On warm days like today, BBQ favorites like burgers are always the perfect meal to end the day. But when the weather is this warm, slaving over a hot grill to cook them is not ideal. Especially since many city-dwellers, including myself, do not have the luxury of a yard to grill in, or a grill at all for that matter!
There are plenty of local Boston favorites for people with a craving for a classic juicy burger and a side of fries. I am talking about a regular cheeseburger, with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles, smothered in ketchup or mustard. But I am always intrigued when a restaurant goes beyond the norm, like the following 5 places in the Boston area. These locations have created standout burgers with plenty of unique toppings. See below:
1. Neptune Oyster
63 Salem Street, Boston, MA, (617) 742-3474
Burger highlights: The Neptune Burger includes a cheddar cheeseburger with fried oysters, garlic mayo, and relish, for $14.
2. Kingston Station
25 Kingston St., Boston, MA (617) 482-6282
Burger highlights: They have a veggie burger, tuna burger, and a regular cheeseburger, but the standout option is their Station Burger, served with a sunny side up egg, bacon, and gruyere cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, house cut fries and a pickle for
$15.
3. R F O’Sullivans
282 Beacon St., Somerville, MA (617) 491-9638
Burger Highlights: They have a long list of specialty ½ lb sirloin burgers, all served with Sullie’s fries. Burgers available include the Blackjack burger, which has Cajun spices added to it, then is topped with a tangy creole mayo and cheddar cheese for $8.25. The Northender features homemade tomato sauce and melted mozzarella also for $8.25, or for $7.95 the Jalapeño burger comes with cheese, fresh jalapenos, and garlic and their Radish burger is served along with a tangy radish sauce.
4. Tavern in the Square
730 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA (617) 868.8800
Burger highlights: Rather than piling up ingredients between the burger and bun, they stuff toppings inside their burgers! The Stuffed Smoke House Burger is filled with cheddar cheese and bacon, and then topped with more cheese and BBQ sauce, and their Stuffed Bacon and Blue Burger is stuffed with bacon and blue cheese, and then topped off with additional blue cheese.
5. Mr. Bartley’s Gourmet Burgers
1246 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 354-6559
Burger Highlights: Voted best burgers by the Boston Globe, there are so many unique combinations of burgers. But to name a few, the Professor Skip Gates is a teriyaki burger with grilled pineapple and their famous onion rings for $9.85, the Stimulus Package burger features BBQ, grilled onions, and bacon, with baked beans for $9.75, and for the vegetarians out there, the Drew Faust is a veggie burger with red peppers, feta, tomato, red onion, garlic mayo, and fries for $9.75.
