The best burgers in America for every state

This unassuming 'van'—actually a bare-bones cafe—serves the best burgers in ‘bama. Open only for weekday lunch, Vicki’s welcomes locals taking a break from the office with hot patties griddled on a flat top until they’re crust outside and juicy within. Available in 8, 6 or 4oz sizes and topped simply with mayo, ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato and onions, all burgers come with a melty cap of good ol’ American cheese.

This dependable food truck serves a loaded burger that consistently ranks among Juneau’s best: the Husky Dawson is husky indeed, featuring a griddled beef patty slathered with "Pucker sauce" and topped with lettuce, tomato, melty cheese, a stack of crunchy beer-battered onion rings and some crisp slices of bacon.

Scottsdale residents and visitors going through burger withdrawal find relief in the loaded specimens served at this playful spot. Rehab offers a full 20 types of burgers, gussied up with creative toppings including mac ‘n’ cheese, jalapeño poppers and even sautéed ribeye steak. We're fans of the Elvis Burger, which is its own epic performance: two 5oz Relapse burgers, peanut butter slathered on the bottom, and get this: a Hershey bar in the middle with bacon and caramelized bananas on top. We can't go on together without this burger!

Burgers are the stars of the menu at this hoppin’-all-day spot with several locations. Elevated with thoughtful add-ons such as housemade potato chips and fried pickle spears, these these burgers are super satisfying alongside their State Fair Fries. We’re partial to the Farmer’s Burger, smeared with creamy aioli, stacked with lettuce, tomato and red onion, and capped with local Petit Jean bacon, melty havarti cheese and an over-easy farm egg.

Try the Big Mec, a bistro burger/Big Mac hybrid which offers decadence so large and enticing you don't even know where to begin. (We recommend starting with a fork and knife; it's that or like 40 napkins.) This is the high-low of gourmet burgers: soaking in a rich bordelaise, this thin-pattied beauty features bougie ingredients while also sporting perfect, pedestrian American cheese. Factor in those caramelized onions and garlic aioli and you have one of the city's absolute finest—and messiest—burgers, bar none, and it's available at both the Hollywood and the Sherman Oaks locations.

The world is divided between people who eat burgers in white-tablecloth restaurants...and fools who do not. Denver diners in the former category sing the praises of the Colorado lamb burger at this elegant Larimer Square spot from James Beard Award winner Jennifer Jasinski. Tender local lamb is topped with oven-roasted tomatoes, spicy aioli and creamy house-made mozzarella along with sweet potato fries, bringing Rocky Mountain swagger to Jasinski’s thoughtfully sourced, Mediterranean-leaning menu.

A craft burger spot masquerading as a fast food joint, this unassuming spot shapes burgers out of high-quality, locally sourced meat and piles them with winning toppings such as creamy nacho cheese and puckery pickles. The eponymous burger is a home run: two juicy patties smothered in melty cheese and proprietary GoldBurger sauce, plus lettuce, onion and pickle.

This casual tavern run by father-daughter team Dennis Forbes and Desiree DiAntonio is a Dover favorite for dependably well executed soups, salads and pastas. Most diners head straight for the burger section of the menu, loaded with creative options like the Red, White and Bleu (bacon, tomato, raw onion and gorgonzola) or the Hot Hawaiian Burger (served on an English muffin with gruyere, grilled pineapple, fried egg, sirachi mayo, and oh boy: fried spam!)

From its spot within the Citadel food hall, United States Burger Service (USBS for short: catch the allusion to the US Postal Service?) delivers top-quality ingredients, unique combinations and names you can't help but giggle at, such as the Snail Mail (a veggie patty with vegan "priority sauce," cabbage and lemon vinny). You can't go wrong with the classic burger—the juicy patties sit between house-made potato buns—but the rotating specials with different kinds of cheeses and fresh sauces are really something else. It's run by husband and wife Michael Mayta and Keily Vasquez; Vasquez worked many years in her family's restaurant in El Salvador before teaming up with Mayta.

In the words of their website, 'It's like an orgy for your tastebuds.' This 21+ bar with burgers and pub grub has an extensive selection of libations and chow, plus the specials board changes almost every day. However, our favorite item from the set menu, without any doubt, is the Hell's Fury Burger; made up of pepper jack cheese, Atomic Death Sauce, habanero relish, and a roasted jalapeño. Plus of course lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle. As the menu says, it's 'not for sissies.'

