Luxury Burgers

Luxury burgers are big or expensive or both. Sometimes they’re fancy, sometimes just large and pricey. More often than not, they’re ground in-house or to exacting specifications using multiple cuts of steer. We were the least forgiving of overcooking in this category but rarely encountered it. When the burger’s as thick as your fist, it takes a high degree of negligence to burn it up. Overall, this category boasted the highest ratio of great burgers to weak ones. Most luxury joints are serious restaurants that take quality and consistency to heart. The downside is that you have to be in the mood for this type of upscale experience; wearing your Twins hat through dinner and belching contentedly isn’t always appreciated. These five stole our hearts:

1. 112 Eatery 
92.00 points
112 N. 3rd St., Mpls., 612-343-7696, 112eatery.com

112 serves an exceedingly delicious, offbeat burger on a crisp but pillowy English muffin. This was arguably the richest burger of our survey, though it is not gigantic like many of the meaties in this category. It arrives dripping with juice, herbs, and onions mixed into the meat, all crowned with Brie. Cooked properly to medium, it is consistently well-seasoned, beefy, and superbly craveable.

2. The Capital Grille 
90.33 points
801 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-692-9000, thecapitalgrille.com

A killer steak house burger made from local, grass-fed beef on a nice onion bun. It’s cooked perfectly medium and beautifully seasoned, studded with subtle hints of bacon and sautéed onion. The flavor is hauntingly good, with none of that fishy quality some say they find in grass-fed beef. The rich, private-club ambiance (paneling and oil paintings) and the highly attentive service are other attributes, though perhaps not what you’re looking for if you’re geared up to slouch and drip grease on your tank top.

3. Manny’s Steakhouse
88.50 points
W Minneapolis–The Foshay, 821 Marquette Ave., Mpls., 612-339- 9900, mannyssteak house.com

The star of Manny’s lunch menu, the burger is rich, huge, and excellent. Manny’s griddled, beefy behemoth is aggressively seasoned, served on a tasty (if dry) seeded bun, with a side of nifty Parmesan herb fries. We take our burger on a high-top in the bar. Johnny will take care of you, with everything from fashion insights to Scott Seekins sightings. More evidence that the most reliable place to go for a burger in the Twin Cities is probably a steak house.

4. Café Levain 
87.67 points [tie]
4762 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls., 612-823-7111, cafelevain.com

This grass-fed burger is a winner—stuffed with shreds of braised short ribs, enrobed in a lovely Gruyère fondue, sitting atop charred onion, bibb lettuce, and aioli.Points were lost for a crumbly, unwieldy bun and slight overcooking. The UK-style plank fries are wonderful, and the wine list rocks, if you lean that way. A burger at Café Levain is a cheap date at one of the best little bistros in the metro.

5. Meritage
87.67 points [tie]
410 St. Peter St., St. Paul, 651-222-5670, meritage-stpaul.com

Russell and Desta Klein’s downtown brasserie serves St. Paul’s best luxe burger: Tall and beefy, boasting great grill char (too much char for one of our judges), it’s crowned with melted Emmenthaler for that Euro bite, though we found the accompanying shallot confit a taste of the continent we could have done without. Great fries, great service, and an awesome vibe to boot, either indoors or on the prettiest patio in downtown St. Paul.