Burger Friday: Make a list, check it twice, with these 35 don't-miss Twin Cities burgers

Here's a quick way to access the subject of 35 installments of Burger Friday. Click away.

December 17, 2016 at 3:23PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

On most Fridays, I recommend a Twin Cities hamburger (well, it's usually a cheeseburger) by placing it in the Burger Friday spotlight.

I'm hip-deep into a project that's publishing soon, and didn't have time to burger it up this week. Instead, I've sorted through the past 18 or so months of Burger Friday posts and pulled together what I hope is an easy-to-use guide to the burgers I've admired. (That's the Revival burger, pictured, above).

Two notes: I'm ignoring the Burger Friday posts where the subjects are, for whatever reason, no longer available. And remember: this isn't a Best Burgers in the Twin Cities summation (which is why there's no nod to the Kenwood, or HauteDish, or Lake & Irving, or Nightingale, or the Chef Shack Ranch, or the many, many other first-rate burgers that I've hailed and dissected during the nearly four years and 100-plus installments of Burger Friday consumption); this is a highlights reel that only reaches back into the Burger Friday archives to roughly mid-2015.

I've called upon a few sorting mechanisms. Let me know if you'd like to see others; send suggestions my way via rick.nelson@startribune.com.

Late night cravings? Hit up 112 Eatery, Nighthawks, Constantine and Red Cow.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Exotic: There's the Beef Wellington Burger at Reve Bistro & Bar, the sort-of Sloppy Joe at Dakota Junction, the first-rate Filet-O-Fish imposters at Sea Change (pictured, above) and Eastside, the beef/elk burger at 6Smith and the goat burger at -- no surprise here -- the Curious Goat food truck.

Veggie: It's all about the Birchwood Cafe.

Bargains: One of the best is the happy hour price at Victory 44. Constantine chef Mike DeCamp also keeps prices low, a reflection, no doubt, of his faithful homage to McDonald's.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Just plain amazing: The diner-style double-decker cheeseburger with bacon at Revival. The boffo "brisket" burger at Barnes & Noble Kitchen. The cheesed-up monster at Wyn 65 food truck (pictured, above). The single-patty wonder at Constantine.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The superb straight-up beauty (with four-star fries) at Meritage (pictured, above). The once-a-week (Wednesday only) and worth-the-wait cheeseburger at Lowry Hill Meats; ditto the Tuesday-only special at Blackbird Cafe that's also a big happy hour hit.

Here's a geographic rundown:

At the Mall of America in Bloomington: Burger Burger and Shake Shack.

Columbia Heights: Miller's

Stillwater: Reve Bisto & Bar

Wayzata: 6Smith

Woodbury: Wayback Burgers

Burger Friday will return to its regularly scheduled format next week.

about the writer

about the writer

Rick Nelson

Reporter

Rick Nelson joined the staff of the Star Tribune in 1998. He is a Twin Cities native, a University of Minnesota graduate and a James Beard Award winner. 

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