The kitchen at this fantastic burger spot in paradisiacal Honolulu turns out creative patties accented with tempting ingredients such as house-made teriyaki. Try the Wagyu Burger, prepared with whole grain mustard jus and adorned with wild mushrooms and sautéed onions, or the Niihau Lamb Burger with a delicious bam compote. Breakfast is also served all day, in case you want to sleep in after a day of surfing and wonderful nightlife. 

This fun Idaho Falls spot serves reliable comfort food dishes such as steak sandwiches and layered nacho dip. The heart of the menu is made of massive burgers, half-pound patties topped with cheese or more creative items such as asparagus spears. We go straight for the bourbon BBQ option, hand-patted and smothered with mushrooms and brown-sugar bacon and topped with oozy cheddar.

This dark and sexy basement bar offers everything from foie gras eclairs to mussels in brandade cream, but the burger is what keeps us coming back again and again. The Loyalist Original Cheeseburger is a juicy patty sandwiched between squishy sesame-seed–studded buns and adorned with melted American cheese and a mess of pickled and charred onions. It's not exactly the kind of thing you want to devour on a first date, but we're not judging if you do. A chaser of thick-cut fries and garlicky aioli is the only thing that will keep you from scarfing down this handheld in five minutes flat.

This historic burger joint has been slinging patties in Highland, Indiana since 1932: all handcrafted and cooked to order. The Miner-Dunn Burger features a single quarter-pound patty topped with ketchup, mustard, relish and chopped onion. But you can switch up from 'minor' to major with the Major-Dunn Burger which adds on double meat, double cheese, a fried egg, extra bacon and homemade onion rings. If you order any burger as a deluxe plate, you get french fries and homemade soft serve sherbet for just a few dollars more. YES!

This perennially packed Iowa City tavern (there are several other locations) offers a roster of super-delicious burgers, like the Burnside, a blackened burger decadently topped with pepper jack, chipotle mayo, jalapeños and jalapeño cream cheese. Our favorite is the Dundee, a loaded patty topped with American cheese, crispy bacon, rich mushrooms and a fried egg, all slathered with piquant garlic aioli.

A roadside institution perfumed with American history and fried onions, this diminutive 1922 diner is the independently minded consumer’s answer to White Castle (first opened in nearby Wichita). Palm-sized beef sliders, called 'cozies,' are topped with pickles, the aforementioned onions, mustard and ketchup, and sold by the sack. A half-dozen costs less than $10, or get 48 of them for your minivan for $66.72. 

This casual Lexington pub established in 1971 is beloved for its signature burger, available in a number of sizes from single quarter-pounder to a towering Mega-Ho stacked with three of the patties. You're going to have to make your own jokes about the Ho sauce (the day they sell a Tshirt in their Ho-Mart featuring the Country Fried Ho, we will buy it). Besides the proprietary sauce, the pub's juicy, well-seasoned burger comes with ketchup, mustard, lettuce and onions—all piled onto a squishy sesame seed bun. This is a quality burger.

You’ll delight in these handmade burgers and hand-battered onion rings, with meat cut and ground in-house at this restaurant that calls itself the “King of the Grill.” Happily devour your burger along with a homemade lemonade or unsweet tea, and enjoy a shrimp burger or an old-fashioned egg burger, too, if you’re willing to change things up a little.

While a mayo-loaded lobster roll is always a tempting option when visiting seaside Portland, Maine, it’s hard to resist the siren call of the excellent burgers plated at Tap House. This handsome bar and restaurant offers a focused menu of craveable fare, from a braised beef-topped poutine to a killer sourdough grilled cheese. We only have eyes, though, for Tap House’s signature burger, made with double smash patty, cheddar, tomato confit, lettuce, pickled onion  and black garlic aoili. Plus: grab a pull from the Maine-centric selection of 14 rotating taps.

This cozy beer bar with mutiple locations has a great selection of beer. Those pints are the perfect accompaniment to Abbey's tremendous burgers: you can even dip into exotic meats for your burger like camel or kangaroo, or stick to cow with locally sourced Roseda dry aged Black Angus. We like the Whisky Jam burger (double smash with whisky bacon jam, cheddar, and BBQ mayo, served on a classic bun).

