My favorite burger joint is Stevensons in Euclid, Ohio. They have a very simple burger, the "Big Guy"; it's two patties, bacon, cheese, pickles, and mayo. The secret is the ancient, tiny flat top they are cooked on, seasoned over the years by thousands of burgers. This place is easy to miss, just a tiny little bait shop on Lakeshore Boulevard, but you'll never have a better burger.

Please forgive my indulgence if I say my favorite burger ever is the one we serve at Big Jones. I've always been a sloppy burger kind of guy - the juicier and wetter the better. There was a place called Hinkle's Hamburgers at 3rd & Jordan in Bloomington, Indiana when I went to school there (it's since moved by it not what it once was due to changes the health dept. forced on them, to guess why read on) where they would scoop out fresh raw ground beef when you ordered. It was a fine grind fairly loosely packed, which is essential. They would spread some shaved yellow onion on the griddle and shape the patty on the griddle by mashing the ground beef down into the onions. Immediately the fresh bun, untoasted, was placed over the burgers, open side down, to absorb the steam and juices and capture rather than lose them. When they turned the burger they put American cheese on it and dressed it on the grill - ketchup, mustard, iceberg lettuce (thank goodness no crappy tomato.) When finished at about medium-medium well it was immediately wrapped in foil while still over the griddle, again trying to capture every last drop of juice and seal it in. They had pineapple shakes. Slam dunk.

For our Big Jones burger, I wanted a sloppy burger like that at Hinkle's but with maybe a little more adult flavor, and I set out to pack umami in, meaning there would be mushrooms, onions, garlic, and our home made worcestershire (concentrated umami in a bottle.) We griddle our buns with butter for the taste of the caramelization and extra bit of crisp from the toast, spread it with a garlicky home made aioli, and sandwich in it a Slagel beef burger that's cooked on the wood grill for smoke and basted with our worcestershire sauce. Once flipped, organic baby swiss is placed upon the patty to just melt a bit (I abhor runny over-melted cheese which congeals into a greasy mass) and topped with onions and shiitake mushrooms griddled just to sweat and concentrate the flavors. we serve our home made bread and butter pickles on the side, but you'll want to use them on your burger to cut what is otherwise a really, really rich sandwich. And count me out of the "rare is the chef's temp" camp - the juices are most optimally runny just shy of medium, so I'll take my burgers off the grill a little past medium rare so residual heat takes it right up to where I want it.

I usually prefer a thin griddled double cheeseburger and I really like the one at Kevin's Hamburger Heaven. For me it is all about balance. Burger, bun, cheese (American of course), grilled onions must all be in melty goopy harmony. Large chocolate shake and greezy fries on the side. If I want a burger that is thick and grilled to temp I usually head to Naha: Great bun, quality meat, creative cheese choices (Pleasant Ridge Reserve, please), with a glass of red wine, preferably something Spanish.

Gotta say one of my favorites is one that we serve at Hearty - it's a 10 oz ground chuck seasoned with dry mustard and garlic among other things, grilled and topped with candied bacon, cambazola and fresh baby spinach. We serve it on a challah bun with house made aioli on the side

A good burger is really all about being juicy and seasoned well. A good mix of fat, quality meat, and salt. In st. Louis, I think The Range does a great job and I am excited to see 5 Star Burgers when they open up in Clayton. Sure to be good. Also I think our Pork Burger at Taste by niche is pretty damned good, it's ground berkshire pork, wrapped in caul fat, roasted, and topped with cheddar and bacon.