South Florida is home to some of the best burgers. From West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale, it's not hard to find a phenomenal take on this iconic, all-American classic.
Whether it's the masterful artisan creations like the ones you'll find at BRGR Stop and Tucker Duke's, or the fancy foie gras Kitchen burger and Wagyu sliders from Palm Beach Meats, to the simple smash burger you'll get from Tropical Smokehouse — there's certainly something for everyone.
Included below is a roundup of burger spots to celebrate International Burger Day — taking place Friday, May 28. Named in alphabetical order, it features some of the best local spots to find one hell of a burger.
BRGR Stop
4301 Coconut Creek Parkway, Coconut Creek
brgrstop.com
Pretty much everything on the Brgr Stop menu seems to have been created for a challenge straight out of the Food Network's Man vs. Food. Some are options so monstrous and over-the-top, you'd eat on a dare. Or maybe you're just really, really hungry (bad case of the munchies, perhaps?). Either way, in a world of food trends driven by healthy eating, special meal plans, and dietary restrictions, Brgr Stop — with a second, larger location in Fort Lauderedale — goes the opposite direction with its biggest, baddest burgers — and the milkshakes you can get to go along with them. Here, the philosophy seems to be: the bigger the burger, the better. There are over a dozen craft burgers in all, each oversized and amped up with a hodgepodge of ingredients. The Mac Daddy arrives on a teetering construction, crowned with a heaping portion of jalapeño-cheddar-sausage-flecked mac 'n' cheese, long strips of house-made candied bacon, and a root-beer sriracha barbecue sauce. Or the classic favorite, Peanut Butter Jelly Time, which takes the burger back to basics with more bacon and a thick layer of Skippy spread across the bottom bun paired with not jam or jelly, but rather a beautiful San Marzano tomato confit. Owner Mike Buchinski's favorite? The Big Sexy, because it's big — and sexy — like him. The burger stands as a massive combo: two 8-ounce 1855 custom blend patties slathered in the house "Not So Secret" sauce and topped with white cheddar, four strips of apple cider smoked bacon, and a fried egg.
Charm City Burger Company
1136 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach954-531-0300
charmcityburgers.com
Not many people know the original Charm City was first conceived as a sandwich shop; a takeout type of place where you could grab a beer and some quick-go grub for a good price. But when the line started backing up with burger orders, owner and chef team Evan David and Mike Saperstein gave the menu a quick overhaul and turned the place into one of South Florida’s favorite burger havens. When it opened seven years ago, Charm City's motto was "five star chefs, five dollar burgers." Today, you'll still get just that: gourmet-style burgers topped with some amazingly well-paired, top-quality ingredients. The best part here is the burger patty itself. When the two recently launched their own meat purveying company, Sunshine Provisions, it gave them the chance to develop a new custom patty blend, and now they crank out a daily grind of brisket, chuck, short rib, and — a recent addition — hanger steak. Thanks to an old-fashioned burger-cutting machine, the patties they produce at Charm are lighter and fluffier than most, making for a juicer burger. Sure, these sometimes six-inch-tall burgers can be a little hard to handle, but as messy as they get, each is worth the extra napkins. That goes for the most popular, Cowboy Style, the restaurant's signature steak burger topped off with thick-cut bacon, aged cheddar, sautéed mushrooms, and grilled onions.
Kitchen
319 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach
561-249-2281
kitchenpb.com
So what's all the fuss at Kitchen about, especially since they expanded to a second location in North Palm Beach County? The answer is simple, which also happens to be Kitchen's motto: K-I-S-S, short for 'keep it simple stupid.' It's a favorite saying of chef/owner Matthew Byrne, and his wife/business partner Aliza, who only provide the freshest ingredients, and do as little to them as possible. That philosophy has been with Matthew, a private chef hailing from Pennsylvania, for a long time. Before he cooked in private homes — most recently for Tiger Woods — he worked in some of Philadelphia's most lauded fine dining establishments, including French landmark Le Bec Fin. To that end, the menu at Kitchen will change — although not entirely — every few months. Some dishes have stood the test of time, regulars refusing to let them swap out their favorite plate for a more new-fangled creation. One of those: the eponymous Kitchen burger, a simple marriage of grass-fed chuck, brisket, short rib, and — for the final "wow" — foie gras. It's topped with a single slice of melty American cheese and charred onions, making for an elevated burger experience you won't soon forget.
La Perrada Del Gordo
23039 FL-7, Boca Raton
561-672-1883
laperradadelgordo.com
La Perrada del Gordo first opened in 2003 at 2650 South Military Trail in West Palm Beach. Here, mother-and-son owners Elizabeth Novoa and Miguel Martinez fulfilled the American dream of opening their own business. What started as a food cart serving hot dogs is now — nearly two decades later — a thriving two-location brand delivering the duo's take on Colombian "gourmet street food." While most know them for the Perro Huevon, the quail egg-topped hot dog, their burger is a can't-miss item, too. Available four ways, a single- or double-beef or chicken patty comes topped with another serving of meat, this time your choice of shredded beef or chicken. From there, it's decked out with the same dressings that make their hot dog tops: pineapple puree, the house fancy sauce, garlic mayo, crispy potato sticks, and a thick layer of melty mozzarella. The entire thing is fitted into a massive steamed sesame bun, and wrapped in tinfoil (for your convenience). Try fitting the entire monstrosity in your mouth the first bite.
