A Burger Fanatic Ate 330 Burgers Across America—Portland Had the Best One

For months, Thrillist food critic Kevin Alexander has been criss-crossing the country in search of the best burger in America—slipping through30 different American cities including Seattle, New York, Chicago, Nashville and New Orleans.

But all of you can sit right down: Portland has the best burger in America, he says.

And hell, he didn't even try our favorite.

According to Alexander, the best burger in America is at the burger spot long hailed as Portland's most classic and idyllic—the Nick's Cheeseburger at Stanich's on Northeast Fremont, the nearly 60-year-old burger bar that's still in the family.

We like the Stanich's burger, too, but it should also be noted as a critic, Alexander was chasing a very specific dragon—a sort of midcentury idyll lost to time in which all burgers have griddled onions and American cheese. It left him confused and tiny-handsed before the magestic Slowburger, and angry at the Bar Bar Burger.

Portland's Little Bird also ranked on his top 100 list, at number 43. Alexander aggressively snubbed all other Portland burgers.

He would have maybe still loved the Grain and Gristle burger. He should come back for it.