Denver's defining build-your-own burger: hand-formed patty on a soft sesame bun at Cherry Cricket in Cherry Creek since 1945. Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Man v. Food.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Cherry Cricket opened in 1945 in Cherry Creek as Mary Zimmerman's Bar, renamed Cherry Cricket in 1950 under Lloyd Page. The Cricket became one of Denver's first sports bars under Bernard Duffy from 1963. Eli McGuire took over in 1990, then sold to Wynkoop (John Hickenlooper's company) in 2000. The build-your-own burger format and the long topping list (including peanut butter, cream cheese, fried egg, and green chile strips) is the city benchmark; Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Man v. Food both featured the burger. The Ballpark location opened in 2017.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Tip from the editors. The Cricket's half-pound patty is its signature; do not be tempted to use quarter-pounders, the proportions of the burger collapse. Season the patty heavily right before it hits the griddle.
The Cherry Cricket in Denver is the Cherry Creek burger bar since 1945, a build-your-own burger room with 40 toppings and a long beer list. Priced at $.
Signature: Build-your-own burger, Cricket Burger, Cheese fries
Order: Build your own burger with green chile, fried egg and bacon; cheese fries on the side.
Tip: Walk-in only; weeknight wait is usually 20 minutes. Ballpark sister location is open near Coors Field for game nights.
Park Burger in Highland is Jean-Philippe Failyau's casual burger room with grass-fed Colorado beef, a Front Range mini-chain that began on Pearl Street.
Signature: Park Burger, Sweet potato fries, Truffle fries
Order: The Park Burger (classic with cheddar) and sweet potato fries; milkshakes are spiked with bourbon on weekends.
Tip: Walk-in; takeout via app. The Pearl Street original is two blocks from Sushi Den.
Highland Tap and Burger in Denver is the Highland gastropub on 32nd Avenue with a 2 am kitchen on weekends, bison burgers and 40 craft beer taps.
Try: Bison burger and beer
Order: Bison burger with green chile and a Colorado pilsner.
Tip: The basement bar takes the late-night Highland crowd; the kitchen runs until 1:45 am on weekends.
Hopdoddy Burger Bar in Denver is the Austin original's South Broadway burger counter since 2014, with house-ground beef, hand-cut fries and a Colorado craft.
Signature: Goodnight burger, Bison burger, Hand-cut fries
Order: The Goodnight Burger and a Colorado craft beer; bison patties available as a swap.
Tip: Walk-in only; ordering at the counter avoids the table wait at peak hours.
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