Comstock Saloon was still going strong at the top of the list. This time, I tried out Papa Mak’s Burgers, Kitchen Story and Buckhorn Grill to see if one of these places could topple the king!

1. Papa Mak’s Burgers

I ended up quite far from home for the burger at Papa Mak’s. Located in the Outer Sunset just blocks from the beach, it is quite a trek for almost anyone if you don’t happen to live there. But I felt that I needed to leave no stone unturned in my hunt for the best burger in the city, so I made the long, long trek. It has a pretty impressive menu, and of course, I gravitated toward one with blue cheese and carmelized onions with Mak sauce. The unique selling point was the burger was stuffed with the cheese, and I was onboard. You can get the burger with fries or salad, and knowing I was going to be doing some hefty walking after I ate, I decided I could go for the fries. And I’m glad I did. They were really some of the best fries I’ve eaten as they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and very delicious. The burger was nice, but I was slightly disappointed. I really loved the bun, as it was soft and fluffy and not like most other buns out there. The burger was very juicy, but of course the blue cheese kind of squeezed out the back. Mak’s sauce was actually better than I anticipated, as it’s not just an In ‘n Out clone. Overall, the burger was pretty tasty, and I left fairly happy.

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2. Kitchen Story

I’ve heard a lot about Kitchen Story as a fantastic, unique brunch place, but the main thing that encouraged me to visit this Castro favorite was the burger topped with Millionaire bacon. (That’s a thing in the bay area, and people go crazy for it). It’s thick and smoky, and I was eager to try it. The burger is a wagyu burger with maple syrup, so it seemed like a brunch dream. I decided to be a bit healthy this time (because bacon) so I opted to get the salad instead of the potato wedges. When the burger arrived, it looked amazing. Lots of greenery on the plate and microgreens sprinkled on top. The bun was okay as it was toasted, which added a bit of texture, but if it would have been griddled, I would have been happier. Sadly, while I ordered the burger medium rare, it was well done, so I was sorely disappointed as it kind of ruined the beef. The bacon on top was absolutely amazing though, as was the slight sweetness from the maple syrup. If the burger was cooked better, I may have been happier, but given the amount of food being sent back at the tables around me, I’m not really sure how well the kitchen actually can do here.

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3. Buckhorn Grill

Finally, I hit up Buckhorn Grill. I needed something quick before a meetup, and it seemed like a reasonable place to go. I didn’t realize it was as fast casual as it was (so I finished earlier than anticipated), but I got a bacon cheddar burger and a beer and sat down to try it out. The fries felt like a slightly better version of McDonald’s fries, so I was very happy with them, but the burger itself was kind of uninteresting. I was hoping for more of a smoky char on the outside as Buckhorn is a barbecue restaurant, but alas, it was fairly unmemorable.

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Winner: Comstock Saloon

The meaty monster from Comstock Saloon is still the best I’ve tried by a long shot. While Buckhorn Grill was unmemorable, the toppings on the burger at Kitchen Story had potential, but with the poor cooking of the burger, it’s definitely staying off the top of the list. I think I would definitely recommend Papa Mak’s if you were in the area (especially for those fries), but it’s not one that I would go out of my way to go back to again.

Ranking:
1. Comstock Saloon
2. Black Sands Brewery
3. Wayfare Tavern
4. Son’s Addition
5. Gaspar
6. Wes Burger ‘n’ More
7. Epic Steak
8. Tank18 Winery
9. City Beer
10. The Saratoga
11. ABV
12. 4505 Burgers and BBQ
13. Biergarten
14. Papa Mak’s
15. Umami Burger
16. Super Duper Burgers