Burger Quest

Burger Quest

By Cara Rank

Photo by Kelli Baxendale

A few years ago, my in-laws decided to hunt down the best burger in San Francisco, where they've lived for more than 40 years. Their quest is simple: every Sunday night, they try a different burger somewhere in the city. With dozens and dozens of restaurants there, I don't know how they're going to find the best one. And maybe that never-ending quest is the point.

Loving a good idea, and loving a reason to eat a good burger, I've decided to undertake a similar search in Jackson Hole (though yesterday it was noted that I also must try a few places in Teton Valley). With comparatively fewer restaurants than San Francisco, I figure I can actually find the best burger in this modernized cowtown. So I started with what I think is the best, the burger special at the Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse.

When the $5 burger and Pabst Blue Ribbon special (now $6 because of that dang recession) debuted in 2006, I remember not wanting to tell anyone about it. After all, with only about 40 burgers available between 5:30 and 7 p.m. daily (6:30 p.m. in the summer), and only available in the bar, I was afraid the deal would get too popular, and I could never get one when I wanted it.

Chef Kevin Gries, who opened the restaurant in 2003, said he started the deal to find a way to keep his steak trimmings out of the trash. "After two years, you can only feed employees [so often] and only give friends so much beef," he said. "I was throwing away so much beef that I decided I gotta start doing something."

He bought a meat grinder and began turning the trimmings from ribeyes, tenderloins, sirloins, and more into possibly the most delicious burger ever (but I'll reserve judgement until the end of my quest). The beef is local, sourced from Double R Ranch and Snake River Farms. The bread comes from a few blocks away at Eleaven.

What makes these burgers taste like a million bucks? Gries says it's his meat-to-fat ratio. "Most places serve 80-20," he said. "Ours are 70-30."

Okay, I didn't say I was trying to fit into my prom dress again.

Really, this one is so good because it's moist and juicy, the kind of burger that will drip down your hands and require several napkins during consumption. (The worst thing in my mind is a dry burger. It's like putting a towel in your mouth.) I also like it because it's not too bready, which again can detract from the flavor and dry out the patty. The steakhouse burger is a simple classic, topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The flavor of the burger can really shine. If I had one complaint, it would be the fat content. But I realize that's just a hang-up I have to get over to continue my quest.

And, you really can't beat the price: $6 for a fat, juicy burger and a PBR. Extras such as cheese, grilled onions, and French fries are an additional $1 each. But you don't need 'em.

How, you ask, am I going to determine which is actually the best burger? I've developed my own rubric by which to judge these burgers, based on a scale from 1 to 5. Leave a comment if you have other suggestions.

Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse burger
Flavor 5
Seasoning 4
Density 5
Patty size 5
Fat content 3
Bread 5
Condiments 5

Cara Rank is the state and county reporter for the Jackson Hole News&Guide. This is her first blog post at LifeInTheTetons.com.

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About This Blog

Michael McCoy

Editor Michael McCoy is a native Wyomingite who, through no choice of his own, moved to Iowa (“the third greatest state in the nation,” he says) when he was only a few weeks old. After high school graduation, he beelined it back to the University of Wyoming, where he earned a degree in Anthropology and the nickname of “Mac.” In addition to his Teton-area editorial duties, Mac works for the Missoula, Montana-based Adventure Cycling Association and writes freelance articles and books about the outdoors. “But that’s enough about me,” he says. “This blog is about you. I will prime the pump with an entry now and then--but ultimately, we hope it will be our readers, both locals and out-of-staters, who keep the streams of conversation flowing.”

Contributing blogger Susan Traylor Lykes was born and raised in the Denver area, a third-generation Coloradan. She spent much of her childhood in the mountains, and took up fly fishing at the tender age of ten, wielding her grandfather’s old bamboo rod and Pflueger reel. After graduating from the University of Vermont, Susan earned a master's degree in Town Planning from the University of Montana. For the past decade, she has focused on nonprofit land conservation and land use, serving on the boards of the Land Trust Alliance, the Teton Regional Land Trust, and the Orton Family Foundation.
Susan and her husband, Mayo, call both sides of the Tetons home. They are enthusiastic travelers and outdoorsmen — hiking, skiing, fly fishing, and bird hunting.

Contributing blogger Jeanne Anderson is a Cheyenne native and graduate of the University of Wyoming who has spent the last 25 years as a writer, PR consultant, columnist, and editor. Her passions include hiking, cooking reading, traveling, community, and creativity (she’s in her third term on the Idaho Commission on the Arts). She credits her broad practical streak to her parents, who started the first travel agency in the Cowboy State—from them she learned “every bathroom in the world is down the hall and to the left.” Jeanne and her husband Peter started Dark Horse Books in Driggs in 1995; their two-year experiment lasted 14 years. Now out from behind the bookstore counter, she’s looking forward to many new adventures.