“Good meat is 95 percent of a good burger. It should be well-seasoned with salt and pepper; Nopa seasons their beef well in advance, which makes a huge difference. I order mine medium-rare and smear it with a side of their feta-harissa dip. They use brioche-style soft buns, which I like. Zuni’s burger is really good, with the house-made ketchup and pickled onions and zucchini, but there’s one problem—it’s on focaccia, which gets soggy. You end up having to eat it with a fork and knife. The burger at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher is close to perfect. I get it with raw onions—I like the crunch—and American cheese. Yup, American. It’s simple, it melts well and it forms a blanket over the burger, turning it into a little bundle of goodness.”

Nopa
560 Divisadero St. 
415-864-8643, nopasf.com

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher
Ferry Building Marketplace
866-328-3663, taylorsrefresher.com

Zuni Café
1658 Market St.
415-552-2522, zunicafe.com