Comments (4) Best Hamburger - 2007

Royal Castle

Burgers stuffed with foie gras; burgers made from ground Kobe beef (destroying the whole point of this already butter-tender meat); burgers made from, and topped with, all manner of horrifyingly healthy stuff; burgers like the $99 double-truffle creation at DB's Bistro in Manhattan.... The chichi burger thing is one of today's hottest food trends. And we're so, so over it. For a taste that'll take you back to simpler, greasier times, hit this burger joint for a six-pack of old-fashioned sliders. Royal Castle's burgers are two-bite burgers — like the Northeast's White Castles, or the Deep South's Krystals, but homegrown. In 1965 there were 287 shops in the chain, founded by Miami's "Hamburger King" William Singer; they were found throughout Florida, Georgia, Lousiana, and Tennessee. The chain no longer exists, but there is still this one independently run survivor in town that serves up classic thin patties sandwiched in comforting cottony-soft buns. The burgers' protein component is, admittedly, minimal. The beef patties are mostly just little edible coasters to hold the fried onions, full of good griddle grease, that are the main flavor component of all sliders. And an honest all-American junk food flavor it is. The price: 80 cents (90 cents for a cheeseburger), a bargain even when you eat a half-dozen.