Hello! I’m Louie Mantia, an artist, designer, and burger-eater. I’ve been after great burgers basically all my life. Some of the ones I’ve found are very predictable, and everyone loves them. Others are lesser-known gems.
I’m not an expert. But then again, who is? This is not in any way scientific or objective. How could it be? My ratings are based on how burgers taste compared to what I want burgers to taste like.
To me, an ideal cheeseburger has the following:
The order of ingredients is important. It’s not critical, but I think this order makes a lot of sense. The sauce and veg are the cool ingredients. Your tongue should hit those first so you enjoy how fresh and crisp they are and to save you from the hot patty and melted cheese.
The melted cheese sticks to the top bun. The sauce coats the bottom bun and dresses the “salad” part of the sandwich when you bite. If the cool ingredients are on the top, above the cheese, the watery vegetables sweat. The hot-cool barrier created between the patty and lettuce is the key to prevent that. The cool, raw vegetables don’t benefit being adjacent to the hot, melted cheese.
I probably sound crazy, but In-N-Out gets this exactly right.