Sunday
Nov072010
CTbites Shout Out: What's Your Favorite Burger?
Given the level of debate regarding the best burger in Fairfield County, we felt that a Burger Shout Out was in order. Steamed, grilled, kaiser roll, brioche bun, grilled onions, fried onions, raw onions.... Salivating yet?
Whether you like Burger Bar or Burger King, we want to hear from you.
Before you throw down, note the 2 categories below:
What's your favorite restaurant burger in FC?
What's your favorite "counter service" burger in FC?
Keep in mind, everybody is entitled to serve up their own opinion. Be kind with your comments.
tagged 
American, Burgers, CTbites Shout Out
American, Burgers, CTbites Shout Out
Reader Comments (48)
Favorite "fast-food" burger: Sycamore Drive-in
Favorite "restaurant" burger: LeFarm & Nicholas Roberts (dead-heat) with Burger Shakes & Fries a very close second. (impossible to pick just one!)
Agreed...I'm gonna go with LeFarm as favorite "restaurant" burger.
Burger, Shakes & Fries walks the line between "fast-food" & "restaurant," so throw that in as best in mid-category.
For "fast food" I'll go with Five Guys or The Filling Station (b/c I like to know where my beef comes from)
Stephanie, I think this is a better categorization:
Instead of Fast Food, I'm going with "Counter Service." BSF hands down. Future vote: Shake Shack. Just had one in the city last night and once again blown away) In this category, 5 Guys way down the line, just above Mickey D and BK.
Table Service: Napa (but who would order a burger over other fantastic entries on their menu???)
Good call Lou. "Counter service" is more accurate. Go forth and comment accordingly...
My candidate for the best burger is the Black Duck in Westport. I like my burgers rare and that's the way they arrive at the table.
My candidate for the worst burger is Five Guys. You will find no rare burgers or even medium rare burgers at Five Guys. They only serve overly cooked and very tasteless burgers. The condiments are good so I suggest ordering your over cooked burger with jalepenos on top. That should hide the lack of taste. Fries are mushy, so if crispy is your
desire bring in a takeout order from Mickey D's.
On the good side -- the unshelled peanuts are great!!
What a great topic. I spent the last few months on my Fairfield County burger quest and each of these is worth the trip. The one item I noticed was the enthusiasm that each of the owners/chefs had for their food. They were passionate, proud and were genuinely interested in how a customer felt about their product.
Here are my Top-10 in the 2 categories.
My selections for Favorite Restaurant Burgers:
1. Napa & Company (Stamford) – This excellent Wagyu burger is prepared perfectly by Chef Arik Bensalem and is served with black pepper mayo, red onion jam and Gruyere on a brioche roll from SONO Bake Shop. The flavors go together perfectly and this is just a great way to spend a lazy lunch or enjoy for dinner.
2. Brendan’s at the Elms (Ridgefield) – Brendan Walsh has been preparing farm to table food for years. And his current grass fed beef burger comes from Stuart Family Farm, with caramelized onions, garlic aioli and Gruyere cheese on what I consider the best brioche hamburger bun in the county. A full Brendan’s article will appear shortly on CTBites.
3. Le Farm (Westport) –Bill Taibe’s burger is a testament to his creativity and talent. The meat has a nice deep flavor and is served encased in a SONO Bake Shop bun.
4. Harvest Supper (New Canaan) – I always feel there is another level that it can achieve. Hopefully Chef Dan Kardos’ successor keeps the quality after his move to Bar Rosso.
Since I do not like ANY Fast-Food burger I will use Category 2 to list my selections in the Favorite Bar / Small-Restaurant Burger:
1. Burgers Shakes & Fries (Greenwich; Darien shortly) – Kory Wollins does an outstanding job of delivering a great burger that can be ordered in over 300 variations. He imports the burgers from a top-tier NY purveyor and grills them to perfection. This is the only burger that comes on grilled bread and in a bread-bun taste test we did last year, we agreed that it was the best way to serve it.
