On the basis of burgers alone, I am going to say that Culver's is the best fast food burger one can get in the U.S.A. Now granted, I have not tried all of the smaller regional burger chains, and I suspect other folks are in the same boat, which is why I believe Culver's is tragically underrated when people discuss the best fast food burgers in the country that has been built on fast food burgers.
When I first came to the midwest and saw the friendly blue signs, I kinda gave the establishment a shrug. Butterburgers sounded appealing, but they also sounded gimmicky. Yawn.
Then I tried one.
Oh my! There is something about these patties that reminds me of one of my previous favorite fast food burgers before the chain grew and expanded. And that something, is their intense beefiness.
So beefy.
And you may say, it's a burger. It's made out of beef. Of course it's beefy. But no. It's more. It's an intensity of flavor and aroma. And I gotta think that Culver's knows this, which is why they put the patties on the top of their sandwich builds. Lettuce, tomato, and such are placed on the bottom bun, with the beef and the cheese on top.
Their aromatic intensity is not to be trifled with! Do not cover up that delicious beef with "toppings". Let it shine!
Which is not to say the burger isn't improved with cheese and vegetables. It is. And those choices at Culver's have been top notch as well.
It's the double cheeseburger that has my heart. But I am also relatively new to the chain, so I'm continuing to explore the options. On this, my first visit to the newest Ann Arbor location, I tried my first sourdough patty melt.
While I love a god patty melt, I almost never order them, as thicker patties and easily overcook when grilled between bread and cheese. However, this double smash burger with fried onions solves that problem beautifully.
Delicious, but still not my favorite thing on the menu. I'll likely skip this one moving forward, but might lean on it periodically as a way of keeping things interesting.
This specific Culver's is lacking the QR codes on the tables, so if you want to order some custard after finishing your burger, you've got to stand up, go back to the counter, and order again. It's fine, but just inconvenient enough to knock this location down a star.
Don't sleep on the custard either. Although I can't confess to being a fan of the salted caramel topping. The peanut butter topping is tasty though. But it's the custard that's the winner. Thick and eggy, with a cleaner finish than one might expect.
The store was clean. Speed of service was as expected. Staff were friendly and patient. I do wish there were some kind of shades on the windows. In the evening, it was hard to find a table inside not in direct sunlight. It was a nice night and people were eating outside in the shade, but patios in parking lots just aren't my jam. read more