I’ve slowed down a bit on my burger intake this summer, but I finally tried three new places in San Francisco to see if they could make me the best burger in the city. This time I tried Tower Burger, Fermentation Lab and Hot Johnnie’s to check how they compared to my current favorite: The Smashed Burger from Rabbit Hole.
1. Tower Burger from Tower Burger
It has been New Mexico green chile season, and since Molly Stone’s brings the roasted chile to California, it seemed like a great time to try out Tower Burger which is just down the street. I went for the Tower Burger with Onion Rings. The burger consists of bacon, caramelized onion, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and their secret sauce. Their claim is wagyu patties, but overall the burger was pretty standard. It was a bit under-seasoned and nothing about it really wowed me, but the onion rings were pretty tasty.
2. Fermlab Burger from Fermentation Lab
Next I trekked to Japantown to try the burger from Fermentation Lab. There are two on the menu, and they only do the katsu one at this location, so that was my plan (because I fell in love with the Katsu Burger in Seattle), but then our server convinced me to try the Fermlab Burger instead, consisting of sauteed Kimchi, fontina cheese, smoked pork belly, fried onion strips and pickled vegetables. I also added on some duck fat fries on the side. This burger was absolutely stunning. The server told me the burger was meaty, and it was! But also the kimchi, onions and pickled veg really amplified the taste of the burger so much. And it was perfectly seasoned! The fries were nice, but maybe not necessary. To be honest, the entire meal here was fantastic, so look out for a full review in the future.
3. Double Smash Cheeseburger from Hot Johnnie’s
I had heard some fantastic things about Hot Johnnie’s, so I was eager to head down the the Castro to grab lunch one day. I had the double smash cheeseburger with sweet potato fries. It’s a pretty standard burger with cheddar cheese, house made quick pickles, feathered onions, shredded romaine lettuce and thousand island dressing all on a brioche bun. It was a nice burger overall, but it lacked a bit of a wow factor. The meat tasted nice, but it definitely was cooked more well than I like. The pastrami sandwich my dining partner had was way better, so perhaps the burger just isn’t the right choice here. The onion rings and fries were really good though, so that is a plus!
Winner: Fermentation Lab
It was a really tough choice this week, as I am in love with the burger from Rabbit Hole and I still dream about the gochujang ketchup, but the meatiness and flavor of the burger at Fermentation Lab was just a tad higher in my opinion. I’m ready to go back for more, but I also want to try their katsu burger, so a return trip might end up being on a Sophie’s choice sort of level (because so much of the food was amazing). The other locations, while nice, didn’t excite me enough to recommend. That’s it for this time, and if you have any local spots in the city that has a fantastic burger you think I should try, please let me know in the comments! Until then, happy burgering!
My current top five:
1. Fermentation Lab
2. Rabbit Hole
3. Maillards
4. Niku Butcher Shop
5. Flippin’ Burger
Honorable mentions:
Classic toppings/burgers:
The Laundromat SF
Sam’s Pizza & Burgers
Louie’s Original
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
