This Restaurant Makes The Best Burger In CA: Foodie Report

CALIFORNIA — HiHo Cheeseburger, in Los Angeles County, serves the best burger in California, according to a report from Chowhound, a website for food aficionados or, alternatively, food nerds.

The chain has four locations: Marina Del Rey, Mid-Wilshire, Santa Monica and Studio City.

The list titled “The Hands Down Best Burger in Every Single US State” features a variety of preparation methods. It was released just in time for National Hamburger Day, which is Wednesday, May 28.

There’s no one way to prepare a burger. Even those claiming to be “classic” burgers have major differences, especially in the toppings.

To find the best burgers among what the research firm IBS World estimates are more than 80,000 burger joints and restaurants across the country, Chowhound looked first at restaurants that excel in both classic and creative burger preparations. The process also included taste testing, online research, and outreach on local social media communities and to trusted contacts in the restaurant and food media industries.

Here’s what Chowhound liked about the burgers at HiHo Cheeseburger:

"With the conviction that 'the American cheeseburger deserves better beef,' HiHo's burgers are exclusively made with grass-fed wagyu beef. Try these luxe patties grilled in mustard and topped with cheese, slow-cooked onions, lettuce, house pickles, and mustard in the 'HiHo Double' burger — you can even get it topped with pastrami. From-scratch fries also get the HiHo treatment with burger toppings and orange-tinged Matty Sauce.'"

Read More: Chowhound

HiHo claims that it is the only burger restaurant that exclusively serves 100 percent grass-fed and 100 percent "grass-finished" wagyu, meaning the cattle were raised and lived the course of their lives eating grass and forage instead of grain and other additives.

But beef isn't all they're serving.

"The food is amazing, especially the fries. Think McDonalds has good fries? This place has better fries. The burgers are outstanding and should be eaten with spicy onions. I'm no food critic but this place is good," wrote Caitlin D on Yelp in early April.

The one catch mentioned a few times by customers? The burgers appear to be "a little messy," according to James C on Yelp.

Dozens on Yelp referred to this spot as one of the best and most underrated in LA.

"So far out of my 100 visits (slightly exaggerated), they've only messed up my order once. And when that happened, they made up for it by fixing my meal and giving me a free key lime pie (which was a solid dessert option)," said Alyssa G.

Many also recommended meals that weren't their staple cheeseburger.

"I ordered the Pastrami Heat as it was very tempting getting an opportunity to try the world's only grass-fed wagyu Pastrami. I can't think of another place in LA offering grass-fed wagyu pastrami and LA is a pretty big Pastrami city no less," said Erik G. "The Pastrami Heat was a very good burger. It was cooked perfectly and had some nice heat thanks to their spicy onions. The burger is a little bit on the smaller side, but its worth the price because its so good."

The full 50-state list offers some intriguing takes on what is widely regarded as America’s favorite sandwich. Some are made with grass-fed wagyu beef, others with ground turkey, and still more with salmon and other critters. Some may not contain meat at all. Cheeses vary from classic American to blue cheese to goat cheese.

In Hawaii, the Honolulu Burger Co. presents the “Alpha Elvis,” which has bacon, banana and peanut butter, or the “Loco-Moco,” made with Spam, bacon, an egg, and mushroom gravy.

And then there’s Mike Duffy’s in St. Louis, Missouri, whose offerings include the award-winning Cajun burger with hot jalapeños and Cajun aioli or the fully customizable and vegetarian black bean and quinoa burger. The restaurant also allows substitutions of bison or salmon.

“Whether you’re a burger traditionalist or an avant-garde burger consumer, the restaurants on this lineup will have a solid option for both schools of thought,” Chowhound’s Jane Godiner wrote.

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