Everybody loves Burger Week. At least, everyone on the Flyer editorial team certainly seems downright hungry to devour a burger (and write about the experience) for this annual cover story.
And why shouldn’t they be? Hamburgers are the black T-shirt of American cuisine — they go with almost everything. Whatever your palate, you can dress them up or down to your taste, even eschewing the meat if that’s what floats your burger boat (and as 20 percent of this story’s samplings do). This roundup of 10 Bluff City burgers runs the gamut, from the classic to the most gourmet of garnishes.
Whet your appetite with these helpings of hamburger, and then see page 17 for a full list of the Burger Week specials available around town. In the meantime, if, like Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, you find yourself “Cruisin’ for Burgers,” we hope this list will be your burgerific guide.
The Bishop Burger at Bishop
Bishop, inside Central Station Hotel at 545 South Main, feels both familiar and otherworldly: You’re in the heart of historic Memphis, but with a French twist. A light Eurodisco take on Françoise Hardy’s “Le Temps De L’Amour” echoes through the room when the burger enters, buttered brioche buns gleaming, a steak knife plunged into the center, and all else is forgotten. Much care has gone into this creation, which some food-savvy friends have dubbed the best burger in town.
The double patties are made with beef from Evans Farms, blended with filet and short rib trimmings, topped with cheddar cheese and “all natural, humane” bacon from Niman Ranch. And then there are the enhancements: a B1 sauce, “a play on A1 sauce,” essentially a red wine and butter demi-glace incorporating more bits of filet, and a tomato aioli. The latter is made with tomatoes fermented for several days in the Bishop kitchen, adding a subtle tartness to the profile.
If you opt for pommes frites, try them with the garlic and dijon aioli, which takes the French penchant for mayonnaise with fries and throws a mustardy bite into the proceedings. Merveilleuse! — Alex Greene
Bishop, 545 S. Main Street #111
Steakhouse Burger at RP Tracks
“Proud loser of the Best Burger in Memphis award for what, 30 years now?” That’s the text on an advertisement RP Tracks ran in this publication a few months back, poking fun at the fact that they’ve never made it to the top in the Flyer’s Best of Memphis “Best Burger” category. That may well be true, but their burgers are the business.
The standard RP Burger is a good go-to if you’re looking for a classic (8-oz. Angus patty and your choice of cheese, alongside a setup of lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles), but don’t stop there. The bacon cheddar and jalapeño burgers are both solid choices, but — being a fungi fanatic — I opt for the steakhouse. A thick, juicy beef patty is topped with grilled red onions and mushrooms, covered with melted Gouda shreds, and sandwiched in a potato bun. You can add the fixings to it, if you’d like, but with or without the extras, you’re gonna need to take a tip from Guy Fieri and do “the Hunch” — cradle it from underneath to hold it all together, tilt your head to the side, and open wide to get all that goodness in one bite. Any of Tracks’ burgers can be made with a Beyond Burger veggie patty, and they’re served with hand-cut fries. I go for the tots because that’s how I roll. — Shara Clark
RP Tracks, 3547 Walker Avenue
The Fye Junt at Plant Based Heat
It’s fire, fire, everywhere with one of Plant Based Heat’s signature burgers. The new vegan restaurant by Ralph Johnson brings in all the traditional flavors of Southern cooking, just without the meat. For burger time, I emerged slightly singed, but none the worse for wear, after diving into the Fye Junt burger.
The Beyond Meat patty is simply the canvas for the firestorm to come. Jalapeño peppers? Check. Vegan pepper jack cheese and spicy mayo? Absolutely. But instead of a simply overwhelming heat wave, PBH’s secret sauce, coupled with Memphis Sweet Heat BBQ sauce, brings the spice back down to a manageable level just before things get out of hand. For good measure, toss in fresh spinach, tomato, and caramelized onions.