Chef Michael Scelfo has basically built up a cult following for Alden & Harlow's 'secret burger,' which is offered in limited quantities and sells out just about every night. It starts with a patty consisting of Creekstone Farms ground brisket, short rib and beef, which is then topped with a cheddar cheese crisp, Scelfo's secret sauce, little gem lettuce, salted onions and bread and butter pickles—and it's all served atop a homemade roll. Insider tip: If you really want a bite of this A&H burger action without the risk of it being sold out, it's easier to acquire during the weekend brunch service.

This family-owned Detroit institution has been slinging sliders since 1929, delighting the palates of generations of Detroiters ever since. Motz’s fresh, never-frozen sliders are the classic fast food style, diminutive and served on a squishy bun. The kitchen adds the standard ketchup, mustard, pickles slices and, best of all, a heap of sweet, carmelized onions. The buns are baked locally in Michigan.

The Blue Door specializes in Juicy Lucys which they call Blucys, beef patties injected with cheese that melts to a molten (sometimes scalding!) core. The pub has locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The 10 Blucys on the permanent menu range from Mount Blucuvious (housemade five-pepper cheese mix, fried avocado, spicy bacon and cilantro-lime sauce) to the Cease & Desist (white and yellow American cheeses, onion, lettuce, 'Merican sauce and a side pickle). Midwestern ingenuity at its finest.

Stamp's turns out made-to-order burgers patted with their own seasoning blend, fresh-cut fries (try the lemon pepper fries) and bologna sandwiches, and is beloved by locals for its fast, friendly service. Its house special Super Burger is simple and delicious: a half pound of freshly ground beef dressed with mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, tomato and onions. And the size is sizeable: the regular burger is 11 ounces, while the double is 22. Bonus: this year the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the restaurant a grant to renovate its cute-but-tired yellow cottage.

This welcoming luncheonette is a favorite among Kansas City dwellers, offering fresh, hot and reasonably priced burgers, fries and dogs. The grass-fed ground beef is local, the buns are made fresh daily and the fries are hand-cut in-house. A double burger is the way to go: two griddled patties that come standard with melty cheese, lettuce, tomato and briny pickles. The perfectly crisp, skin-on fries are not to be missed, either.

University of Montana students—and just about everyone else in town—flock to this bare-bones bar for frothy beers and beefy burgers. We choose to go college-style here: a double bacon cheeseburger crisscrossed with porky strips and oozing with cheese (try the peppery horseradish cheese, one of eight cheese options), served on a styrofoam plate.

The full name of this downtown Lincoln burger spot (also in several other locales) is 'Honest Abe’s Burgers and Freedom,' and you’ve gotta love a restaurant that promises so much. Even if Abe’s weren’t offering freedom, we’d sit down to any of its excellent burgers, 6oz of prime ground beef gussied up with fun add-ons such as cumin-lime mayo, peanut butter and pickled apples. We go straight for the good stuff in the Greatest Burger Ever: choose one or stack two patties, crowned with chopped bacon, sweet griddled onions, American cheese and creamy housemade Awesome Sauce. Of course, the accompaniment is Freedom Fries and Freedom Tots.

A trip to the hospital-themed Heart Attack Grill on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas—often referred to as Old Town—is a memorable event, to be sure. Upon entering, you must don a hospital gown before being seated. Only then is the full extent of what you've let yourself in for apparent. The menu here is unlike any other you've seen before, with burgers stacked so high there should be snow on the top. Pictured is the Triple Bypass Burger (three 1-inch-thick patties) but the menu goes up to the four-pound Octuple Bypass Burger.

With locations around New Hampshire, Lexie’s Joint is a down-to-earth chain owned and operated by husband-and-wife team KC Cargill and Alexis Wile (aka Lexie) in a lovely boy meets girl meets grill story. Its colorful, homey restaurants welcome eaters with loaded burgers and house-cut fries. Clever named-burgers like Green Lantern or Urban Cowboy boast tasty additions like bright chimichurri and creamy avocado. The Put a Ring On It is certainly worthy of long-term commitment (or at least the ten minutes it’ll take to devour it): it’s stacked with American cheese, bacon, BBQ sauce, chipotle aioli and crispy onions, all crowned with a sunny fried egg.

Funnily enough, New Jersey is home to two nearly identically named diners: the White Mana Diner in Jersey City and the White Manna in Hackensack. Our vote goes to the latter, a cheery little burger stand that moved to Hackensack in 1946 and beckons travelers on the I-80 with its bright red sign lettered in white neon. Serving plump slider-sized patties griddled on a flat top, the burgers are heaped with onions and sandwiched inside a fluffy potato roll with a pickle on the side. Add in crinkle cut fries for deeper happiness.

