We’re back at it again, trying to gauge exactly what we truly love to eat here in Little Rock. This time around, we’re taking a look at one of the most subjective food items out there … the burger. Here’s the question I posed on Facebook…
“What is your favorite restaurant to get a burger in the Little Rock area?”
We had 74 comments, with 38 different burgers being mentioned and 116 total votes. As always, these are very informal polls, so please treat this post as just a nice resource for quality burger options in our area. Here’s the crazy thing that struck me right off the bat … of the 38 places mentioned, I had not even had the burger at 24 of them. Granted, I’m not a big burger guy, but it still speaks to the quality options we have in the area.
So who reigned supreme? To no surprise, Big Orange and David’s came out on top. Both places are wildly popular, produce a consistently great burger, and have multiple locations to hit a wider audience. Big Orange took in 16 votes and David’s came in second with 14. There was a considerable drop-off after those two. The next tier of spots included: The Box, The Root Cafe, Gadwall’s Grill, South on Main, Arkansas Burger Co., and Capital Bar and Grill … all receiving between 5-7 votes. Of these, the South on Main burger, which I’ve written about quite a bit of late, is my personal favorite. I know several folks who claim that The Root’s cheeseburger is the absolute best burger in town, but I can’t speak to that one, as I haven’t had it in a few years.
Tier three consisted of these spots: Cotham’s (original location), Buffalo Grill, Hillcrest Artisan Meats, The Pantry, Grumpy’s, Alley Oops, Midtown Billiards, Sports Page, Burge’s, Purple Cow, Bobby’s Cafe, Burgers Pies and Fries, Four Quarter Bar, and Monkey Burger … all receiving between 2-4 votes. The H.A.M. is served only on Fridays, and when they run out, they run out, so get there early. It’s a decadent burger that’s sure to please even the pickiest of palates.
We had several places that each received one mention. These included: Skinny J’s, The Spot, Ciao Baci, The Southern Gourmasian, Leo’s Greek Castle, Mick’s BBQ, Brewster’s II Cafe, K Hall and Sons, VFW on Kanis, The Butcher Shop (Friday), Canon Grill, Markham Street Grill & Pub, JoJo’s Bar-B-Que, The Terrace, Jacks Bar and Grill, and Doe’s Eat Place. If you haven’t had the chicken burger at The Southern Gourmasian, please put it on your to-do list. Also, the Ciao Baci burger is super underrated.
Finally, a few reactions from readers…
Karin Schoultz: “We looooove old school, straight up, plain Jane good old Buffalo Grill burger!!!!!”
Laurie Ringler: “David’s or Gadwall’s, but that’s only because I live north of the river. Special occasions call for Big Orange.”
Emilie F. Partis: “Top choice is always and will always be the herbed butter burger at Purple Cow (with a triple treat chocolate malt just to insure the heart attack factor!). Second runners up would be the cheeseburger at Big Orange or at Cothams in Scott.”
Alicia Tuggle: “When The Butcher Shop does their Friday lunch burger, other than that I mostly go for terrace restaurant for convenience for the taste and the price is good too. Plus it’s usually enough for me to have 2 meals out of due to the fries too (I always order the night time fries if it’s lunch).”
Vicki Funkkjunkie Weber: “Big Orange Midtown always. Hickory smoke burger. And dying to try the Razorback! And we now have one of the Burgers, Pies and Fries places that started in Jacksonville here in Conway. It’s a great burger but I’m not a fan of the “cheese” or the bun.”
Danny Huber: “I like all the burger comments. The hidden gems in this thread are Bobby’s Cafe and Monkey Burger. If you haven’t been…GO!”