The Fye Junt fresh off the grill sure feels like messy and greasy goodness, with a texture akin to biting into a regular ol’ beef patty. Even if you’re a devout carnivore, like me, the Fye Junt will satisfy, I promise. Just maybe make sure there’s a glass of water nearby. For it’s all in the name: The Fye Junt truly brings plant-based heat. — Samuel X. Cicci
Plant Based Heat, 669 S. Highland Street
Ostrich Burger at Off the Hoof
I’d heard about two great places for a burger in Arlington — Off the Hoof and Slingshot Charlie’s. I planned to try both and the best burger would get a write-up. By default Off the Hoof won the competition. Slingshot Charlie’s was shuttered for the week so that the owner and staff could celebrate the Fourth of July. Don’t fret, Charlie should be slinging shots by the time you read this.
At Off the Hoof, I had planned to have the $5 house burger. But then I saw the “Big Game” menu. I had to go there. It boasted buffalo, elk, wild boar, ostrich, and venison burgers. I was informed that fresh ostrich meat was shipped in on Tuesdays and Fridays. This tasty trek was on a Friday. Score.
I made a mistake. It tasted like beef. I expected more. There were some interesting sides ordered — Frito Pie (Fritos corn chips, chili, and cheese) and Freta Fries (hand-cut battered fries with feta cheese and buffalo sauce).
I wish I’d tried the $5 burger. The place was full of regulars. You don’t get regulars with a $19 ostrich burger that tastes like beef. Google informed me that ostrich was a lot healthier than beef and an ostrich looks like Big Bird.
My apologies to Sesame Street, but I took that as a win. — Julie Ray
Off the Hoof, 12013 US-70, Arlington, Tennessee
Mr. Good Burger at Roxie’s Grocery
“I hope you don’t have any work to do this afternoon.”
I’m standing next to Daris Leatherwood, chef and owner of the Sum Light Bistro food truck. We’re in line at Roxie’s Grocery, waiting for our orders. The cooks are presiding over a full griddle. It’s lunchtime, and we’re behind a big order destined for workers at nearby St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Roxie’s is an Uptown landmark, the kind of place where you take time to talk to your neighbors. Leatherwood’s been telling me about launching his food truck when he asks what I ordered. I’m getting the Mr. Good Burger, the H-bomb of the Bluff City burger scene. I tell him I’ve got to write about it once I’ve eaten it. “You’re gonna have to take a nap,” he says.
The Mr. Good Burger comes wrapped in a foil package that’s bigger than both my fists — and I’m a bass player with long fingers. It’s a double bacon cheeseburger with all the trimmings, but that generic description doesn’t convey the sheer magnitude of this classic. The four strips of super-thick bacon are bent double and inserted between the patties. I have to unhinge my jaw to take the first bite and blast off to carnivore heaven. They call it “Mr. Good Burger” for a reason. This is the Platonic ideal of the two-patty griddle burger, a mixed-meat masterpiece.
Now I’ve got to lay down. The things I do for journalism … — Chris McCoy
Roxie’s Grocery, 520 N. 3rd Street
The Bshop Wagyu Burger at the Beauty Shop
My burger of choice, the Bshop Wagyu Burger at the Beauty Shop, is daunting, understandably pricey, and a thing of wonder. The $12 delight comes with a tasty special sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickles, and onions. I ordered bacon, avocado, and mushrooms on top of that (75 cents each) because I could. Cheeses available are American (my choice), cheddar, pimento cheese, provolone, and gruyère. And you can get an egg in the mix for another buck.
Once you’ve outfitted it, you’ll find it difficult to deploy in the traditional way. There is a top and bottom torta roll, but everything in the middle makes it difficult to chomp without dislocating a jaw, so you may want to have utensils at the ready. Still, going at the mushrooms with fingers or the avocado with a fork doesn’t diminish the pleasure in the slightest. The beef is sublime and the veggies are yummy. It is fairly typical of what you get at the Beauty Shop — or any of Karen Carrier’s eateries — in bringing forth the freshest ingredients and splendidly prepared dishes. — Jon W. Sparks
The Beauty Shop, 966 S. Cooper Street
Firecracker Burger at Clancy’s Cafe
I can’t resist saying the Firecracker Burger at Clancy’s Cafe bursts with flavor. But it really does. It’s delicious.
But I won’t say “explode” because it’s not one of those so-hot-it’s-inedible food items.
“It is two 8-ounce patties, ground beef, that’s stuffed with our homemade pimento cheese and pickled jalapeños,” says Tyler Clancy, owner of the Red Banks, Mississippi restaurant.
