Give me burgers or give me death! My hunt for the best burger in the city never ends, and while I am loving the burger from Rabbit Hole, I’m sure there’s a hidden gem out there that can surpass it. So, this time I went to Yummy Plate, Chao Pescao, and Hazie’s and gave their burgers a go.
1. Med Burger from Yummy Plate
This time I went for something a little different by going to Yummy Plate, as it is primarily a Mediterranean-influenced breakfast and lunch spot. They have one burger on the menu: The Med Burger. It’s ground beef mixed with fresh basil, ricotta, and Parmigiano cheese served with grilled onions, tomatoes and melted Swiss cheese. It sounded lovely when I read about it, and it was a pretty solid lunch choice. I’m not sure if it’s really burger, more like some sort fusion dish, but it was a nice lunch none-the-less. It was slightly hard to eat, but the fresh ingredients were a great touch.
2. Hamburguesa from Chao Pescao
I had this burger when I stopped in for a quick bite before seeing a show at the nearby Orpheum theatre. It was pretty packed with people, so we sat at the bar, and I figured I could give their burger a go. It’s made with two patties, white American cheese, potato sticks, caramelized onion, and chipotle aioli, all on a house-made brioche bun. It did take awhile for the food to arrive, but the wait was definitely worth it. The burger had a ton of flavor and was seasoned perfectly. The onions and potato really complemented the whole thing, and then the spicy aioli added a hint of spice and flavor. My only gripe would be that the beef was cooked more well done than I like, but it was still pretty juicy and overall very enjoyable. The salad was a great side, but we also had some fries which were also incredibly tasty.
3. Hazie’s Burger from Hazie’s
Lastly, I booked in to Hazie’s one Friday night to try out the restaurant and their burger. It sounded delicious with a house-made aioli, house-made pickles and caramelized onions with a choice of Brie, white cheddar or provolone. I also opted to add mushrooms to the burger, because it definitely goes well with the Brie (which was my cheese of choice). They also allow you to add on bacon or avocado if you choose. Overall, the burger was nice, but lacked a bit of seasoning for me. A little salt on the burger and with the mushrooms really would have enhanced everything to the next level, so adding a bit of ketchup really amped things up. The fries served with it were nice too, although a bit pale, but the truffle aioli dipping sauce was wonderful. Everything else we ate that night was absolutely fantastic though, so look out for a full review in the future!
Winner: Rabbit Hole
It was a no-brainer this week, as none of these burgers were up to the level of Rabbit Hole. I did really enjoy the burger from Chao Pescao, but the cooking of the meat really let it down a bit. The flavors are really spot on, so it’s definitely getting an Honorable Mention. Sadly, Flash Crash $6 Burger has closed as well, so it’s coming off the top five. The next one on the list, Monsieur Benjamin has also closed, so The Laundromat SF is coming back in fifth place. Is there a burger I should be trying out in San Francisco? Please let me know in the comments!
My current top five:
1. Rabbit Hole
2. Maillards
3. Niku Butcher Shop
4. Flippin’ Burger
5. The Laundromat SF
Honorable mentions:
Classic toppings/burgers:
Sam’s Pizza & Burgers
Louie’s Original
Monsieur Benjamin
Nopa
Epic Steak
4505 Burgers and Barbecue
Magnolia Brewing
The Showdown
Spruce
Frankie’s Java House
Wayfare Tavern
Fort Point Valencia
Burger Littles
Unusual toppings/burgers:
Chao Pescao
Sons Addition
ABV
Biergarten
Rock Club Burger
Multiple toppings/burgers:
Uncle Boy’s
Barney’s Gourmet Burgers
Flipper’s Gourmet Burgers
Papa Mak’s
Brickhouse
Super Duper Burgers
Beep’s Burgers
Sides:
Wes Burger ‘n’ More