2. Nicholas Roberts – NR presents an organic D’Artagnan beef burger with white cheddar, Dartagnan applewood smoked bacon and a mushroom-onion sauté all served on a bun from Billy’s Bakery in Fairfield. All of the flavors are deep and the cheddar with the burger meat is a natural combination.
3. Farmer’s Table –I ordered the cheeseburger on a recent visit. The John Boy’s Farm meat plus a nice topping of American cheese and some thinly sliced cornichons created a really good burger.
4. Cherry Street East (New Canaan) – These handcrafted burgers are grilled to perfection as the staple on CSE. The meat is hand-ground on premises.
5. Black Duck Café (Westport) – The Duck’s 80-20 bacon cheeseburger burger is large, juicy and has a great deep flavor.
6. Burger Bistro (Norwalk) – Another very good bar burger that offers various toppings and scale new heights with some inventive presentations.
Best two burgers around are Napa and Burgers Shakes and Fries, who cares about categories.
And I cannot even imagine including five guys or filling station on any list that contains any word other than blech
Question for JFood. Does Farmers Table really use beef from John Boy?
To Elizabeth
I asked and that is what they told me.
I was not expecting much and i really enjoyed the burger. i think it is the best burger in NC. i hope the next one is as good.
Bill Taibe's burger at leFarm is sublime. Every bite contains a different element since the way it's put together is not studied or "too clean." My fiance has it for dinner almost every time we're there.
Counter service? I'll go with Burger, Shakes and Fries too.
Favorite restaurant burger - Flipside in Fairfield. Love love love them!
Favorite fast food burger - Five Guys
Health in a Hurry has an incredible veggie burger. It is full of lentils and other veggies with only a bit of grains. Sue has the perfect spicy mustard to accompany it, also. Warm it in a pan with slice of good cheddar and throw it into a wrap or wheat bun. Heaven!
Wow jfood, you pick Napa as a #1? Big surprise there. Way to work in a Bar Rosso reference too. Great job.
Folks, the question was your favorite restaurant and countertop service. Not a novel on all the places you've been.
Nothing better then Black Duck for a real, remarkable burger at a good price. "Counter service" nothing beats BSF.
Never really had a good fast food burger...Five Guys is pretty awful, just good prices. Just waiting for SHAKE SHACK
Rawleys has a really good fast food burger to go. (fairfield)
For a great sit down burger, we love Grey Goose in Southport or Old Post Tavern in Fairfield.
restaurant - Black duck! can't beat the stuffed burgers!! Counter service Filling Station - had them all and this one is the best, hands down people!!
Goin Nicholas Roberts. Where else can you get a killer burger (rare please) and drink that bottle of 61 Cheval Blanc you've been saving? Other than at home. Burgers, Shakes & Fries. You'll have to sneak your bottle in here.
BSF is at the top of my list for quick pics, with Stepney Kitchen being my top restaurant burger choice.
best restaurant - Rory's in Darien
counter service- BSF
Best restaurant burger without a doubt -- Bogey's. And the fries can't be beat! Runner-up -- SBC.
Worst burger I've ever had in my life -- Five Guys in Westport. I couldn't even finish it.
I love the burger at Trumbull Kitchen! They cook it perfectly every time and I believe they use a local cheddar that is delicious!
Best restaurant burger - Le Farm, Harvest Supper, Napa. I think all three are interchangeable for #1.
Best counter service burger - Burgers, Shakes, & Fries.
Speaking of which, does anyone know when Kory is opening his Darien location? I heard a rumor that it was this week.
JFood, Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know that John Ubaldo was producing that much beef. I've used his quail, duck legs and bacon. All amazing.
Burger Shakes & Fries for burgers. Filling Station for a quickie burger.
Restaurant: Donovan's in SoNo
Counter: Merritt Canteen in Bridgeport
...until Shake Shack comes around!!!!