Twenty South Sound bar burgers to try before you die

Bar noshing doesn’t get any better than a big, cheesy gut bomb of a burger. It’s the anytime accompaniment to a cold pint at your favorite watering hole.

I’ve spent the past six months touring South Sound bars, taverns and pubs in search of perfect bar burgers. (Yeah, I know it’s a tough gig I’ve got here.) What follows is my report of the top 20 bar burgers I ate – including my short list for the five burgers you’ve got to eat before you die.

I compiled this report largely based on recommendations from TNT Diner blog readers. Other recommendations came from chefs and foodies about town.

I set up a burger mission statement from the beginning: The best burgers will be constructed on rolls that are soft and squishy, but firm enough to hold up to the last bite; bonus points if it’s buttered and grilled. A big, beefy patty should drip burger juice when given a good squeeze. Grill marks or a touch of char earn more points. Gooey cheese should glue together the layers, along with a smear of tangy burger spread, mayo or flavored aioli. Cool, crisp lettuce, tomatoes and onions need to provide just enough crunchy texture and crisp flavor to offset the rich meat and cheese.

Full disclosure: I’m no burger purist. Chorizo, Gorgonzola, roasted peppers, caramelized onion aioli, bacon relish – if it’s rich or textural or flavor packed, I’m a fan.

Note: Many of these burgers are served only in bars. Call first to see if there is an age restriction.

And, here are my top 20 burger picks in the South Sound, starting with five burgers to eat before you die.

1. The Asado Burger with yucca fries ($13.75)

Where: Asado, 2810 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-7770, asadotacoma.com

Is a burger a burger if it’s made with pork? The heck it is. How about a burger made with two kinds of pork? I call that perfection. This is one of the best burgers you might bite into if you’re a fan of complex flavors, salty dimension and a healthy dose of spice. The Asado burger started with a patty made of ground chorizo (a smoky Spanish pork sausage) and seasoned chuck. Smoked onions and bell peppers added a hefty flavor layer. Pan-fried provolone cheese was a brilliant textural touch when paired with crispy fried Serrano ham. A brioche bun from Macrina Bakery came glazed with a smoky poblano aioli. You won’t find creamier fries around town than the yucca fries, which are thick-sliced fries made from yucca root, deep fried and tossed with truffle oil and finished with sel gris, then arranged into a fun little Jenga stack on the plate. Executive Chef Joel Mertens said the burger is a top seller on Asado’s bar menu.

2. The Walker Burger with house fries ($12)

Where: Maxwell’s Restaurant + Lounge, 454 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253-683-4115, maxwells-tacoma.com

Executive Chef Matt Colony said he sticks with a higher fat content for his Walker burger for one reason: flavor. The result is a beefy, luscious half-pound patty that’s served on a toasted brioche roll from Macrina Bakery. Hoffman’s Vermont white cheddar cheese was only partially melted over the patty, which helped the flavorful aged cheddar retain its nutty nuance. A slather of grilled onion aioli added sweet, fatty flavor. “I love grilled onions on a burger, but they wind up on the plate. The aioli is kind of the idea of getting the flavor, but not a big mess on your plate,” said Colony of the house-made mayo he combines with finely diced grilled onions, garlic, rosemary and oregano. Colony eschews traditional lettuces for peppery whole arugula leaves to cut the richness of the burger and add a spicy bite. House fries are russets that have been thick cut and blanched and are simply seasoned. This was the TNT Diner readers’ most-nominated burger.

3. Cheeseburger sliders with garlic fries ($11)

Where: Pacific Grill, 1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-627-3535, www.pacificgrilltacoma.com

A small package at Pacific Grill comes with big flavor. Chef/owner Gordon Naccarato first made the sliders when he worked at the Monkey Bar in Los Angeles in the 1990s. The two cheeseburger sliders contain about a quarter pound of juicy certified Angus ground chuck between them. The flavor is built on a soft Hawaiian sweet roll that’s buttered and griddled. A $3 upgrade buys slippery slices of avocado and thick, chewy slices of Nueske’s bacon, which hands-down is some of the best bacon money can buy, said Naccarato. Next is a layer of melted vintage Tillamook white cheddar. The burgers are finished with a slather of a tangy house dressing that’s tinged with just a touch of horseradish for a neat little flavor sting. Fries are some of the best in town: thinly sliced shoestring potatoes fried crispy with whole garlic cloves and crispy-crunchy sprigs of fried rosemary and sage leaves.

4. The Stump Jumper with sweet potato fries ($11)

Where: The Hub, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253-683-4606, http:// harmonbrewingco.com/hub/index.html

Executive Chef Treff Baker said the Stump Jumper is the Hub’s most popular of six burger choices. A grilled bun held a swipe of garlicky herb aioli. A half-pound beef patty was licked by flame and covered in a gooey coating of gorgonzola that was a salty yin to the smoky yang of chewy, thick bacon. Green leaf lettuce, tomatoes and onion finished the burger. The Hub gets bonus points for inventive accompaniments. Burgers come with a choice of excellent fries (a combination of regular and sweet potato) or substitute risotto, salad or garlic mashed potatoes for a dollar.

