Burger Heaven
Love burgers? You’re in luck: Sedona restaurants offer some of the best – and most unique – burgers we’ve ever sunk our teeth into. Here are 13 of our very favorites. And to all you vegetarians out there, our list even includes one you can enjoy. Eat up! By Erika Ayn Finch
These days, it’s rare to read a restaurant menu and not see at least one burger offering, even in the most upscale locales. A few months ago, we were stopped at Bashas’ by a tourist asking us to recommend a restaurant that serves up an out-of-this-world burger. This made us pause and start to wonder, where can you find the best burgers in Sedona? So with the help of Joe McNeill and the Sedona Monthly staff, we set out on a noble, if indulgent, quest to identify northern Arizona’s best burgers. If this task had rested on the shoulders (or hips) of only one writer, I shudder to think of the look on their face when they stepped on the scale for the first time after the story had been written. We had our personal favorites already, but we continued to try the offerings at different locations in Sedona, the Verde Valley and Flagstaff. Obviously, not everyone made the list. (When you request your burger cooked medium, shouldn’t that mean pink on the inside rather than cooked to the consistency of a hockey puck?) But you can’t go wrong with these 13 favorites. And for those of you who can’t imagine a burger without fries, we have you covered. Bon appétit! – EAF
Best Bun
Marketplace Cafe
Brown Derby Burger
One must never underestimate the importance of a burger’s bun. It is, after all, the cocoon that contains all of the ooey, gooey goodness we crave. Sure, it’s what’s on the inside that matters. But there’s something to be said for first impressions, and the toasted, sourdough rustic roll that cradles Marketplace Café’s Brown Derby Burger (named after a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles) made us want to sink our teeth in at first sight. MPC’s roll is very similar to a ciabatta (Italian for “carpet slipper”) bun thanks to its somewhat crisp crust and a soft, chewy center. We like it because it’s sturdy enough to contain a half-pound patty, blue cheese, thick slices of bacon and delicate fried onions without falling apart after three bites (and for those of you who are prima donnas, it helps keep hands and fingers clean). Yet the roll’s mild flavor and porous texture doesn’t get in the way of the flavor of the meat and won’t leave you in a carbohydrate coma. MPC serves its rustic roll naked, so condiments don’t compete with the strong flavors of blue cheese and bacon (neither does the sourdough, which is extremely mild). Simply put, it’s bun-tastic. $11.95 – EAF • Marketplace Café, 6645 SR 179 in the Village of Oak Creek (928-284-5478).
Best Burger for Your Buck
Heartline Café Gourmet Take Out
Kobe Burger
The hamburger has come a long way since McDonald’s introduced the Big Mac to the world in 1967, and Heartline Café Gourmet Take Out proves the point. Meet Heartline’s Kobe Burger, a half-pound of Kobe-style beef from Snake River Farms in Idaho (the beef is raised in the exact same style as the famous Wagyu cattle – the original source of Kobe beef – of Japan). The extremely flavorful patty is topped with a slice of cabernet-soaked cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato. An oversized roll from Cottonwood-based Orion Bread Co. encrusted with quinoa cradles the entire concoction. We’ve seen similar burgers in the Phoenix metro area with price tags topping $15, but Heartline’s price of $9.75 (house-made sweet-potato chips are served on the side) makes this gourmet burger a steal. The Kobe Burger is only offered at Heartline’s Gourmet Take Out restaurant, which is open for breakfast and lunch. You won’t find it on the dinner menu at the Heartline Café next door. $9.75 – EAF
Heartline Café Gourmet Take Out, 1600 W. SR 89A in West Sedona (928-282-3365).
