Sorry to bait you in with this photo. This burger’s not from the Tampa area. It’s not even in America. I found this monster when I was visiting Montreal a couple years back.
Happy National Burger Day. My favorite places for a burger are all mom and pop type places. I left big chains out (mostly). When it comes to chain burgers, Five Guys is tough to beat. We're spoiled because we're used to seeing them everywhere. People yearn for an In-N-Out, but take it from a guy who lived in California for 5 years. We're good without them. They're not bad, but there's not worthy of the overdone longing for them you see from Floridians on social media. I'll have an In-N-Out burger when I visit the west coast, but it's never an unforgettable experience. But anyway, for this list, I wanted to focus on the burgers that are (mostly) unique to Tampa Bay.
A few years ago, I did a podcast about my favorite burgers in Tampa Bay. Since creating this list a few years ago, I've discovered a few new great burgers. One that I will definitely mention is The Mill on Central downtown St. Pete. Whenever we do our live First Friday broadcasts on Q105, the smells that come from that place are hypnotizing. At the time I recorded this podcast, the internet was in an uproar about IHOP changing its name to International House of Pancakes. Remember that PR stunt?
What didn't make my list? El Cap. I'm sorry. I know it's a St. Pete icon. I just don't taste it. My picks include Datz in Tampa, Engine No. 9 in St. Pete, Portillo's in Brandon, the Stein and Vine in Riverview and a burger you can't even buy right now. You'll have to wait til 2021.
