In honor of May being National Hamburger Month, The Log asked readers on our Facebook page where everyone’s favorite burger is sold. Tops Hamburgers grilled the competition, trailed by McGuire’s and Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox. Who do you think has the best burger? Tell us in the comments section below!
Tops on top
Out of the 12 burgers on Tops Hamburgers’ menu, the two most popular burgers are the classic double cheeseburger and the mushroom and Swiss burger. They offer eight quarter-pound classic burgers and four Destin specialty burgers.
The Destin location has been open since May 2007. Scott Mitch and his wife, Daniella, own the Destin restaurant, as well as the Tops in Navarre. The burgers range from $2.50-$10.
“They’re just good-old fashioned greasy burgers. They’re nothing special,” said Scott. They come with the basics like lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, onion and ketchup, but you are free to change it up however you’d like. Scott said that the most popular add-on item is jalapenos.
They also have a special “Pittsburgh style” add-on, inspired by Daniella and her Pittsburgh roots, in which coleslaw and French fries are burger add-ons. Scott and Daniella made a bet that if the Steelers won the Super Bowl, she could add it to the menu.
Tops’ slogan is “Home of the greasy sac.” “Usually by the time you put it on your car seat and get home, the bag is dark brown,” said Scott.
The Destin location is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but the hours will be expanded come Memorial Day. To look up more menu items at Tops, visit their website at www.topshamburgers.com.
The Irish burger
The famous dollar-bill dressed restaurant, McGuire’s Irish Pub, has been in business at the foot of the Destin Bridge since 1997.
The restaurant is known for its Terrible Garbage burger and its more than 25 different, and not-so-complementing, ingredients.
“The garbage burger, you know, everybody wants to see how disgusting it is,” said general manager at McGuire’s, Patrick Grantello.
Another burger favorite at McGuire’s is the Big Daddy burger. It’s packed with bacon, cheddar and a pile of jalapeños. Food Network host, Aaron "Big Daddy" McCargo, named the burger for McGuire’s while taping “Outrageous Foods” in 2010.
Grantello said that their burgers keep customers coming back for more because “they’re 14 ounces, pattied fresh every single day, they’re cooked to order, they’re 80 percent lean beef to 20 percent fat, which makes them very juicy.”
All of their 28 burgers come with the customer’s choice of fries or baked beans, and are served on a 5-inch Kaiser roll with lettuce, onion, tomato and pickles, for $9.99.
McGuire’s is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. To view their burger menu, visit their website at www.mcguiresirishpub.com.
Bowling for burgers
Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox location in Hurricane Lanes in Destin opened in March of this year. The original location is in Valparaiso and has been in business for more than a year.
“It’s that type of burger that all the juices come out and you can have your elbow out when you eat it,” said co-owner Brian Cartenuto of his famous Tucker Duke burger.
There’s a little catch to this half-pound burger that is piled high with a beef patty, fried onion rings, American cheese, Tucker sauce, and lettuce and tomato ¬— no one can change the assembly of it.
“Jesus Christ himself can come off the cross and we wouldn’t change it for him,” said Cartenuto.
As for the burgers, “they all have a little story behind them,” he said. Tucker Duke’s location in Destin has 11 unique burgers to choose from, all with an assortment of flavors and satisfactions, averaging around $9 a burger.
“They are something unique. They offer something different, but yet, they still also satisfy that primal need of ‘I want a big burger that is going to fill me up at an economic price.’ ” said Cartenuto.
Tucker Duke’s is open at 11 a.m. every day. Look for Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox on Facebook for more information.
