New Generation Hamburger Chains

[MachineGhost]

Shake Shack's initial public offering priced well above expectations at $21 apiece, netting the burger chain a valuation of $745M. Underwriters had set an expected price range of $17-$19 per share, up from an initial $14-$16 due to strong demand. Shake Shack (Pending:SHAK) will begin trading on the NYSE this morning.

Shake Shack is one of the new generation hamburger chains eating up McDonald's Amtrack snack bar food or even the old 7-11's microwave burgers.  Sometime last year I ranked all of hamburger chains based on ratings/reviews:

Burgerfi
Five Guys
Cheeburger Cheeburger
In-N-Out
Smashburger
The Burger Joint
Shake Shack
Checkers
Fatburger
Red Robin
Wendy's
McDonald's
Sonic
Jack in the Box
Culver's
Whataburger
Johnny Rockets
Carls Jr/Hardees
Burger King

I'd say the dividing line is between Wendy's and McDonald's; presumably between fresh vs frozen.  Note that in some cases a location specific outlet can be badly operated and not representative of a chain's overall ranking.  I admit I'm a little surprised at Carl's Jr/Hardees being so low.  No surprise on Burger King at all.

I know Red Robin has a gluten-free hamburger bun (with egg).  Low-carbing it with wet lettuce just does not hit the spot.

[Pointedstick]

You're worried about minute amounts of iron leaching out of cookware but you eat fast food at hamburger chains?

[dualstow]

I'm really into hamburger chain stocks and hamburgers as well. Although, I didn't enjoy In-and-Out as much as I thought I would. Overhyped, I guess.

Red Robin or Shake Shack is my kind of burger. And for a long time, Wendy's was my kind of stock.

(Not edited. I accidentally hit Modify instead of Quote)

[madbean]

Do they have all of those for you to sample in California? At least half are non-existent here in Florida but we do have Steak-n-shake which I don't see on your list.

Can hardly stand the thought of a fast food hamburger nowadays. When I want a good burger I go somewhere like Chili's or Applebee's. I'd put Red Robin from your list in that category also. It's a sit-down restaurant here, not a fast food joint. Has good fish and chips too.

[Tyler]

I think a lot of it comes down to regional biases and Yelp foodie self-selection. I've lived in Texas and California and love a good burger, and have never heard of seven of the top ten places on the list.

I think In-n-Out is overrated on that list (still good, though) and Whataburger is underrated. But maybe it's my southern tastes talking. Wendy's is still a favorite.

[Mountaineer]

Not to throw e-coli on the party, but Wendy's is the only one of those chains where several of my friends and my son got very sick after chomping down on food prepared by minimum wage, unhygienic, unfriendly, excons - yes, I'm exagerating a little bit and generalizing a lot without hard data.  Seeing my son puke his guts up was enough.  And how do I really feel about Wendy's?  I have only two data points but I would not go back to a Wendy's unless I was literally starving.    Sounds like you guys and dolls have different experiences and I'm happy for you.

... Mountaineer

[l82start]

I admit I'm a little surprised at Carl's Jr/Hardees being so low.  No surprise on Burger King at all.

i am not... Carl's Jr/Hardees food is expensive! and most every item on the burger menu has a flavor that is virtually identical to every other no matter what sauce, name, or extra they put on them..
the few items they have that were OK are, the shakes (real ice cream), the chicken strips (till they shrank), and the grilled cheese cheese burger sandwich... (not sure it survived the non stop menu changes)

[Reub]

I ate at a Shake Shack and the wooden tables were once lanes from a bowling alley in Brooklyn. I liked that!

[MachineGhost]

You're worried about minute amounts of iron leaching out of cookware but you eat fast food at hamburger chains?

Every once in a while when I get a craving (you can't get Grade A Chuck at retail so chains do have a competitive advantage, unfortunately).  That's a little different than doing all your cooking on cast iron, 24/7.  I'm not so sure I'm worried about it now, but the FEAR is still there.

[MachineGhost]

Do they have all of those for you to sample in California? At least half are non-existent here in Florida but we do have Steak-n-shake which I don't see on your list.

Nope, only about half are here in CA.  I only listed what I could find ratings/reviews on.  The Habit is conspiciously absent; maybe that is regional/non-expanding like Steak-n-Shake?

I think In-N-Out must have gone downhill.  Last time I had one, the burger seemed to be a lot smaller than it used to be and didn't taste freshly sweet as the first couple of times.  Doesn't seem to stop people though.  Probably more of a cultural fad thing now.

I think Wendy's could rank better if they would fix their cheese which is really weird and sticky like peanut butter.

