Chasing the Best Burger

“tHERE’s a lot moRE to a HambuRgER tHan a piece of meat,” says Lindner. “It’s gotta have fresh, crisp lettuce, a ripe tomato—and the bun is 50 percent of a hamburger." He should know: In the past three years Lindner and his wife, Doris, have traveled to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to sample America’s best burgers, as vetted by USA Today in its 2010 list of “51 Great Burger Joints.”

That same year the Lindners began checking the joints off during a road trip to Colorado to visit their daughter that included stops at Denver’s Park Burger as well as the listed establishments in Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Driving all over the country to visit friends and enjoy America’s favorite sandwich, the couple has encountered variations such as pretzel dough buns and beef topped with an egg or peanut butter. “We didn’t just eat hamburgers; we tasted America and it was good,” he says. “It really was.”

At the end of April, daughter Laura Sankey ’86, with husband Kevin ’86 and their three children, joined the Lindners in Waimea, Hawaii, to complete their checklist at the Village Burger Kamuela. “Out of this world,” Lindner says of its offering.

Joe’s top 5 FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY Village Burger Kamuela Waimea, HI Local beef with pineapple slaw Django Des Moines, IA Juicy beef topped with gorgonzola ray’s hell Burger Arlington, VA Fresh beef, flavorful Diablos Flagstaff, AZ “DB” branded on burger, served on English muffin Park Burger Denver Fresh bun and juicy