So... The best burger in Minneapolis has butter and salt mixed in the patty?
The best burger in Minneapolis is, in fact, a meatloaf sandwich....
Comments (0) Best Burger - 2011
Victory 44
Victory 44's chef-owner Erick Harcey's first love may be pork—note the pig photos on the walls and a "praise the lard" sign on the kitchen—but he's got ground beef mastered. The Perfect Burger might sound like it's overreaching, but it's deserving of its hyperbolic title. First, there's the patty, made from ground beef blended with flecks of frozen butter, then coated with salt and spices and cured for a day. (This step ensures that the exterior chars up nicely on the griddle, while the middle stays moist.) The patty is tucked into an also-griddled, flour-dusted bun that's tender and squishy yet doesn't fall apart under the weight of the toppings: bacon, melted sharp cheddar, plus thin-sliced raw onions, sweet pickles, and a swipe of dijon. While juiciness is one of this burger's best attributes, the only thing that keeps it from achieving pure perfection is its lack of a built-in bib. You'll have to use the skin-on French fries to sop up the savory liquid that drips.
4 comments
If you call your burger "The Perfect Burger," you're already setting yourself up for false expectations. The burger at V44 is good, no doubt about that. But at the less hoity-toity Good Sports Bar & Grill in Hawthorne, the burgers (yes, more than one option) are far better. My personal favorite is their mushroom & Swiss burger, which is so delicious that I make sure the grease drips onto the French fries because I don't want to waste even a single molecule.
Also, the Rueben at GS is far and above the best Rueben I've ever had, V44 included. There's plenty to like at V44 and I'm glad they're in NoMi. But Hawthorne has some pretty good food to offer too.
It's all well and good that the Perfect Burger won "Best Burger 2011", the pickles alone get it halfway there. But isn't that a picture of Victory 44's also delicious Reuben, in the graphic? Can we actually get a picture of the burger please?
