Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.

49 Comments:
Neither--I'm a mayoanaise gal.
homesicktexan at 12:04PM on 12/11/06
Usually neither, but ketchup if necessary
Lucia at 12:46PM on 12/11/06
nothing can possibly beat mayo on 1 bun, & mustard on the other!!!
about the only food (??) still use with ketchup - fried onion rings for some odd reason????
baruch at 1:37PM on 12/11/06
Ketchup, mustard, and mayo! However, if it's Shake Shack, just the Shack sauce.
megc at 2:28PM on 12/11/06
@Baruch: Are you impugning perhaps the greatest burger side dish of all time by questioning its status as food? ;)
I like mayo on mine, too, but only if there's lettuce and tomato -- but that's a rare burger for me. I'm usually pickles, onion, mustard.
Adam Kuban at 2:42PM on 12/11/06
I was well into adulthood before I even heard of putting mustard on a burger and I still find the idea offputting--like ketchup on a frank. So, it's ketchup on the burger (and the fries) for me.
Barbara Hanson at 3:01PM on 12/11/06
My default has always been mayo (yep, Adam, along w/lettuce and tomato) or any mayo based sauce like Shake Shack or Stone Park.
At cookouts I occasionally do the mustard & pickles only burger.
Never, ever, ketchup. Yuck!
Livetotravel at 3:03PM on 12/11/06
Mayo, mustard, pickles. Tomato if it's in season. Lettuce if it's not nasty-looking.
mkania at 3:26PM on 12/11/06
Both! If I am in the mood for a standard burger, it would be mustard, ketchup, tomato, lettuce and cheese. But lately my favorite toppings are just shredded lettuce and thousand island dressing! YUM! Max & Erma's used to have a burger with water chestnuts and bacon...that was the ultimate!
ThatGirl153 at 3:28PM on 12/11/06
I'm indiscriminating. I choose on a whim based on appetite and available condiments, but ketchup has historically found its way onto my burgers more than mustard.
quantum at 4:54PM on 12/11/06
adam, absolutely NOT - j'adore fried onion rings!! either w/ or w/o a burger. quite possibly, when done right, one of the greatest food inventions ever, & of course, does wonders for your heart.
for me, the utimate is (was) to slather "delouis" mayo on 1 side, the other w/"maille" moutarde; then sautéed onions (nice touch), tomato (hopefully in season), pickles (flat), liberally S&P; then gently place the charcoal-grilled burger w/cheddar or american cheese bet = heaven., nirvana...
lettuce adds very little, & have never understand how or why it ever became part of a hamburger serving??
adam, the side of fried onion rings is to both soak up the excess juices, etc... falling onto the plate, as well as provide the "2nd" dish. these juices are my usual substitute, under those circumstances, for ketchup.
i trust this is an appropiate defense :)))))))))
baruch at 4:56PM on 12/11/06
Baruch: It is certainly an appropriate defense. Your attack on burger lettuce needs no defense, however. I agree: It adds very little to the experience.
Adam Kuban at 5:08PM on 12/11/06
All of the above. And tabasco.
Myszka at 6:10PM on 12/11/06
Queso is heaven on burgers.
ladypuppy at 6:39PM on 12/11/06
Mustard. Today, tomorrow, forever.
cstrack at 7:24PM on 12/11/06
Depends. If it's an old-Friendly's-style burger (a grilled cheese with a burger inserted), I just dip in ketchup. If there's a bun involved, ketchup on one bun, mustard on the other. If I'm cooking at home and there's no bun, just mustard and maybe some A1.
AdamH at 10:20PM on 12/11/06
Mayo, tomato, lettuce, pickle and cheese.
Vermont at 10:49PM on 12/11/06
Both. Just smidge of mustard and a bigger smidge of ketchup. Pickles and grilled onions. MMMMMM
JerzeeTomato at 1:27AM on 12/12/06
Neither. They are both too overpowering. I liken the placement of ketchup and mustard on a burger to the use of A-1 steak sauce on a steak...its something that should only be done if the quality of the meat sucks.
My favorite burgers have blue cheese, onions, bacon, and jalapenos. Mayo can be good as well and I have a recipe for avocado mayo that makes an awesome burger topping.
EatWisconsin at 12:28PM on 12/12/06
EatWisconsin: Care to pass on the recipe? ;)
Adam Kuban at 2:42PM on 12/12/06
You guys are missing out --- forget the ketchup and mustard and mayo! American cheese, bacon, and a nice fried egg on top of it all with some flaky sea salt. mmmmmmmmmmm....
FKC at 6:59PM on 12/12/06
With the egg.. runny yolk or not?
AdamH at 10:14PM on 12/12/06
I prefer not, hubby prefers yes. All a matter of taste. The place that started me on this kick is Rare on 37th and Lex.
