Burger Review – Riverside Lunch...

Address: 1429 Hazel St, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Phone: (434) 971-3546

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Riverside-Lunch-127204539912/

ALERT: Never, in a lifetime of eating and reviewing burgers, have I ever made the following claim: 

This could possibly be the BEST BURGER I have ever had.

Riverside lunch is that good. Unimposing, but conveniently located just minutes off the highway, I stumbled on Riverside Lunch from a recommendation. We were staying the night in Charlottesville to visit the historic Thomas Jefferson’s residence Monticello in the morning, and were looking for a quick bite for dinner.   Riverside Lunch did not disappoint.

The burgers are extremely simple: fresh ground beef, packed into a ball and smashed on to the griddle: not just any griddle, and the cook mentioned. 

They have been seasoning this grill with quality meat for over 20 years, and that is truly one of the most important parts. In fact, the cook indicated that he has taken all of the ingredients home on several occasions to make burgers for himself and cannot replicate the taste. 

The burgers come dressed as you might expect, standard burger toppings. They offer two types of buns – a standard (but excellent) soft roll that is toasted on the grill and a sub bun French roll.  They call it their cheeseburger sub, and it would certainly be my recommendations.  

As we were talking with the wait staff and cook (the service was amazing), my extremely loud booming voice obviously carried throughout the restaurant, as a Riverside Lunch regular (Jeff, who would also like me to point out that his is very good looking) bought our dinner for us! Thank You, Jeff – very much appreciated.

I was so enamored with Riverside Lunch that we delayed our trip by an hour and headed back there after touring Monticello – a delay that was completely worth it. I dreamed about that burger all night that night, and couldn’t get it out of my head (for the record – I still can’t). The second time was as good – if not better – than the first.  

To say that I recommend Riverside Lunch is the all time understatement. I am rarely as shocked and pleasantly surprised by a burger as much as I was with the one here. I have been scheming a way to go back there for some work trip or something – I will be there again. Until then, please continue to support this amazing small business so it will be there when I eventually get back in the area!

Burger Review - Dairy Delite...

Address: 3080 W Eisenhower Blvd, Loveland, CO 80537
Phone: (970) 667-2111
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Dairy-Delite-115303005171409/

Often, when making a list of your favorite/best burger places, you add some that you have visited a handful of times, or in a location outside of your normal dinnertime travel area, or only accessible when you are on the road. All of these are acceptable, and often make you appreciate the burger there even more.

Burger Review - Portillo's Hot Dogs...

Address: 50 locations, mainly in the Chicagoland area, 2 in CA, 2 in FL, and 2 in WI
Last visit: 8390 La Palma Ave. Buena Park CA 90620
Phone: 714-220-6400
Website: https://www.portillos.com/index.html

If you are looking for my vote for the best burger chain in America, look no further than Portillos.

Dick Portillo started his first hot dog stand in Villa Park, IL in 1963. Since then, he has opened 50 of these extremely high quality restaurants serving some of the best food money can buy.

Burger Review - Buds Bar...

Location: 5453 Manhart St., Sedalia, CO 80135
Phone: (303) 688-9967

Review:

In the small town of Sedalia, Colorado - population just over 200 - is the best burger in Colorado and quite possibly one of the very best in the country.

Bud's Bar has been making burgers for over 60 years. Located just off of US Hwy 85 between Denver and Castle Rock, it has been a mainstay for the biker crowd for years. But that isn't to say that it is biker bar / dive. The crowd is as diverse as possible - my wife and I came in one night to a packed bar, only to see that - in addition to the normal crowd of ranchers, golfers and bikers - the local girls equestrian riding class was having a princess party there.  I am not kidding.

The Best Burgers in Colorado - Day 3...

I conclude my update to the Best Burgers in Colorado today with a category that I call "The Rest", which should not be taken as lesser burgers by any means. In fact, several of the places that I hit the most often are on this list, and you would do well to give them a shot.

The Rest:

Dairy Delite
3080 West Eisenhower Blvd., Loveland, CO 80206
970-667-2111

Pretty good chance that if you are looking for me between the hours of 11:00 -12:00 Monday through Friday between the months of April and October, and provided that I am in this time zone, that you will find me at Dairy Delite. Without question, the best burger in Northern Colorado and certainly one of my all time favorites. The service is epic, and the food is just as good. Ironically, I rarely ever get the ice cream that put this place on the must stop at list for all of the summer travelers heading up or down the Big Thompson canyon heading up to or down from Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

I just can't say enough about this place – the burgers are handmade, cooked to order, placed on a perfect hard roll or Kaiser bun. The fries are well done and there are plenty of them. Chances are if you are meeting me for lunch in Loveland during the summer months, we will be going here. I have taken dozens (probably closer to a hundred) of different people to DD and never have I heard a complaint. This is what the old style ice cream shop / hamburger stand should be like, and I am counting the days until it opens again.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically):

City Grille
321 E Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80203
303-861-0726

Griff’s Hamburgers
742 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209
303-777-7290

Jim’s Burger Haven
595 E 88th Ave., Denver, CO 80229
303-430-8021

Old School Burgers
1760 S Havana St., Aurora CO 80012
303-368-0150

I hope you have enjoyed this list. If you ever need a friend to have a burger dining experience with you, give me a shout! If, for some reason you know of a burger that didn't make it on to my list, PLEASE share it. I am always game for a new burger...

