Two months ago, I began a city-wide search to find the maker of Omaha’s best hamburger.  The search led me to over 20 different hamburger joints, to a radio interview with Dan Arthur and Michelle Reill on Star 104 FM, and into a better understanding of the people and businesses in our community. These are my findings.

To begin, let me tell you that I am not a food critic. In fact, I am rarely “critical” of anything that resembles food that is placed in front of me.  I eat anything and everything.  In fact, my wife says that I am “tasteless.”  Thanks, dear… I think!!?

However, I do enjoy a good hamburger. And, despite repeated warnings that beef contains growth hormones and antibiotics, I will continue to eat it.  I ask you, “How can being all buff and full of bacteria-fighting substances be bad for you?”

My journey to burger joints in and around metro Omaha began in early November, 2009 with a posted message (i.e. a “tweet”) on the popular social media site, Twitter.com.  I told folks on Twitter that I was looking for the best Omaha hamburger, and I asked for their ideas.  Within 24 hours, I received 31 burger suggestions from helpful, friendly Omahans.  Here is the list of restaurants and their locations: Omaha Driver Burger List. And, being full of bravado (and fluff), I promised to consume them all! In a month!!   Naturally, I added the Twitter folks’ names to my prestigious “know-their-burgers” Twitter-list.

Before making my first burger stop, I composed my evaluation criteria; a 3 point rating scale (1 low, 2 medium, 3 high) in the following categories: Bun freshness, juicy goodness, food warmth, choice of condiments, choice of cheeses, taste, and presentation Wow-factor!  I intentionally excluded cost and time service considerations; but wrote about those aspects in my blog posts on www.omahadriver.com.

Being familiar with several of the burger chain restaurants, and having had their products previously, I immediately assigned their ratings. This allowed me to narrow my attention to those that were the popular “repeat” suggestions – those included Stella’s, Dinkers, Petrows, Louie M’s Burger Lust, and a few others  

And so, the consumption began.  I had a burger daily for lunch or dinner during the month of November and well into December.

Omaha Driver Favorites

After more than a month of feasting, my favorite burgers were <drum roll>:

1. Five Guys at 697 N. 132nd Street
2. Stella’s at 106 Galvin Road S. (Bellevue) and
3. Burger Star at 1222 S 71st Street (South of Pacific)

 Honorable Mentions

• The “Holy Cow” burger at Ace’s Diner (At Harrah’s in Council Bluffs served only on the weekend). It has 4 half-pound burgers, 10 slices of cheese, 8 slices of bacon.
• The “Haystacker” – Served at Dinkers, a great burger topped with an egg easy-over.
• McFoster’s Veggie Burger – Didn’t know you could do that with soy products!
• Wohlner’s Kobie Burger – A great grocery store and a great burger maker.