The Best Chain Restaurant Smash Burger Comes From This New York City Brand

The best smash burger is often the one in your hand, as crisp and savory as the griddled favorite can be. But there are also subcategories within that distinction. The best barbecue bacon smash burger, or the classic smash burgers that home cooks set their hearts on perfecting, right down to the special sauce. In search of a superlative restaurant chain version, Chowhound ranked six offerings from worst to best for your ordering ease, and 7th Street Burger's smashed cheeseburger came out on top.

The New York City-based chain had the sharpest edge among the half dozen smash burger contestants in our evaluation. In determining the winner, the patties were paramount across the board, with each one judged for both thinness and integrity (qualities that are not always mutually inclusive), as well as the crucial texture around the perimeter. Only 7th Street's entry had the proper density and the crunchy exterior to steamroll the competition. It even bested a couple of contenders that might be crossing your mind right now, as well as a sit-down spot that might not be.

With locations as-yet limited to a smattering around the East Coast, you can certainly find more ubiquitous burger chains than 7th Street, but not, in our estimation, better ones. For example, our last-place pick, Chili's, has outposts in the quadruple digits, but you wouldn't want to order the lackluster smash burger (which broke apart slightly, unlike 7th Street's patty) at any of them. Shake Shack and Five Guys outnumber 7th Street locations in droves, too. However, those behemoths only ranked fifth and third, respectively. For all its fame, Shake Shack's patty (which is thinner than most, if not explicitly labeled as a smash burger) was blander than 7th Street's; Five Guys' tasted better, but still couldn't match 7th Street's quality.

The top option's patty was ultimately so slimly squished that the beef peeked out from between 7th Street's buns while never breaking into so much as a single crumble. It was also cooked to an appropriate doneness, which can be a challenge with any smash burger because they finish so quickly, potentially drying out before they're even sandwiched. A sprinkle of salt further enlivened the ground beef where others fell short, and, unlike Shake Shack's condiment, 7th Street's house sauce emboldened each bite (a spicy ghost pepper version is also available). The other streamlined toppings — American cheese, pickles, and grilled onions — likewise enhanced the sandwich with a straightforward boldness. Curious carnivores can catch a taste of the original at the chain's flagship location in Manhattan.