Best Burger with a Conscience
Diablo Burger
Puebla, Baby
People have been raving about Diablo Burger in Flagstaff for a while now, so our expectations were high the moment we walked through the doors and into the tiny space with the rock ’n’ roll concert posters on the walls. But our hopes were completely blown out of the water when the daily special – Puebla, Baby – arrived. Every DB burger is made with local, open-range, antibiotic- and growth-hormone-free beef and served on a branded English muffin. The burgers are small in diameter, but incredibly thick and cooked to medium-rare perfection. Puebla, Baby was topped with a chili rellano stuffed with chevre and pine nuts and deep-fried in tempura. We also loved The Blake: homemade Hatch chili mayo, roasted green chilies and sharp cheddar cheese. The burgers are served with mixed greens and fries dusted with rosemary. Diablo Burger, named after Canyon Diablo located 40 miles east of Flagstaff, is focused on anything and everything local – make sure you read its explanation for why the establishment doesn’t acccept credit cards. Despite the restaurant’s devilish name and logo, there’s absolutely nothing sinful about Diablo Burger. $9 – EAF • Diablo Burger, 120 N. Leroux St.
in Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff (928-774-3274).
Best Buffalo Burger
The Grille at ShadowRock
Bison Burger
I’ll admit it: I’m not one for exotic burgers. In my opinion, buffaloes belong roaming the plains of Yellowstone National Park, posing for postcard photos for tourists, not served on a bun. But in Sedona, buffalo burgers are on dozens of menus, so I put my prejudices aside and started the taste test. The verdict: Buffalo burgers rock. And the Bison Burger at The Grille at ShadowRock at Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa is among the best. Buffalo is much leaner (thus purported to be better-for-you) than beef, so order yours medium-rare if you like your burgers juicy. The Grille serves its buffalo burger topped with grilled onions and Pepper Jack cheese all on a corn-meal-crusted kaiser roll. Lettuce, tomato, pickles and red onion are served on the side. “Sea Salt Potato Sticks,”resort-speak for wickedly addicting french fries, accompany the burger. Expect a mildly gamey flavor and a texture nearly identical to beef. Even our waiter, who said she isn’t a fan of red meat, said the Bison Burger is her favorite thing on the menu. It’s hard to go wrong with that kind of recommendation. $16.50 – EAF • The
Grille at ShadowRock at Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa, 90 Ridge Trail Drive in the Village of Oak Creek (928-284-4040).
Best Veggie Burger
D’Lish
Jamaican Jerk Pineapple Burger
Vegetarians are people, too. They shouldn’t be relegated to old-fashioned garden burgers that taste like cardboard and have the consistency of sawdust. So when you’re in Sedona and craving a meatless burger, head to Red Rock Country’s vegetarian hot spot, D’Lish. The Jamaican Jerk Pineapple Burger is our fave: a tempeh patty smothered in a homemade jerk sauce and topped with grilled golden pineapple, lettuce, tomato and vegenaise. A toasted bun encrusted with sesame seeds holds the entire concoction together, but this one is messy, folks. The pineapple gives the burger a slight sweetness and the tempeh has a flaky, moist consistency – no sawdust here. Blue-corn chips and a small salad accompany the burger. If you’re not a fan of Caribbean flavors, D’Lish offers build-your-own burgers where you even have the option of choosing your “meat”; try hemp and millet, walnut, quinoa portobello or black bean; and top it off with Thai peanut spread or red pesto spread, among others. Now how often can you order a burger and leave the restaurant feeling like you did something good for your planet and for your body? $9.75 – EAF • D’Lish, 3190 W. SR 89A in West Sedona (928-203-9393).
Best BBQ Burger
Open Range Grill & Tavern
Campfire BBQ Bacon Burger
If you’re hankering for hamburger served with a side dish of sirloin red rock views, go Uptown young man. The Campfire BBQ Bacon Burger at Open Range Grill & Tavern is ground-round comfort food that angel or outlaw can go plumb loco fer. The 8-ounce flame-grilled Angus beef patty is topped by a kit and kaboodle of ranch-cut bacon slices and cheddar cheese, gussied up with snappy barbeque sauce and riding a sesame seed bun. It has the homespun good taste to turn any picky-eatin’ city slicker into a chopped-beefsteak Buckaroo. What’s more, this here fistful of sandwich sidekicks with your choice of hand-cut french fries, potato salad or coleslaw. So if you’re aiming for some chuck-wagon-worthy grub, give the Campfire BBQ Bacon Burger a shot. Wahoo! That’s nice shootin’, Tex! $12.95 – JM • Open Range Grill & Tavern, 320 N. SR 89A at Sinagua Plaza at Sedona Center (928-282-0002).
