Could the best burger in the world be found in Madrid, and in Valencia??

Bc besides Martin’s potato rolls, they make for fine burger buns: sturdy & floffy, and hopefully not too sweet.

@Phoenikia, I can certainly understand being put off by food poisoning! I am wary of oysters now for the same reason. Beyond that, it’s just a matter of taste. I still enjoyed the well-done burgers at my local.

Brioche for me is an occasional indulgence, and I can see using a brioche bun with something delicate and complementary, like shrimp salad. For me a burger is usually a mismatch; it’s already oleaginous, and the juices make the bun soggy and prone to disintegration. Of course, the same thing is true of standard industrial hamburger buns, unless the patty is well-done. Like @ZivBnd, I lean towards buns with some structure, but not too much.

For something that sounds so simple, burgers are more of a balancing act than it appears. I love Gruyère, but I don’t like it in burgers. I hate American processed cheese, but I grudgingly admit that it is a good match for some burgers.

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Brioche sometimes can be too much on top of too much. We have a couple places that insist on using brioche for hot lobster rolls. So, it’s a butter toasted brioche filled with lobster drenched in melted butter. While this may appeal to some, I find it to be too rich and unbalanced. I eat a couple bites of the brioche, but then end up just taking a fork to the lobster.

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As with any food item, it all comes down to personal preference :woman_shrugging:t2:

That’s why these “best” lists are so silly. It’s the author’s favorites, that’s all.

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erica1,
Madrid has become simply inundated with burger joints lately (in addition to the ubiquitous 5 Guys), and a new list of “the best burgers in Madrid” comes out regularly in the press and more lately as International Hamburger Day was celebrated on May 28. I’ve never heard of number 6 on this list, but there are so very many these days…

For me, one of the best burgers in Madrid is the “original” American burger spot, still going strong since 1981. No frills, no gimmicks, no smash, just a New York burger with a Texas twist, originated by New Yorker Alfred Graus. It’s “Alfredo’s Barbecue” with 2 outposts, one on Lagasca in Salamanca and another up in Chamartín at Juan Hurtado.

Alfredo, known locally as the “hamburger king” died in 2020 at age 79, but his widow keeps the torch.
alive.
Alfredo arrived in Madrid in 1963 when serving at what was then the US Air Force base at Torrejón and learned his trade from the base cooks.

Most Americian students on their year abroad here have experienced and have fond memories of Alfredo’s BBQ.

The late gastronomic critic of El Mundo, Víctor de la Serna, raved about Alfredo’s burgers in an article and made him a local celebrity, a local legend. He was the first to bring an authentic American bacon cheeseburger with barbeque sauce (a secret recipe) to the city.

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Or maybe… just maybe they like to mix it up occasionally. There’s room for a lot of burgers in my tummy.

Today’s single smashburger with cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato, extra grilled jalapeños. Enough “crap” to be absolutely delicious :yum:

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great name!

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