You should obviously know by now that I am a fan of burgers. Nothing beats a fat, juicy patty covered in cheese with caramelized onions, a crisp piece of lettuce, and a tomato slice between a lightly grilled bun. Mmm..just writing that made me hungry. 

My pick for best burger in Miami (for right now, and it has been for quite some time now) is….Drum roll, please… ONE BURGER in the Gables! I was introduced to this burger spot a couple of years ago and since the first bite, it has held its place in my heart for best burger.

I always order the Black Castle, which is just a classic cheeseburger with onions and ketchup (lettuce and tomato added upon request). 

There are a lot of not-so-good aspects about this restaurant, though.

• 99% of the time, the service SUCKS. The last time I went, which was the other day, the service was surprisingly GREAT! But every time before that, it was horrible. There was this one douche bag that worked there and it seemed like he was the ONLY employee! It seemed like he hated his job, his life and you. Rude, mean and an all around unpleasant man. 
• The atmosphere is weird. The restaurant inside is all white with black chairs. The seating is pretty awkward. There are 3 two-tops in the front of the restaurant and the rest of the dining area is this little echo-y room. There is absolutely no vibe, no music. It kind of feels like you’re eating in some sterile, medical or mental institution cafeteria. 
• The decor is odd. They have black and white photos hung up around the place - some on canvas and some just printed out on paper. All of them include the restaurant logo photoshopped into the picture. For example, Homer Simpson standing in front of One Burger, the logo super-imposed on a wall that’s in the middle of a crowded beach…just cheesy.
• The food is served on styrofoam plates. They give you plastic forks. The cups are plastic. They must really hate doing dishes.

HOWEVER, I can look past all of these negative things because the burgers are THAT fucking good! They don’t do anything crazy to them (perhaps sprinkle some crack maybe?) and there’s no outrageous gimmick like selling a 50 pound burger. It’s just good. Period. The burger size isn’t too big but enough to satisfy your appetite. The patty is juicy and flavorful. The fries are pretty good. The prices are average - not super cheap but not insanely expensive. 

Even though I would get horrendous service every time I went before, I would still go back because the food was THAT good. Enough said. Wait, one more thing - I really hope they fired that douche. Ok..now enough said.

Since I only took one photo of the food, here’s a bonus picture of my puppy loving burgers as much as I do.

Le Tub, a burger joint in Hollywood Beach, has received many, many accolades praising their burgers. They were voted “Best Burger” by GQ Magazine, boasting to be one of the “20 hamburgers you must eat before you die,” and even Oprah joined the Le Tub love. I thoroughly enjoy burgers and love trying to find the best one down here, so I decided to make a visit to see if this place lived up to its reputation.

Open every day from noon to 4 AM, I would imagine it’s a great alternative to late night haunts like Denny’s or IHOP. Located deep in the cut in Hollywood Beach, both my boyfriend and I drove past it the first time around. This spot is CASH ONLY and self seating. The restaurant itself was kind of weird - all wood, the original owner built the entire place himself.  It was pretty dark and we were stumbling through an unknown layout to try to find a place to sit. I guess the ideal place would be at the tables right by the water to get a breeze. Unfortunately, all those seats were taken so we sat “inside” with no A/C, so I was sweatttiinnnggg!

Now to the food part - 

I ordered their regular sirloin burger with American Cheese. The patty is 13 ounces, which is pretty big. 

We also got an order of large fries.

After eating here, I honestly don’t think this is the BEST burger anywhere. Sometimes people confuse quantity with quality. The burger was just BIG. The patty itself had no type of seasoning and was really dry. My boyfriend ordered his burger medium, just to prevent it drying out and although the meat was still pink inside, it was still dry. There was nothing amazing about it at all. HOWEVER, the fries were delicious. Hot, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside - REALLY good. But like the patty, there was no seasoning, so a dash of salt was definitely needed. The entire time I was eating the food, I just felt that this restaurant was reenforcing the stereotype that white people don’t season their food. 

The burger was $11.50 with NO side, then $5 for fries is kind of ridiculous. And it’s not like I paid for the “atmosphere” either. The tree house feel, the weird decor. All the food was served on styrofoam plates with plastic forks and knives (not eco-friendly at all!). Didn’t care for it much.

And right where I parked my car, someone left an ENTIRE burger in a to-go container. At first I thought maybe it was there for some cats to eat or something but upon further inspection, I saw ketchup and fry remnants, debunking my initial theory. 

I should have taken that as a warning - burgers are wack, fries are great!

Shake Shack, originally from NYC, recently opened a location in Miami Beach. The opening created a bit of a blog buzz and also some hype from my friends who had eaten at the ones in NY. I went there last week and only ate a Blizzard type of creation (frozen custard with your choice of mix-ins. I chose chocolate truffle cookie dough and hot fudge to go with my vanilla custard). It was pretty tasty. 

I went back today to try an actual meal. I got a single Shackburger, fries and lemonade..

The Shackburger included American cheese, tomato, lettuce and their “Shacksauce.” It was just all right. I wasn’t AMAZED. The patty itself was pretty good but I found the bread too soft and after awhile, it got all soggy. The whole texture of the burger became kind of weird. I kept wishing they had grilled the bread a little and wanted crispy bacon to offset the sogginess. The burger was also on the small side. But I’m actually glad it wasn’t bigger so I wouldn’t have to force myself to finish a soft, wet mess.

The fries were reminiscent of the kind you would get at your elementary school cafeteria. Crinkle fries and very crispy. But still, pretty average.

Overall, I don’t feel that Shake Shack lived up to all the hype. Maybe it’s because all those New Yorkers think everything from their city is the best in the world..but I can say one thing for sure - Shake Shack isn’t. One good thing about the restaurant is that they promote healthy eating (I guess as healthy as a burger joint can get). Everything on the menu is free from artificial trans-fats. Their fries are 25% less fat than average fries. Their burgers are also all natural with no added hormones or antibiotics.

Don’t believe me on this post - try it for yourself and let me know how your food was.