After 5: In Search of the Burger

We are reminded of this every time we go overseas. During a Sister Cities trip to Japan, Paul was so overcome by a craving for a hamburger that he took a side trip to the local McDonald’s, a place he rarely frequents in America. Sure, it was a soy burger, and the question was, “Would you like rice with that?” – but it sufficed at the time.

So where do we go when the hamburger craving hits at home?

That appears to be the $64 million question in Springfield – especially with the loss of Harpo’s, which won awards for having the best burger in town for years. Many of our hamburger cravings are satisfied by the chains that we have, in some cases, embraced as purely local – after all, Steak n Shake has been a Springfield landmark for longer than most people have lived here.

We spent months in search of a good hamburger in Springfield, even extending our comparisons outside the city limits. We asked friends, associates and strangers the question and usually heard, “Hmmm, can’t say I’ve had a good one lately.” In our quest we picked up a few recommendations and narrowed the list to those restaurants that popped up more than once.

By the time it was all said and done, we consumed 30 hamburgers and side dishes that included chips, fries, onion rings and calamari. We visited more than a dozen restaurants from north Springfield to south of Branson. We talked to easily 100 people about their favorite burgers. We narrowed it down to Springfield’s top three burgers for taste, top three for atmosphere, top three for sheer personality and top three for price. Keep in mind, these are our opinions, and proprietors should not take revenge on the editors, staff or publisher of Springfield Business Journal.

Week 1: Ebbets Field

Paul K. Logsdon is director of public relations and publications for Evangel University, and Kay Logsdon is director of the Food Channel for Noble. They have written restaurant reviews for 25 years.[[In-content Ad]]