Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I got lost on the way there, so I ended up driving past Umami Burger 2X.

The burger came out Med Rare, so kudos for cooking the meat correctly. It was unseasoned, and they barely got any char on it from the grill...this means that the cooks had the flame set too low. The cheese (cheddar) was unmelted, because..............the cooks are incompetent at cooking burgers. Besides, it wouldn't have really mattered. The big, honking, dry, sesame seeded bun overwhelmed the bland patty. I even got all R-rated on this thing and ate it topless. It was still unremarkable in every way. It was just uninteresting and unmemorable.

I bet that they make great BBQ, though.

Overview: Don't expect to get a good burger in a BBQ joint.

@ButterButter: I can't help you with the origin of the St. Paul sandwich but thanks for reminding me of it! It's been years, even decades, since I had one but it was my "sober up so I could drive home" late-night snack many times. I usually got mine on the South Side and it was on white bread, not a bun.

Spent 4 years living in St Louis, departed 8 years ago, and reading this article and thinking about Imo's still made me throw up in my mouth a little.

It's called "Toasted Ravioli" not "Fried Ravioli," y'all - even if the later is a better description. In addition to toasted ravs, I'd be interested to know if anyone knew the origins of the "St. Paul Sandwich," (egg foo young on a white bun w/ lettuce and mayo) another odd St. Louis food phenomenon.

I second the motion on a visit there this weekend. Hmmm... perhaps a Meetup group could be in the making based off your burger reviews! If hotjog happens to have their username tattooed to their forehead and I happen to pull my face away from a Zekeburger in time to catch it I'll float the idea. If that doesn't work I'll just start stalking you, Damon.

As someone looking for a new cult to join if you told me a cow pie nestled between two buns was tasty I'd try it... without the veggie "huddle in the corner of the plate" of course.

Save your money, folks. The burger at 25 Degrees is a sad affair. Today, the service was both inattentive and poorly timed. But on to the food. Great rings and tasty fries. The burger meat itself is great--one is keenly aware that it is sirloin, and that is a good thing. Sadly, both burgers were overcooked, and the bun is a disaster. The top of bun was tough and dry enough to make a "thock" sound when tapped with a fingernail. It basically overwhelmed the burger with dry joylessness. The bottom of the bun, also a shamefully overbaked puck of parched, crumbling sadness.The cheese was not melted over the burger, but simply served as an unmelted pile of gunk in the center of the burger, which had so be scraped from the bun and then spread.

The high point is that the waitress must have stuffed two angels down the back of her pants to present such a compelling view. So, the highlights---Good sides, good sights, good sirloin.

Overview: 25 Degrees is a weak suck and can be avoided.

I am quite partial to Bud's Bar in Sedalia... but this place is now on my list of "try it soon" restaurants.

Now that was by far one of my favorite burger posts I've seen! Way to get them all in one blog.

@everyone: Thanks for the kudos! This was a lot of fun to put together, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sorry if it made you hungry, but dems da breaks!

@KingT: What would you say makes a '30s-style burger? Given what I've read about burger history, I'd guess it would either be a slider (since White Castle all but revolutionized burgerdom in the late '20s and up to WWII) or a slider-style burger (a little larger but cooked in a similar fashion).

@shanella: I'm only responsible for the first photo; the rest are Flickr Creative Commons–licensed or used with permission of the photographer. I know that any of Nick Solares's or Robyn Lee's are dSLRs (Nikon D300 and Canon 20D, respectively). For any of the others that link to Flickr, you can click through and look to see if the photographer has EXIF data for the photo. That should tell you camera make/model.

What about the 30's style? did I miss that?

Very educational for us foodies Adam. Thanks for pointing out the difference between a slider and a mini burger...i always thought they were the same. I like the part about the fast food burger! lol! I think you're right about the kobe burger cause i enjoy the slight rubberiness of the minced meat against the soft bread in a regular burger...the kobe has enough brilliance to stand on it's own! What they call pimento cheese in the U.S. is what we call cheese paste in caribbean, and is often a combination of grated cheddar, mayo, grated onion, diced peppers and hot sauce, and is usually slathered between sandwich slices, cut into cute bite size triangles and served at parties.

I realise that this is about American burgers, but just for interest: in Australia it's an "Aussie" burger if it has sliced beetroot on it (and probably onions too, though possibly raw). However, the essential ingredient to make a pizza an "Aussie pizza" is egg cracked over the top just before it's put in the oven.

We're a weird bunch.

Amazing post Adam...you are truly a Burger King. Very well done and informative stuff.