FKC at 10:33PM on 12/14/06
Both
gnossos at 10:57PM on 05/08/09
Neither. I only like mayo, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on my burgers.
caramel at 11:04PM on 05/08/09
Both, but no mayo... wait, does that make me too "frou frou"? I like extra pickles and hot peppers too.
jo_jo_ba at 11:20PM on 05/08/09
Ketchup, mayo, onion (fresh or grilled), leaf lettuce, tomato (homegrown), maybe guacomole or cheese (but not usually). NO pickles!
gourmetgal at 11:56PM on 05/08/09
Mayo.
chardonnay at 1:36AM on 05/09/09
Mayo, mustard, and ketchup.
Cassaendra at 5:03AM on 05/09/09
Mustard on one bun, miso mayo on the other! Lettuce, cheese, pickles, and pickled jalapenos. YUM!
dharmon at 7:43AM on 05/09/09
BOTH. And mayo on the buns...
MadelynRodriguez at 8:03AM on 05/09/09
guacamole! or russian.
pooch at 9:09AM on 05/09/09
These days I eat veggie burgers more than regular ones, but when I eat the regular ones it is ketchup all the way. I think I'd sooner use mayo than mustard (in addition to ketchup) because I don't eat cheeseburgers, so I'd imagine it would give it a sort of creaminess that cheese would give (though I don't really know).
Veggie burgers usually get ketchup with a bit of mustard, though this also depends on what is in the burger itself (spices, etc).
PS - I like this "question of the day" thing!
NYCEater at 9:27AM on 05/09/09
No ketchup or mustard - mayo, tomatoes, lettuce, Frank's sauce, S & P -
bareneed at 10:54AM on 05/09/09
This is not an advertisement, but I like Heinz "57" sauce on my burger.
dmcavanagh at 11:15AM on 05/09/09
both!
hmw0029 at 12:19PM on 05/09/09
My partner & I are condiment whores....so we've tried everything imaginable....e.g. sriracha & soy sauce on turkey burgers is pretty good!
But...If you are talking about plain old backyard cookouta or picking up a sack at white castle....I gotta go with mustard over ketchup.
2qrs at 12:28PM on 05/09/09
If there is lettuce and a good tomato - then it is mayo and mustard. If not, then it's mustard and pickle only.
radley24 at 12:36PM on 05/09/09
Fry sauce. Anything is better with fry sauce!
Beanalicious1 at 1:39PM on 05/09/09
Both, but just a smidge of mustard and alot of ketchup and mayo.
pjracz10 at 4:14PM on 05/09/09
Mustard just doesn't sound right so it's ketchup and mayo for me.
deefine at 6:08PM on 05/09/09
A1. mayo and hot sauce. What a great sauce!
donnie at 7:20PM on 05/09/09
Mustard is a Texas thing on burgers. I always also add ketchup to mine. I never had mayo on a burger til i moved to the east coast.
ocarol at 7:57PM on 05/09/09
Adam this is an awesome topic because until I really got involved in 'food blog' stuff I never knew people ate mayo on burgers. Even amongst my friends during the bad 'McD' years, Quarter Pounders were the rule, no mayo-laden Big Macs. I always had hamburgers as a meat eater with ketchup and perhaps a little bit of mustard. I thought there was ketchup and a bit of mustard and nakedness, nothing else.
With veggie burgers, which I eat now, the topping depends on the taste of the patty. I know now that a fondness for various toppings may be very regional and local--I guess in the NJ area where I live, ketchup is the rule.
HeartofGlass at 8:13PM on 05/09/09
*shuffles uncomfortably*
Can I have salsa and avocado on a veggie patty instead, please? :(
feriorrenna at 10:05PM on 05/09/09
Preferred in this order...from bottom to top:
Bottom of bun - toasted
French's mustard
Burger patty
American Cheese
Onion slice - no more than 1/4" thick - raw, full slice
Pickles - sufficient to cover the onion
Tomato - 1/4 thick sufficient to cover the almost all of the patty. If 2 slices needed, thinner slice
Iceburg lettuce
Mayo
Top of bun - toasted
NEVER ketchup. That's for fries.
GianniB at 9:03AM on 05/11/09
Both, with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, seasonings, and sometimes other random veggies (mushrooms, peppers, whatever). Sometimes cheese, sometimes not. Ketchup and mustard can be traded for Frank's though. Or for A1. Or for teriyaki sauce. Or even for marinara and mozzerella. NO mayo.
cycorider at 9:50AM on 05/11/09
This is also good for diet, as its relatively lo-cal.
1/4lb chop meat, drained of fat
1 tbsp lite bbq sauce
sauteed onion
fat free american cheese
corn tortilla
crawdkenny at 11:18PM on 05/13/09
Unless I'm trying to be a show off, and grinding my own meat, or stuffing blue cheese in the middle of the burger patty, I am completely indiscriminate about what I'll slop on a burger- ketchup, mustard (yellow, dijon or grainy), mayo, relish, pickle, bbq chips, onion rings, pickled onions sliced thin, horseradish, all and sundry hot sauces, vegetables, what else ya got? I pay zero mind to the flavor combinations in that case for some reason and I am rarely displeased.
BananaMonkey at 12:08AM on 05/14/09