Best Burger from Another Planet
Red Planet Diner
The Roswell Burger
The Roswell Burger from the Red Planet Diner will definitely send a delicate palate into orbit. This scrumptious burger is heavy on flavor and full of surprises. The bun is fresh and the burger hearty, but it’s the undercover surprises that make this burger live up to its name, conjuring up some spicy intrigue. We’ve sampled this one before, so we asked for mayonnaise on the side. It’s a mild condiment that complements the burger. Mustard and ketchup are just too loud for this little alien. After the first bite, any local will quickly recognize the sweetness of the roasted poblano pepper. But the real bite doesn’t come from the innocent poblano, or even the optional red onion. Long before you see them, your whole mouth begins to smoke from what we discovered to be more than a few pickled jalapeño peppers hiding under the cheese. Depending on your taste, this burger cries for a big milkshake or one of the many cold beers available from the bar. $9.99 – SM • Red Planet Diner, 1655 SR 89A in West Sedona
(928-282-6070).
Best Burger with a Brew
Oak Creek Brewery & Grill
Tlaquepaque Burger
Color us cynical, but if anybody claims a more intoxicating pleasure exists than washing down a hamburger with a frosty-cold mug of brew, we’d be hard-pressed to swallow it – smug gratification cannot be improved upon. Lucky for us, Oak Creek Brewery & Grill’s charbroiled half-pound certified-Angus Tlaquepaque Burger sticks to a time-honored bar-food tradition and doesn’t try to bend the rules. It comes with all the fixin’s worshipped by chop-meat junkies: lettuce, tomato, red onion, sharp cheddar cheese and grilled mushrooms. Onions, bacon, avocado and jalapeños can be added to the mix for just $1.25 per topping. Ours was paired with a batch of thick, battered french fries – crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside – that Lafayette would have fought for. Special mention must be made of the big juicy pickles, perhaps the crunchiest dillys in town, that also adorned our plate. For a foamy topper, reward yourself for your good deeds (even if you haven’t done any lately) with the Forty-Niner Gold Lager, our personal nominee for the best of the brewpub’s own beers. Yes, life can be good, at least some of the time. $13.95 – JM • Oak Creek Brewery & Grill, 336 SR 179 at Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village (928-282-3300).
Best Sliders
Red’s Restaurant
The Beef Sliders Trio
Good things come in threes, like the Lord of the Rings epics, the Back to the Future comedies and the Star Wars prequels. OK, so maybe not every trilogy is memorable, but we’ll own up to a sweet spot for Sedona’s hottest threesome, the Beef Sliders Trio served at Red’s Restaurant at Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa. Sit your buns at a table (or at the chic and often lively bar) and dig into a platter of artfully arranged mini-burgers topped with blue cheese, Red Dragon cheese, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Sure, the slider trio may be bite-size and gulpable, but their aura looms large; you’ll never confuse Reds’ gourmet babies with their distant cousin, the White Castle steamed Slyder – although we’ll own up to a lifelong taste for it, too. One more beef: Red’s also offers a Fish Sliders Trio for all you non-purists out there. $7 – JM • Red’s Restaurant, 2250 W. SR 89A at Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa (928-340-5321).
Best Burger Toppings
PJ’S Village Pub and Sports Bar
Boomer Burger
You expect a super selection of burgers at a sports bar, and PJ’s Village Pub delivers, with some of the most creative toppings we’ve seen on any burger menu. There’s the Hawaiian Burger, the Fajita Burger, the Red Wine Burger, the Sedona Red Ranch (chili) Burger, the Ultimate Chicken Burger and, the pub’s signature concoction, the Boomer Burger. The Boomer features a one-third-pound certified-Angus beef patty topped with American cheese, grilled pastrami, Swiss cheese, mayo and mustard on a brioche bun. If meat is your favorite thing on earth, this burger has your name on it. All burgers come with your choice of fries, potato salad or coleslaw, and a pickle. Sit at the bar or one of the tall cocktail tables, wash your Boomer down with your favorite brew and watch the game on one of the pub’s many televisions. If you need to work off the calories, there are always the pool tables in the back. $9 – EAF
• PJ’s Village Pub and Sports Bar, 40 W. Cortez Drive in the Village of Oak Creek (928-284-2250).