The Best Burgers in Colorado - Day 2...

Today's installment of the Best Burgers in Colorado is a look at some of the burger restaurant chains that are out there. Every chain on this list has locations outside of Colorado, and every one of them is worth a visit.

Chain Burgers:

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
(instead of locations, I have included their websites)
www.fiveguys.com

I can't say enough about Five Guys. Since last updating the list, I have been privileged enough to have a Five Guys open a few blocks from our house in Highlands Ranch. The burgers are always fresh, and made to order. Their fries are about as fresh cut as you can get, and there are TONS of them. During my winter doldrums (when my favorite local spot is closed), Five Guys fits the bill. But plan on waiting a bit – this isn't what I would call fast food. There is ALWAYS a line, and not because they are slow, but rather because they are always busy and everything is cooked to order.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically):

Cheeburger Cheeburger
www.cheeburger.com

Culver's
www.culvers.com

Fatburger
www.fatburger.com

Smashburger
www.smashburger.com

The exciting conclusion comes tomorrow! Check back then!

The Best Burgers in Colorado - Day 1...

It has been some time (almost two years) since I last updated the list of the best burger spots in Colorado. And, for those of you who know me, it isn't because I have not been eating burgers!

For this iteration, I have decided to change it up a bit, classifying the burgers into different categories:

The Best – The most noteworthy of restaurants that serve gloriousness on a bun.
Chain Burgers – Restaurants that are part of a larger chain of restaurants, or have many locations.
The Rest – Worth a mention, but didn't necessarily make it into the tops of one of the others.

The Best:

Bud’s Bar
5453 Manhart St., Sedalia, CO 80135
303-688-9967

Located on US 85 between Littleton and Castle Rock, Bud's Bar has been doing exactly the same thing, and doing it better than anyone else, since I first went there 25 years ago. The only change is that the new owner (new being his has only owned the place for 10 years now) replaced the windows (you can actually see out of them now), benches and upgraded the TVs.

The burgers are hot, fresh, ½ pound, hand packed, fried patties on a regular hamburger bun. They are usually so hot off the grill that you have to wait a moment before biting into one. These are the best in class, best burger around, period. And that is really saying something. No list discussing the best burgers in Colorado (and some say the nation) is complete without a mention of Bud's. It has won the Westword award for best burger so many times in a row that they literally had to open it up to other categories for the others to have a chance.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetically):

City Pub
3575 S. Yosemite St., Denver, CO 80237
303-694-0454

Conway’s Red Top
1520 S. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80906
719-633-2444

Grandpa’s Burger Haven
23 S Federal Blvd, Denver, CO 80219
303-936-4463

My Brother’s Bar
2376 15th St., Denver, CO 80202
303-455-9991

Tomorrow - the Best Chain Burgers in Colorado...

Best Burgers in Colorado...

A topic near and dear to my heart, for certain. Where are the best burgers? If you have ever had a meal with me, in all likelihood it was at a place that serves a decent burger. Not all burgers are created equal (by any means), and I would contend that there is the point that “the best” is a matter of personal style or preference (flame broiled or fried, special toppings or in the buff).

My criteria are probably overly simplistic, but I am not complicated when it comes to judging quality burgers: bun, meat and cheese.

The Bun: the most overlooked aspect of a great burger is the bun. The bun should match the burger type. Lots of variables here, but the bun should never be discounted.

The Cheese: I am a good ol’ American cheese kind of guy. Some places will offer a variety of cheeses for the individual palate, but American cheese should always be an option.

The Meat: Fresh, never frozen. Ground chuck is always a good place to start (not too fat, not too lean). A seasoning salt is not out of the question, but good ground beef should be able to stand on its own.

Here is my list of some of the best burgers found in the great state of Colorado. The list is in no particular order, and I would recommend trying all of them if you have the opportunity.

Bud’s Bar
5453 Manhart St., Sedalia, CO 80135
303-688-9967

Cheeburger Cheeburger
9234 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124
303-799-9204

City Grille
321 E Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80203
303-861-0726

City Pub
3575 S. Yosemite St., Denver, CO 80237
303-694-0454

Conway’s Red Top
1520 S. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80906
719-633-2444

Dairy Delite
3080 West Eisenhower Blvd., Loveland, CO 80206
970-667-2111

Grandpa’s Burger Haven
23 S Federal Blvd, Denver, CO 80219
303-936-4463

Griff’s Hamburgers
742 S Broadway, Denver, CO 80209
303-777-7290

Jim’s Burger Haven
595 E 88th Ave., Denver, CO 80229
303-430-8021

My Brother’s Bar
2376 15th St., Denver, CO 80202
303-455-9991


Honorable Mention:

When searching the Internet for the best burger in Colorado, the Cherry Cricket almost always appears on the list. I have been there on several occasions, and have never really been that impressed with the burgers at the Cricket, but lots of other people seem to be.

Cherry Cricket
2641 E Second Ave, Denver, CO 80206
303-344-7666

I can provide additional commentary for anyone interested in any of these locations. I will compile my list of best burgers in my travels at some later time, and some of these Colorado burger joints will be on this list.

Enjoy! And if you need company when you try one of these fine establishments, I do not need much of an excuse to go!