5. Right spot blue cheese bacon cheeseburger with hand-cut fries ($9.75)

Where: The Right Spot, 5119 Pacific Highway E., Fife, 253-922-7371

When I entered the dim, downscale bar and saw the buckets catching drips from the roof, I wondered whether I had been punked by several TNT Diner blog readers who were adamant that the Right Spot serves some of the finest burgers in South Sound. When the burger arrived, I knew exactly why they had recommended it. Forget the lack of atmosphere, the blue cheese bacon burger was over-the-top delicious and executed with beefy precision. A perfectly buttered and grilled oversized Kaiser roll was laden with a patty so huge it spilled over the bun’s edges. I appreciated that the big burger came cut in half. A thick coating of blue cheese pushed the flavor pungent, while thick, chewy bacon threw in a pinch of smoky flavor. Crisp tomato, iceberg lettuce and red onion finished the towering burger. Skins-on fries were hand cut and deliciously creamy.

6. Mushroom Swiss Burger ($12)

Where: Crown Bar, 2705 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4177, www.crownbartacoma.com

Crown Bar owner Charlie McManus gets an extra nod for using meat from Thundering Hooves, a Walla Walla farm known for raising excellent cattle. The patty may skew too lean for your palate, as it did for mine, but I make an allowance because the beef is exceptionally clean in flavor. The mushroom Swiss burger came on a soft bun (it would have been better had it been grilled). A tangy burger spread settled thick on top of gooey Swiss melted over the flame-grilled burger that was finished with romaine lettuce, red onions and a meaty slice of tomato. House-made pickles, fragrant with juniper berries and anise, added aromatic pucker. Skins-on handcut fries with chipotle ketchup pushes the dish to the top of this list. (Tip: Burgers are discounted to $7.99 on Wednesdays.)

7. The Harmongous ($12.59)

Where: The Harmon Brewery, 1938 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-383-2739, http://harmon brewingco.com/brewery_eatery.html

The Harmongous weighs in big with a giant 3/4-pound patty on a sturdy bun. This enormous burger gets double duty cheese – Swiss and Cheddar – and a hearty layer of sautéed mushrooms. Chewy bacon upped the flavor considerably. Green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and three dill pickle slices added crunch to the burger, which came with the Harmon’s outstanding crispy garlic fries.

8. The Bite Burger ($16)

Where: Bite Restaurant in the Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, 253-238-8000, www.hotelmuranotacoma.com

The Bite burger on the evening bar menu came with a half-pound Kobe patty tinged with grill marks. A layer of sweet comes from a toasted brioche bun that was smeared with what makes this burger memorable: a puckery, sweet, rich bacon relish. I picked gruyere from a choice of cheeses that also included cheddar, mozzarella and gorgonzola. Soft butter lettuce gave the burger a velvety mouthfeel. Sliced roma tomatoes and red onions completed the towering burger that was speared with a baby gherkin. House-made fries on the side were crispy-creamy-tasty.

9. Kobe Beef Burger ($9.50)

Where: The West End Pub, 3840 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253-759-2896, www.westend pubandgrill.com

A half-pound Kobe patty weeped plenty of juicy goodness with barely a squeeze. It was slathered with pungent blue cheese ($1.25 upcharge, or your choice of cheese for a 75 cents) and got an additional flavor boost from chipotle mayo. Crispy lettuce, tomatoes and onions offered relief from the fatiness of the beef and cheese.

10. South Hill Stuffer Bacon Cheeseburger ($10.95)

Where: Cheers South Hill, 4110 S. Meridian, Puyallup, 253-770-0461, www.cheers bar.us

At Cheers, the burgers come stuffed: bacon-cheddar cheese, ham and American, mushroom Swiss, and jalapeno-pepperjack. I bit into the bacon-cheese stuffer and reveled in a behemoth half-pound burger dressed with lettuce, tomato and a sweet onion relish. A sturdy onion roll enveloped the half-pound patty and stuffing. Within one bite into the charred, juicy beef, the cheese began to flow out of the center of the burger in gooey channels. Eating the burger at a slight angle helped contain the cheese. Maybe the bacon should be woven into the patty so it can act as a cheese dam.

11. The Bison Burger ($10.95)

Where: Engine House No. 9, 611 N. Pine St., Tacoma, 253-272-3435, www.ehouse9.com

Bison can be a lean meat, but the Engine House’s version is succulent. A touch of char and perfect grill marks nudged the flavor, along with a thick layer of melted blue cheese crumbles that turned out to be a natural mate for bison. A crunchy toasted bun held a slight smear of tangy burger sauce and was topped with crisp iceberg, white onions, tomatoes and pickle chips. The tater tots on the side were unremarkable, although tasty in an elementary school lunch sort of way.