I haven't tried Five Guys or Red Robin yet.  I'm not a fan of sitting down, being waited upon and all the stupid drama for what is just a hamburger.

I agree that Carls Jr is expensive which is why I refuse to frequent it from now on when I want a burger.  It's so conveniently close, though.

I'm tired of wasting money on buns and condiments I can't eat, so Red Robin is probably it for me.

[dualstow]

Forgot to mention this morning that my grass-feed beef vendor won't be coming to my area anymore, which means more restaurant beef in my future.

I'm really into hamburger chain stocks and hamburgers as well. Although, I didn't enjoy In-and-Out as much as I thought I would. Overhyped, I guess.

Red Robin or Shake Shack is my kind of burger. And for a long time, Wendy's was my kind of stock.

[MachineGhost]

Forgot to mention this morning that my grass-feed beef vendor won't be coming to my area anymore, which means more restaurant beef in my future.

Carls Jr's now sells an all natural, grass-fed burger.  It got me thinking, what the hell is in the regular if its not all natural?

[dualstow]

Forgot to mention this morning that my grass-feed beef vendor won't be coming to my area anymore, which means more restaurant beef in my future.

Carls Jr's now sells an all natural, grass-fed burger.  It got me thinking, what the hell is in the regular if its not all natural?

Corn-fed beef with hormones.

[I Shrugged]

Culver's is WAY better than Wendy's and McDonalds.  Not even close.

[dualstow]

At Five Guys, you get in line, order at the counter, then go sit down until they call your number.  No wait person, no tipping expectation, no drama.

I have done a web order with them, too. Fairly smooth.

[goodasgold]

On the basis of these discussions, I tried Five Guys for the first time this evening. I was impressed. The meat and the fries had not been frozen, which made a big difference tastewise. I ordered the medium fries, and it was more than I could eat.

My only drawback is that Five Guys was stingy with the mustard on the burger. Maybe its because I was born in the South, but when are these northern folks going to learn that a burger needs *lots* of the yellow stuff to taste good? (Needless to say, I would never confuse the liquid "yellow stuff" with the real thing in my safe deposit box.) 

Next time I will try ordering online, in case they have an option for extra condiments.

P.S. On second thought, I have another reservation about FG. The price of a soft drink is a ripoff. I bring my own water to wash down the meal. Regardless of the price, I regard soft drinks as nothing but harmful sugar water. Nutritionally and weightwise, we are better off without it.

[whatchamacallit]

I will have to try BurgerFi. This is the first I have heard of it.

I rank Five Guys high but my other favorites are.

http://www.freddysusa.com/
http://goodtimesburgers.com/

I used to really like
http://krystal.com/


EDIT:
A couple of other chains to look out for:
http://larkburger.com/
http://www.parkburger.com/

[madbean]

I used to really like
http://krystal.com/

That reminds me. Nobody mentioned the first fast food restaurant in America - White Castle. I remember when I was a kid one of our greatest treats was driving into Columbus and ordering 3 White Castle hamburgers apiece at the cost of 4 cents each.

If you've never tried it there's no hamburger quite like it though Krystal comes close.

Just bring a change of underwear as they used to say.

[whatchamacallit]

I must be hungry.

I keep thinking of more burger joints

http://www.thevarsity.com/index.php
http://hamburgerstand.com/
http://maid-rite.com/index.php

[dualstow]

http://www.parkburger.com/

Lamburger looks nice!

[Tyler]

If you're ever in Austin, Mighty Fine is pretty darn good.

http://mightyfineburgers.com/

[Kbg]

I haven't tried Five Guys or Red Robin yet.  I'm not a fan of sitting down, being waited upon and all the stupid drama for what is just a hamburger.

At Five Guys, you get in line, order at the counter, then go sit down until they call your number.  No wait person, no tipping expectation, no drama.

Thumbs up to 5 Guys...lived in the DC area when there were only four of them. I would say I like the fries better than the burgers though both are very good. I've been thinking I need to go to Smash Burgers for like ever, maybe this thread will inspire me to do it today!

[Stunt]

Didn't know Five Guys had really good burgers, will have to check them out when I move stateside.
I see them around all the time and are starting to migrate north of the border.

[MachineGhost]

For posterity:

[MachineGhost]

I like the Consumer Reports ratings MUCH better than mine.  But when I tried The Habit, it had that dirty grill BITTER char aftertaste that overwhelmed everything else.  Yuck!  Maybe it was a fluke?

A&W was really delicious back in the day.  Big greasy tasty burgers with delicious rootbeer floats made with hard frozen real ice cream in frosted mugs -- so cold, ice would form in the root beer from interacting with the ice cream.  Now its a very pale and pathetic imitation of what it used to be.