“And then we fry the burger, of course. It’s on a toasted sourdough bun with our hand-breaded onion rings. The onion rings are on the burger. And then we do our in-house queso cheese dip on all of it.”
The burger is just one of those things that was so good it stayed around. “This was like a Fourth of July special probably five, six years ago. It had great success. People really liked it. It eventually made its way on the menu.”
And, again, this isn’t some fiery burger that will make you run for water. “I would just describe it as more of a mild to medium heat. The jalapeños aren’t very hot. So it’s more of a spiciness than it is a real tongue-burner.” — Michael Donahue
Clancy’s Cafe, Hwy. 178 West, Red Banks, Mississippi
Chipotle Black Bean Burger at Evelyn & Olive
As a Catholic, I’ve made my fair share of mandatory confessions, but this is, perhaps, my most embarrassing one yet: I tried my first burger in 2019, not as a curious toddler but as a semi-functioning 20-year-old picky-eater. It was a veggie burger on a certain local college campus, where my options were limited, my standards sinking, my expectations low, and, man, that burger was sinfully bad. Thankfully, I had the wherewithal not to give up just yet on expanding my palate, and I tried the Chipotle Black Bean Burger at Evelyn & Olive. And hallelujah, what a delight!
The ciabatta bun is lightly toasted, and the black bean patty, topped with tomato and lettuce, has just the right amount of crisp. But the mango-barbecue sauce is the real star of the show with a smoky but sweet flavor. Plus, the dish came with a side, so I also devoured some fried plantains, which mmmm, I could snack on all day and night and the next morning, too. Overall, the black bean burger is pretty simple compared to the other Jamaican and Southern dishes on the menu, but Evelyn & Olive can never disappoint. — Abigail Morici
Evelyn & Olive, 630 Madison Avenue
No. 1 Farm Burger at Farm Burger
The eponymous sandwich at Farm Burger in Crosstown Concourse is exactly what you’d want something called a “farm burger” to be — fat, juicy, but tight enough in its bun to be easily managed by hand. Cooked to your order (I like mine medium well), the patty I had was topped with cheddar and a generous layer of caramelized onions and marinated in the establishment’s “f.b. sauce” (mayonnaise, garlic, and a touch of chili were some of the recognizable components). The bun encasing all these goodies was an integral part of the package, as well, its breaded halves neither melted on nor floppily separate.
The burger, which is served in a basket, can be further customized more or less to the customer’s taste, and a variety of sides is available. I was happy enough with the basic Farm Burger as normally prepared, but I was curious enough about what was billed as “pimento cheese fries” to give that menu item a try. It turned out to be a delectable (and generously proportioned) selection of french fries smothered in melted pimento cheese and crowned with sliced jalapeños. Forks are available. You can eat as many of the peppers — or as few — as you choose. It may depend on what your drink choice is; mine was a glass of a refreshingly light pilsner beer. Standard teas and soft drinks can be had as well. — Jackson Baker
Farm Burger, 1350 Concourse Avenue #175
Assassin Burger at Wally Hatchet’s
Drive east past the Malco Summer Drive-In, cross the Wolf River, pass Golf and Games, and drive past the Shoney’s graveyard of Summer and Sycamore View. Find self-control enough to pass Elena’s Taco Shop, cross Elmore Road, and you’ll find Wally Hatchet’s, nestled in a strip mall with a how-can-this-still-be-Memphis address.
The lunch-rush crowd was finishing up as I entered. Customer graffiti covered the walls in between colorful prints of Hank Jr., Merle Haggard, and the like. The aesthetic was NASCAR-dad man-cave with a collage of art (like a painted board that reads “rock me baby”), a dented piece of a race car, a giant Harley-Davidson sign, and a toilet-roll holder shaped like a revolver. One wall was dedicated to military veterans.
Given the drive, I wanted the wildest burger Wally Hatchet’s had to offer. The Assassin Burger was tasty but mild, given an ingredient list that included pepper jack cheese, grilled jalapeños, and pepper sauce that tasted an awful lot like A1.
Wally Hatchet’s won’t become my next burger obsession. But, if you’re out that way, give it a try. — Toby Sells
Wally Hatchet’s, 6439 Summer Avenue
MIchael Donahue