Best Nostalgic Burger
Bing’s Burger Station
Deluxe Cheeseburger
If you’re nostalgic for the days when you used to share an ice cream milkshake and two straws with your sweetheart – or if you’d just like to feel like you’re in a scene from Grease – check out Bing’s Burger Station in Old Town Cottonwood. Everything here is reminiscent of the Fabulous ’50s (including the prices). The restaurant’s exterior looks like a service station, complete with a red Plymouth parked out front; the interior walls are decorated with license plates, and golden oldies play on the stereo; and the gleaming steel kitchen is open, and surrounded by a lunch counter while the booths are clad in metal-flaked vinyl. The menu is brief but delicious. You can’t go wrong with the Deluxe Cheeseburger, a quarter-pound all-beef patty with a hefty portion of cheddar cheese and your choice of mayo, lettuce, pickle, tomato and onion. Keeping with the theme, this delightful blast from the past is served in a red plastic basket. Fries are an additional cost (see sidebar). Wash it all down with a real ice cream shake, malt or a selection from Dick’s Old Time Soda Fountain Drinks. Almost better than the burger are the gracious service and friendly smiles from the staff. They just don’t make ’em like they used to, folks.
$3.95 – EAF • Bing’s Burger Station, 794 N. Main St. in Cottonwood (928-649-1718).
Best Burger with a History
The Haunted Hamburger
The Haunted Hamburger
The Haunted Hamburger is the crown jewel of the Jerome Palace, an old building that was once a boarding house for copper miners working for The United Verde Mining Company. But don’t let this burger’s name spook you; the half-pound patty is charbroiled to mouthwatering perfection and honors an anonymous bovine’s ultimate act of sacrifice with a reverential slathering of mushrooms, crisp bacon, cheddar and Swiss cheese, green chilies and sautéed onions. Served up on a freshly baked homemade bun, this macho delicacy is complemented by a choice of baked potato, twice-baked potato, coleslaw or our own personal favorite: chunky, golden steak fries. The meal is generous, so brace yourself for a stuffing, but if you’re really hungry you can up the ante by going for the Double Haunted Hamburger, which packs twice the meat, twice the cheese and twice the bacon for a measly two bucks more. We’re not ashamed to admit it: The Haunted Hamburger may offer up chow with a spectacular bird’s-eye view of Sedona and the Verde Valley; but for us, the juiciest sight of our visit was the burger on our table, which we pounced on like a blood-starved vampire rushing to beat daylight. $10.29 – JM • The Haunted Hamburger, 410 Clark St. in Jerome (928-634-0554).
Best Exotic Burger
The Cowboy Club Grille and Spirits
Big Game Burger
So here we go again with the meat that comes from an animal I prefer seeing frolicking in the wild: The Cowboy Club’s Big Game Burger is made from free-range antelope and topped with roasted onions, chipotle aioli, boar bacon and Shaft blue cheese. But like the rest of the menu at The Cowboy Club, this burger is a taste of Sedona and the high desert that you aren’t likely to find in many other restaurants, and when in Rome.... The antelope is mild in flavor, and it’s chewier than beef (the same goes for the boar bacon, which is definitely tougher than regular pork bacon). The antelope has more of an exotic flavor than buffalo, but I enjoyed it despite myself. A nice-sized portion of sweet-potato fries is served on the side. We also love the fact that The Cowboy Club offers Arizona beers and wines – I washed down my burger with a Page Springs Vino del Barrio Blanca. For all you city dwellers, if you really want to experience the flavors of Arizona, this burger’s for you. $15.79 – EAF • The Cowboy Club Grille and Spirits, 241 N. SR 89A in Uptown Sedona (928-282-4200). •
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