History

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.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg ground beef chuck (80/20 fat ratio)
  • 4 sesame seed hamburger buns
  • 4 thick slices yellow cheddar (or American cheese)
  • 4 thick slices Monterey Jack
  • 8 leaves bibb or iceberg lettuce
  • 1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced thick
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thin
  • 4 strips bacon, fried crisp
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced thin (the Cricket signature)
  • 4 large mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in butter (optional)
  • 8 dill pickle chips
  • Mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard
  • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, for the griddle
  • 30g butter, for the buns

Method

  1. Divide ground beef into 4 equal balls (250g each); do not overwork.
  2. Heat a cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over medium-high heat until smoking.
  3. Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast on the dry griddle 60 seconds until golden.
  4. Cook bacon in a separate pan or on the griddle until crisp; drain.
  5. Press a beef ball onto the griddle and flatten with a heavy spatula to a 2cm patty. Season heavily with salt and pepper.
  6. Sear 90 seconds undisturbed, flip, immediately lay a slice of cheddar and Monterey Jack on each patty. Cook another 2 minutes for medium.
  7. Spread mayo on top buns, mustard and ketchup on bottom buns.
  8. Build: bottom bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, patty, bacon, jalapeño, avocado, pickles, top bun.
  9. Cut in half on the diagonal for the proper Cricket presentation. Serve with hand-cut fries.

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.

Where to eat cherry cricket burger

Cherry Cricket Burger in Denver

Cherry Cricket ★ 4.3

$ American (burgers)Cherry Creek

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 $.

OrderBuild your own burger with green chile, fried egg and bacon; cheese fries on the side.

TipWalk-in only; weeknight wait is usually 20 minutes. Ballpark sister location is open near Coors Field for game nights.

Directions Book

Park Burger (Highland) ★ 4.1

$ American (burgers)Highland

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.

OrderThe Park Burger (classic with cheddar) and sweet potato fries; milkshakes are spiked with bourbon on weekends.

TipWalk-in; takeout via app. The Pearl Street original is two blocks from Sushi Den.

Directions Book

Highland Tap and Burger ★ 4.1

$$ British gastropubUntil Daily until 24:00, weekends until 02:00

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.

OrderBison burger with green chile and a Colorado pilsner.

TipThe basement bar takes the late-night Highland crowd; the kitchen runs until 1:45 am on weekends.

Directions

Hopdoddy Burger Bar ★ 4.0

$ American (burgers)South Broadway

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.

OrderThe Goodnight Burger and a Colorado craft beer; bison patties available as a swap.

TipWalk-in only; ordering at the counter avoids the table wait at peak hours.

Directions Book

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