In New Mexican cuisine, Hatch chiles are king: the fleshy, spicy peppers grown in the southwest part of the state find their way into everything from morning eggs to dessert-hour ice cream. Of all the Hatch-infused and -topped state specialties, perhaps none is more revered than the green chile cheeseburger: there's something about the trifecta of juicy meat, melty cheese and piquant pepper that’s perfection. You won't find lettuce or tomato here; Sparky's believes in just chile and cheese! We love this kitschy diner with multiple Bob's Big Boy statues on the roof. 

This fancier followup to Brooklyn's perennial favorite barbecue destination Hometown Bar-B-Que first opened its doors in 2019 with the best new burger in New York City, the Dry-Aged Burger. The quarter fat, dry-aged NY strip and chuck patty is griddled to medium rare, and sandwiched between raw white onion, American cheese and an Italian-style bun of secret origin. The accompanying few wedge fries are merely the notion of a side, but the burger is so good you might not mind a paucity of pommes de terres.

A beloved burger chain with locations throughout the south and west, Farm Burger sources grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef to craft its juicy patties. Each restaurant location features local ingredients and the Asheville restaurant is no exception. Our pick is the standard Farm Burger, capped with Tillamook white cheddar, caramelized onions and special sauce, while we're intrigued by the Pastured Pig Burger made with pasture-raised pork, candied jalapenos, a slaw made of lemongrass, Brussels sprouts and apple, followed up with chili mayo.

There aren’t too many options for eats in sleepy Bismarck, so it’s easy to settle on JL Beers for all your suds and burger needs. The elevated sports bar pours some killer brews (Surly, Bell’s) and matches them with craveable burgers that run the gamut from Mount Mushmore (sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and teriyaki sauce) to the Humpty Dumpty Burger topped with a (what else?) fried egg. The JL Burger is a double with special sauce, onions and cheese.

We love a venue that advertises itself, on its website, as 'a place where you can drink at 7am and not be judged.' That’s the Rowley Inn in a nutshell, a Cleveland favorite that has been welcoming drinkers and diners of all stripes since 1906. The handsome dive offers more than a graveyard shift whiskey, with killer burgers stacked high on perfectly toasted buns. We love the localized toppings you can add to any burger, such as kielbasa, sauerkraut, apple  chutney, remoulade and beer cheese. Bonus: the inn's across the street from the 'A Christmas Story' house. 

This little diner is perpetually crowded with hungry OKC eaters looking for these beautiful burgers accompanied by steak fries, sub sweet potato wedges, housemade onion rings, or if you're like that, a a side salad. There are seven select burgers on the menu or you can build your own. We like the Italian Burger (mama mia), topped with pepperoni, salami, pepper jack cheese, pepperoncinis & mustard. Change things up by trying Nic's Place, also in OKC.

Portland is awash in fantastic food and it’s no challenge to find an excellent burger in any number of restaurants across the city. Locals and visitors alike, however, consistently choose Burger Stevens as a favored spot for excellent patties ('moist and crusty,' says the website), accompanied by shoestring fries and the secret 'fancy sauce.' The sauce is great for fry dipping and hamburg adorning, or even dredging across the plank of the hot dogs Burger Stevens also serves.

This humble hamburger-serving eatery started off as a mobile food truck for students at Drexel University and folks in the area. Since those days, they have since expanded to a brick & mortar site where they specialize in gourmet handcrafted burgers, always made with sirloin, never chuck. You select your meat's degree of cookitude, ranging from rare to 'incinerated.' Pictured is our favorite, the Ponderosa, made with grilled onions, mushrooms, aged Swiss, fries (on the burger as they should be), and housemade steak sauce.

This no-frills bar with two locations is a favorite among Providence college students and, well, most other city dwellers. The burger menu is extensive, with each variation based on a freshly ground Hereford beef patty that’s pressed on the griddle with onions and served with special sauce inside a classic Martin’s potato roll. The slider-sized burgers are served two per order, and our pick is the M.O.A.B. (Mother of All Burgers), layered with cheese, hickory smoked bacon, portobello mushrooms and fried onion strings. Also, check out the boozy milkshakes.

