The Best Chain Restaurant Smash Burger Comes From This New York City Brand - Chowhound

"The best smash burger is often the one in your hand, as crisp and savory as the griddled favorite can be. But there are also subcategories within that distinction. The best barbecue bacon smash burger, or the classic smash burgers that home cooks set their hearts on perfecting, right down to the special sauce. In search of a superlative restaurant chain version, Chowhound ranked six offerings from worst to best for your ordering ease, and 7th Street Burger's smashed cheeseburger came out on top."

"The New York City-based chain had the sharpest edge among the half dozen smash burger contestants in our evaluation. In determining the winner, the patties were paramount across the board, with each one judged for both thinness and integrity (qualities that are not always mutually inclusive), as well as the crucial texture around the perimeter. Only 7th Street's entry had the proper density and the crunchy exterior to steamroll the competition."

"With locations as-yet limited to a smattering around the East Coast, you can certainly find more ubiquitous burger chains than 7th Street, but not, in our estimation, better ones. For example, our last-place pick, Chili's, has outposts in the quadruple digits, but you wouldn't want to order the lackluster smash burger (which broke apart slightly, unlike 7th Street's patty) at any of them."

Six chain smash burger offerings were evaluated and ranked, with 7th Street Burger’s smashed cheeseburger finishing first. Patties were judged primarily on thinness, structural integrity, and the crucial perimeter texture. 7th Street’s patty combined extreme thinness with proper density and a crunchy exterior, producing superior mouthfeel and cohesion. Larger chains such as Shake Shack and Five Guys placed fifth and third respectively, while Chili’s finished last due to a fragile, broken-apart patty. 7th Street maintains a limited presence around the East Coast, but its smashed cheeseburger outperformed more ubiquitous competitors.

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