Burgers are a lot like pizzas, tacos and sushi. Everybody has their favorites and nobody can seem to agree on them. Which is fine. I might like a Neapolitan Margherita pizza, while you prefer your NYC-style slice. There’s room for everybody. I guess I’m a big tent guy when it comes to food fetishes; I don’t believe in right and wrong. What follows, then, is a roundup of 10 of MY favorite Utah burgers; your mileage may vary. 

From Scratch Pastrami Burger

Maybe it’s cheating to put pastrami on a burger like Crown does (see below). But the Pastrami Burger ($17) at From Scratch is killer; it’s a burger that requires a knife and fork. Thankfully, it came to the table with a big steak knife. The From Scratch Pastrami Burger is a high-quality beef burger piled with house-made pastrami, aged cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce,and mayo, with homemade ketchup on the side, as requested (not a ketchup fan, even if it is homemade). What really put this burger over the top was the house-baked brioche bun, which was incredibly light and airy. Bonus: the fries at From Scratch that came with the burger are also excellent. 

Tonyburgers Big T

I’ve been loving Tonyburgers since 2009, when the first location opened in Centerville. The Tonyburgers kingdom has grown today into SLC, Holladay, South Jordan, West Valley, Herriman and Clinton. I’m told that the beef patties at Tonyburgers are hand-formed each day and never frozen. They use a secret proprietary beef blend that tastes to me very similar to Shake Shack’s. A Big T Tonyburger ($9.45 w/cheese) is a beautiful thing: one-third pound of beef with a choice of cheese (optional) and a load of topping options including lettuce, tomato, fresh onions, grilled onions, pickles, jalapeños, and mushrooms, plus sauce choices like Tony Sauce (similar to fry sauce), ketchup, mustard, BBQ, ranch, mayo, poblano sauce, chipotle, garlic aioli, red pesto and Southern ranch.

Hi-Mountain Double Burger

Hi-Mountain in Kamas began its journey as a confectionery in 1918 and is still fondly known by many as “The Drug Store.” It’s a homey and friendly place with an old-fashioned ice cream counter and original tile mural, outstanding burgers, fries and milkshakes. There are a number of burger options at Hi-Mountain, including a Philly Cheeseburger, Jalapeño Popper Burger, Blue Burger, Aussie Burger (with fried egg) and others. My favorite is the traditional Cheeseburger ($7), made with one-third pound of extra-lean beef that’s ground locally and hand-formed for freshness, served with American cheese, mustard, ketchup, iceberg lettuce and dill pickles. You’re gonna want a banana cream pie milkshake with that. 

Block Burger

Down in Provo, one of my favorite restaurants is Block. And one of my favorite burgers is the Block Burger ($18). It begins with a gorgeous, glistening toasted brioche bun supplied by Antonella’s Artisan Bread Cafe in Orem — a great start. Sandwiched in that beautiful bun bun is a plump, juicy, perfectly cooked local beef patty with smoked cheddar from Heber Valley Cheese, jalapeño jam, lettuce, crispy shallots, and black garlic aioli. Add a Clifford Farms fried egg for $2.50. 

Crown Burger

Confession: It took me more than 30 years of living in Utah to finally get around to trying a Crown Burger ($8,79). Mea culpa. It was worth the wait. Last week I went to my local Crown Burger to see what all the fuss was about. Now I get it. The place was packed with hungry customers willing to wait a bit for their burgers, gyros and such. I was one of them. The Classic Crown Burger is one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.  The first Crown Burgers restaurant was opened in 1978 by John & Rula Katzourakis and Nick Katsanevas (Rula’s brother). Most food historians agree that Crown Burger introduced Utah to the notion of piling pastrami on top of a burger, a practice that had begun in California. So what is a Crown Burger? Well, it’s a quarter pound hamburger patty on a sesame seed bun with Thousand Island dressing, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and onions, cheese, topped with another quarter pound or so of hot juicy pastrami. It’s a beautiful thing and it won’t be another three decades before I have my second Crown Burger. 

Owl Bar Angus Wagyu Burger

There are plenty of great reasons to visit Sundance Mountain Resort. One of the best is to enjoy food and drink at the venerable Owl Bar – especially the awesome Angus Wagyu Burger ($23/with fries). The Owl Bar Angus Wagyu Burger is served on a superior split top bun with Beehive Cheese Promontory Cheddar, lettuce, bacon jam, homemade ketchup, Dukes mayo, grilled onions and house pickles. It’s one bodacious burger, and comes with equally fantastic fries. 

Milt’s Stop n’ Eat Cheeseburger

One of my favorite places on the planet is Moab, in southern Utah. And one of my favorite places in Moab is Milt’s Stop n’ Eat, which also happens to be Moab’s oldest restaurant, opened by Milt Galbraith in 1954. The hormone-free, grass fed beef used to make Milt’s burgers comes from K Bar Ranch in Green River. You can’t get more local than that! Milt’s serves a great Patty Melt, Elk Cheeseburger, and a good Wagyu Beef Hot Dog, but my favorite menu item is the simple, straightforward Cheeseburger ($7), topped with onion, pickles, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. 

Fleming’s Prime Burger

For an upscale burger, stop into the bar at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. At Fleming’s you’ll find what I consider to be one of the best bargains in SLC: The Prime Burger – a delicious steakhouse burger made with Prime beef, Wisconsin cheddar cheese, peppered bacon and a side of French fries & crispy Castelvetrano olives – all for a mere $20.

Copper Common CC Burger

One of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted is the CC Burger ($11) at Copper Common. What makes the Copper Common Burger so sensational is the perfect beef blend, combined with a striking simplicity. As chef/owner Ryan Lowder says of his burger, “We set out to do a very simple, proper burger where the meat couldn’t hide.” Well, mission accomplished. This burger is a thin meat patty composed of local beef and trim from “tenderloins, ribeyes, strips, and brisket,” according to Lowdery, with melted Noord Hollander aged Gouda, black pepper, and pickled onion on a perfect bun. Sometimes, less is more.

Burger Bar Double Cheese Ben

When Ben Fowler opened the Burger Bar in Roy, Utah in 1956, charging a quarter for a burger, I doubt he thought it would still be going strong with hoards of loyal customers nearly 70 years later. Through the years, Ben’s children worked at and then ran the restaurant and now his grandkids are taking it over. But the classic flavors at Burger Bar never change. The locally sourced beef and locally baked buns are key to the outstanding burgers at Burger Bar, which also features an “exotic” burger option monthly. When I visited recently the exotic burger was a goat burger. But undoubtedly the most popular menu items are the Big Ben Burger ($7.75) and the Big Cheese Ben ($8.25). Personally, I love the Double Cheese Ben ($9.65 w/fries), two thin, wide, quarter pound hand-formed beef patties on a large, fresh-baked, signature bun, dressed with lettuce, pickles and fry sauce. It’s a burger that is simple, but sensational. Oh, and burgers at Burger Bar come with a large order of really great fries for no extra charge. 

Now, how about your favorite burger? We’d love to hear about it. 

Photos by Ted Scheffler

Culinary quote of the week: “You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars.” – Charles Kuralt