Housed in a late 19th century home (with other locations as well), Husk only uses Southern ingredients. You might not always find a burger on the menu since the cuisine changes so seasonally, but when you do, it will include hickory-smoked Benton’s bacon with 100 percent sustainably raised beef chuck, and sport a diner-style crust. You might want to take your meal outside at the lush garden patio. 

TapHouse is a Sioux Falls favorite for its cozy atmosphere, extensive list of tap beers and top-tier bourbons and killer burger menu. To top the impeccably seasoned Angus beef patty, your options include butter-roasted mushrooms, haystack onions, smashed avocado and more. We love the overstuffed PBR burger, slathered in roasted garlic mayo and melty beer cheese, layered with veggies and showered with duck fat fries before being precariously perched upon its toasted roll.

This burger parlor and beer garden is a Nashville favorite, with an expansive back patio, killer brews including hard-to-find European imports, and a kitchen that turns out kraut-garnished wurst platters and excellent, meaty burgers. The Pharmacy’s cheeseburger goes a step above plain old American cheese by layering cheddar, Swiss and Muenster cheeses and adding tomato and a swipe of roasted garlic aioli, all on a fluffy bun.

This restaurant and cocktail bar is housed in a 1904 administration building for Texas's iconic Pearl Beer (RIP: active from 1883 to 2001), now renovated for fine dining. You'll love the impressive menu, especially the varied charcuterie plates as starters. Then move along to a Blue Ribbon Burger main, prepared with smoked bacon & Wagyu beef blend, Blue Ribbon American cheese, smoked onion jam, and skin-in french fries.

This unassuming, 21-or-over restaurant and bar won first place for burgers in the World Food Championships back in 2012 and is still burgering very beautifully. Try the foot-tall Big Benny Burger with 28oz of ground beef, or the Ring of Fire that's topped with jalapeños and habaneros. Our favorite, however, has to be the wittily-named burger The Fungus Amongus, which is draped with mushrooms sautéed in red wine and a touch of garlic, and swiss cheese.

For a small city, Burlington is surprisingly packed with excellent bars, cafes and restaurants, among which the Farm House is a perennial favorite among residents and visitors alike. Its robust beer and cider list offers pours from local breweries and its food menu is supplied by local farms. Its delicious burgers are no exception, using fresh ground meats from area producers. We love the big, beefy specimen sourced from LaPlatte River Angus Farm in nearby Shelburne: capped with cheddar and laced with bacon, it’s enlivened by bright arugula and pickled red onions. Added bonus: $1 from each special burger sold goes to support community organizations.

This handsome Richmond gastropub mixes excellent cocktails and plates inventive dishes that incorporate local, seasonal ingredients. The house Saison Smash Burger is more gussied up than the average patty, boasting a melty cap of smoked American cheese, yeast aioli, iceberg, red onion, pickles and fries. Go ahead and gild the lily with the optional bacon.

This fun Seattle bar-lounge features plenty of quirky touches, including a back deck that’s home to an entire vintage Airstream trailer. The mixed drinks are strong, the beers are plentiful and the food is surprisingly good. The Tavern burger is a model of the form: made drive-in style with a thin, expertly charbroiled patty (or, as we prefer, two) swimming in melted cheese and sandwiched in a toasty white bun with pickles, onions and special sauce.

Gonzoburger's menu boasts about a dozen different burger creations, each made with 100 percent certified Angus beef and fresh toppings. You can also hunker down with the craft brews and thoughtful wine list. The standout Desperado burger is topped with applewood smoked bacon, onion rings, sliced jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and arguably the best BBQ sauce known to man.

This storied Milwaukee mini-chain, founded in 1950, is a favorite among kids and adults alike. Its smooth, creamy frozen custard is a summer staple in Brew City, and the ideal way to enjoy it is preceded by one of Kopp’s excellent burgers. Griddled fast food numbers are garnished with your choice of sweet pickle relish, fried or raw onions, ketchup, Dusseldorf mustard, mayo, lettuce and pickles. We like to pile on the patties stacked two deep and add some gooey American cheese to it all.

It's a little odd, but this Liberty Burger is the only outpost of the Texas burger chain that is located outside of Texas. This modern and environmentally conscious burger chain is family-owned and pledges to, for instance, buy its burger buns from bakeries that only use American-grown ingredients. While Liberty Burger doesn't pretend to have reinvented the burger, what they do is offer a phenomenal range of amazing and original variations. For instance, you can make any burger with bison for just $7 more.