Is This America's Best Burger?

The Daily Meal recently published our 101 Best Burgers in America for 2014, and in order to compile our ranking, we assembled a list of nearly 200 burgers from all across the country, from Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Hillsboro, Oregon. We then divided these burgers by region, and compiled a survey that was taken by a panel of 50 noted food writers, journalists, bloggers, and culinary authorities from across the country, asking them to vote for their favorites; limited, of course, to the ones that they'd tried. We tallied the results, and published the 101 stellar American burgers with the most votes.

It's the sign of a great food city when you can find two crazy restaurant waits within three blocks of each other. So it is in the case of Hot Doug's (closing later this year) and Kuma's Corner, some would argue Chicago's best hot dog and burger joints. It's not a quiet place to eat — the restaurant's ethos is "Support your community. Eat beef. Bang your head." But with all the pyrotechnics that go off when you take a bite, the heavy metal doesn't just make sense, it's a perfect fit. There are burgers with tomatillo salsa and fried chiles, burgers with Sriracha and grilled pineapple, but if you have to choose just one, go for the signature, the Kuma Burger: bacon, sharp Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a fried egg. It's not as though there's not enough flavor in the burger, but that egg really makes the dish.

For the title of best burger in Chicago, the Kuma Burger beat out the Griddled Burger at Edzo's (#53), and the cheeseburger at Au Cheval. Overall, it's nothing short of burger perfection, and it's the best burger in America. 

Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant/City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.