MEAT Eatery & Taproom
980 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton
561-419-2600
meateatery.com
These days, the word "craft" has lost its panache. It makes sense when pretty much every menu in South Florida menu is offering a specialty-crafted this, or artisan-made that. So, what makes something truly craft? Take a seat at the newly relocated M.E.A.T. Eatery & Tap Room in Boca Raton, and you'll find out. Here, pretty much everything is made in-house. Co-owner and executive chef George Patti ensures that his team smokes and grinds its own meats onsite, cuts and cures its own bacon, and offers their own house-made sausages and chorizo. Even the condiments — including a mango chipotle ketchup and caraway and beer mustard — are made fresh and from scratch. While it serves more than burgers, the burgers are among the best. So good, in fact, that they've won numerous awards and even got a feature on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Don't miss the popular Inside-Out Juicy Lucy Burger, a six-ounce pimento-cheese- and bacon-stuffed Angus patty topped with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Or go for Patti's signature dish, his own chorizo "Patti" sandwich, a five-ounce chorizo burger topped with American cheese and a lime cilantro aioli. Pair it all with the bistro fries fried in duck fat for an extra level of flavor.
Palm Beach Meats
4812 South Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
561-303-7595
palmbeachmeats.com
If you love high-end meats, you'll love the Wagyu picks — and burger — coming out of Palm Beach Meats. When it officially opens this summer at its new brick-and-mortar in West Palm Beach, the establishment will be more than a fancy butcher shop. According to local business partners and owners Eric San Pedro and Tony Sacchetillo — alongside chef/manager Emerson Frisbie — the novelty will be the experiences you'll find in addition to both product and service. Born amidst the pandemic, Palm Beach Meats currently operates via a weekly ordering service through its website, Facebook page, and Instagram feed, offering an easy way for South Florida food lovers to source rare or hard-to-find cuts of Japanese graded Wagyu that includes everything from ground beef and Denver steaks to strip, rib-eye, and picanha. But if you want something super simple, try their ground Wagyu. Every Saturday, locals have also been making regular treks to the Swank Specialty Produce weekly farmers' market to snag deals — and a taste of Frisbie's $5 wagyu sliders. GIven a simple seasoning and cooked in a hot steel pan with nothing but its own rendered fat, these sliders are best with just the fluffy Martin's potato roll they're served on, but are beautiful to behold with a slice of Swank's fresh lettuce and tomato. When the brick-and-mortar opens, customers can find those same sliders on a weekend-only chalkboard menu available for walk-up, fast-casual service. Offerings will present themselves with easy take-out or eat-in dishes from handhelds like sliders and Philly-inspired cheesesteaks to meatballs and Wagyu "flights" for tasting.
Tropical Smokehouse
3815 S Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach
561-323-2573
eattropical.com
Former Café Boulud executive chef Rick Mace is channeling his own inner barbecuing buccaneer with Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach. The menu here pays homage to the culture and foods of the Sunshine State via smoked fare. For Mace, that meant finding inspiration from Florida’s indiginous peoples, among the first to develop their own style of barbecue by smoking meats and fish on thatched palm fronds balanced over smoldering embers. Today, that philosophy shines with his smoked fish and gator offerings, the items that set this smokehouse apart from those peddling mainly meats. Of course, plenty of proteins offer that defining moment of Florida barbecue with flavors expressed with Floribbean- and Latin-inspired ingredients. Duroc pulled pork shoulder, for example, is braised in a sour orange mojo while jerk turkey is smoked over green oak like they do in Jamaica, meat redolent of allspice and molasses. The most American thing on the menu, however, is the smash burger. Make yours a double: two patties griddled to perfection, each topped with an oozing-melty slice of American cheese, and a choice of onion, pickle, and tomato. Before you even get a bite in, the standard Martin's potato roll soaks up just enough of the juice and fat, making the paper-and-foil casing it comes in extra handy. It's a simple burger, done right. What else would you expect from a classically-trained chef?
Tucker Duke's Lunchbox
1101 S. Powerline Rd., Deerfield Beach
954-708-2035
tuckerdukes.com
Back in the day, Tucker Duke's chef/owner Brian Cartenunto was so disgusted with the never-ending line at the McDonald's drive-through near his Niceville, Florida restaurant that he decided to put a burger on his menu. His would be the bigger and better interpretation of the Big Mac, a half-pound of custom-blended beef topped with fried onion rings, melted American cheese, mixed baby greens, celery-salted tomato, and his own pink Tucker sauce (Cartenuto's version of Cajun remoulade) all of it heaped between two toasted, onion-encrusted buns. While he didn't intend to open a burger place, that signature creation was so good that it prompted a move into a larger space to accommodate the resulting crowds. Today, his restaurants in Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach have earned a reputation as one of the best burger places in all of South Florida. If you've already had the essential Tucker, try the Mondragon — a burger patty topped with six slices of bacon, a fried egg, and two slices each of American and cheddar cheese. And if you're really hungry, there's also Tanner & The Unicorn, a three-quarter-pound burger with the toppings from both the Tucker Duke and the Mondragon, all fitted between two grilled cheese sandwiches.