12. El Gaucho Burger ($16)

Where: El Gaucho, 2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-1510, www.elgaucho.com

This tall tease of a bacon cheeseburger made me swoon a year ago, but a recent visit yielded a too dry half-pound ground prime Angus tenderloin patty. The burger comes on a substantial roll and is a towering burger with smoky, thick-sliced, chewy bacon, mildly spiked pepperjack cheese and not enough of a smear of the outstanding aioli that comes with a peppery tongue tease of chipotle heat. Red onions, tomato and (too thick a layer of) iceberg lettuce finished the burger.

13. Katie Downs bacon cheeseburger ($9.99)

Where: Katie Downs, 3211 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253-756-0771, katiedowns.com

The grill-marked bacon cheeseburger came on a grilled bun. It was moderately juicy, but the beefy flavor was understated for my palate. Chewy, smoky bacon upped the flavor. The plate was garnished with assemble-your-own toppings of shredded iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and onions. The tomato and chile-spiked relish pushed the burger onto my noteworthy list with its crunchy, slightly spicy and sweet sourness that aligned nicely with the bacon.

14. The Parkway bacon cheeseburger ($7.50)

Where: The Parkway Tavern, 313 N. I St., Tacoma, 253-383-8748

The daily specials are worth a visit alone: cheeseburgers with olive tapenade or locally made goat cheese. The standards here are done well, too. The bacon cheeseburger towers in layers: a sesame-studded bun with a half-pound patty topped with thick, chewy bacon, gooey melted cheddar cheese, thick rings of crisp white onions, a beefy slice of tomato, and a layer of still-cold green leaf lettuce. The lightly grilled bun was finished with just a swipe of mayo on the bottom bun. One quibble: A sturdier bun would hold up better to the final bite.

15. The Ricardo Burger ($12.99)

Where: The Ram Brewery Restaurant, Tacoma, Puyallup South Hill, Puyallup Sunrise, Lakewood and Lacey. For addresses and contact information, visit www.theram.com.

The Ram’s Ricardo is a Cuban sandwich twist on a juicy hamburger. The burger started with a soft, squishy long roll with a thick, meaty, juicy burger patty topped with melted Swiss. (Note: my burger came with significant pink without my asking.) Pork gets double duty here. Chewy, salty ham was layered on top of the burger, and a pile of shredded pork topped the ham. Crunchy horseradish dill pickle chips hit my nose before my mouth. Dijon mayo added a layer of creamy decadence.

16. The Powerhouse Garlic Blue Cheese Burger ($12)

Where: Powerhouse Brewery, 454 E. Main., Puyallup, 253-845-1370, powerhouse brewpub.com

Cover a half-pound Angus burger patty with a housemade garlicky blue cheese sauce, and consider me a fan. The sauce is slathered onto the juicy half-pound patty and covered in thick-cut mushrooms sautéed with garlic chunks, topped with two slices of very thick-cut chewy bacon. The burger is built on a sturdy ciabatta roll from Le Brea Bakery and gets cool crunch from green leaf lettuce, thick-cut red onions and a slice of tomato.

17. Bistro Burger ($11)

Where: Guido’s Bar at the Cliff House, 6300 Marine View Drive, Tacoma, 253-927-0400

What struck me about this burger was its beefy flavor. A hand-formed square patty that looked to be at least a half pound arrived flame-licked and scrumptiously charred. The bun could barely hold the weight of the burger, and sported a side of do-it-yourself veggies: crunchy lettuce, thickly sliced red onions, pickle slices and tomatoes.

18. Matador Burger ($9.95)

Where: Matador, 721 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-627-7100, matadorrestaurants.com

A half-pound burger came with melted cheddar and bacon that spilled out of a crunchy bun that needed more time on the griddle. Condiments are served on the side with lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro to tuck into the slightly dry burger. Chipotle mayo on the side added a delicious tease of flavor, and served double duty as a dipping sauce for the crunchy, but unremarkable, fries.

19. Boar burger ($10.49)

Where: Blazing Onion, 4701 Point Fosdick Drive N.W., Gig Harbor, 253-514-6703, www.blazingonion.com

An unusual tasting, if not supremely tasty, burger, the Blazing Onion gets bonus points for pairing toppings that matched perfectly with the juicy boar patty: cheddar, a slightly sweet and crunchy slaw, and lightly sweet fried onion straws. Finished with a tangy burger sauce, a grilled onion and cheese Kaiser roll, the burger was sturdy and delicious to the end.

20. Beach Tavern bacon cheeseburger ($7.75)

Where: Beach Tavern, 8612 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253-564-9984

Don’t let the understated tavern atmosphere throw you. It’s a great spot for burgers and a view of the Narrows Bridge. The bacon cheeseburger came on a crunchy toasted bun with a juicy flat-grilled patty topped with melted pepperjack and meaty slices of chewy bacon. It was finished with thick tomatoes, crisp rings of onion and lettuce. A smear of lightly sweet burger sauce finished the well-constructed burger.