Looking to satisfy your burger appetite in the South? Here are the 12 best burgers in 12 southern states.
Alabama
Niffer’s Place, Auburn
Always up for a challenge? With several extreme burgers and crazy burger challenges, Niffer’s Place is the Spot for you. The Southwest Burger, featured as Burger of the Year, is topped with fresh pico de gallo, covered in Niffer’s white cheese dip, and served on a toasted brioche bun.
Niffasaurus the Beast is the newest and most extreme challenge: two pounds of ground beef, quadruple stacked on a giant sourdough bun, topped with melted cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack and Swiss cheeses, a fried egg and crispy bacon.
Arkansas
The Five Five Challenge at Hwy 55, Searcy
This burger challenge is only for the fearless: 55 oz. of beef, 14 slices of cheese, and at least four toppings between a bun PLUS a 6 oz. order of fries and a 24 oz. drink. If you finish it all in under a half hour, it’s on the house and your name is added to the Wall of Fame. If you can’t finish it, you’re stuck paying.
Florida
Hot Fudge Burger at McGuire’s Irish Pub, Pensacola
Described on the menu as being “the worst,” this dinner-turned-dessert is a 14-oz. Black Angus patty topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and a red cherry. The burger comes with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and wedge cut fries on the side.
Georgia
The Nook’s Shrimp & Grits Stuffed Burger at The Nook on Piedmont Park, Atlanta
This mouth-watering angus beef burger comes stuffed with sautéed shrimp, andouille sausage and gouda cheese. It’s then topped with andouille sausage and a gouda grit cake, complete with a smoke tomato beurre blanc sauce.
Kentucky
The Bubba Burger at Doc Crow’s, Louisville
A half-pound all-beef patty covered in pulled pork, beef brisket, onion rings, coleslaw, and fried green tomatoes, and then topped with a fried egg.
Louisiana
The Ultimate Cure at Bayou Burger, New Orleans
This burger takes two American classics, burgers and grilled cheese, and combines them into one amazing masterpiece: a grilled cheese bacon sandwich hugged between two beef patties, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onions, and Tabasco mayo, all served on a brioche bun.
Mississippi
Moss Creek Burger at Moss Creek Fish House, Pearl
This unique burger is a classic cheeseburger with a Mississippi-twist- it’s topped with two pieces of fried catfish.
North Carolina
Hell in the Pacific at Burger Warfare, Greensboro
Described on the menu as “any spicier would be a challenge,” this bad boy isn’t for the weak of heart: tow patties topped with habanero chowchow, Pineapple Scorpion Sauce, pepper jack cheese, Chimichurri, and fried potatoes.
South Carolina
Wall of Fame Burger at Ike’s Korner Grill, Spartanburg
Made of 3 burgers topped with Swiss, cheddar and American cheeses, 15 slices of bacon, an egg, thick bologna, and served with french fries and onion rings, this burger is not for quitters.
Tennessee
The Kookamonga at Kooky Canuck, Memphis
This burger is not for the faint of heart: 4 pounds of pure beef on a freshly baked bun, topped with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and cheese. If you can eat the entire thing, including fixings, alone in under an hour, it’s free and your picture will go up in the Kooky Canuck Wall of Fame for all to see.
Texas
EB&D Loaded Up & Truckin’ Burger at Smoke, Dallas
You know what they say about everything being bigger in Texas? This burger is proof of that, with thick, smokey bacon, farm egg fritter, and smoked sharp cheddar all served between a homemade honey roll.
Virginia
El Vaquero at Cuban Burger, Harrisburg
This Cuban restaurant specializes in “Americanized” varieties of classic Cuban street food. Patties find flavor with smoked paprika and come covered in crispy, thin, fried shoestring potatoes. The El Vaquero comes topped with crispy flank steak, rum-caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and house spicy-smokey aioli.