Famous Chefs Reveal the Fast-Food Burgers They Can’t Live Without

In the quest to find the best burgers in America, we occasionally neglect the most common patties out there: the quick-and-easy ones. Everybody has a go-to fast-food burger — including famous chefs. That’s right, not even the country’s finest culinary minds can resist the allure of the drive-thru. That’s why we asked a bunch of them to reveal their go-to fast or fast-casual burger of choice. Apparently, these folks really like Shake Shack.

More: Breaking Down the Single Best Item at Every Major Fast-Food Chain

Credit: Sean Cooley

Justin Warner

Chef at Do or Dine (address and info)
Brooklyn, NY
Favorite fast-food burger: Shake Shack’s SmokeShack

“It has all the trappings of a good burger: a Martin’s Potato Roll, a griddle-crisped patty, melty cheese, and smoky bacon. What pushes it to the ZOMG level is the juxtaposition of Tellicherry pepper relish and Shack Sauce. The former is spicy and acidic, the latter sweet and rich. These two go at it like a cartoon fight — a cloud of burger parts tumbling through the cyclone of your mouth, with your tongue as some sort of referee. You are the last component standing, now sated, happy, and contemplating another.”

Credit: Flickr/joits

Shane McIntyre

Chef de cuisine at Searsucker (address and info)
San Diego, CA
Favorite fast-food burger: In-N-Out’s Animal Style Double-Double

“If I’m in San Diego and I’m going to get a burger, I order an In-N-Out Double-Double Animal Style with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and pickles. The Animal Style comes with extra spread and grilled onions. So good.”

Credit: Flickr/Mark H. Anbinder

Zac Young

Pastry chef at David Burke Group (info)
New York, NY
Favorite fast-food burger: Five Guys’ Little Bacon Cheeseburger

“My favorite fast-food burger is Five Guys. I get the Little Bacon Cheeseburger. Since all toppings are free, I take advantage and get lettuce, tomato, onion (raw, not grilled), jalapeños, mushrooms, ketchup, relish, and mayo. There are more condiments than meat, and I like it that way.”

Credit: Flickr/M. Bitter

Dale Talde

Executive chef at Talde (address and info) and Pork Slope (address and info)
Brooklyn, NY
Favorite fast-food burger: Shake Shack’s ShackBurger

“Shack Sauce is great! I love that I can eat one and think, ‘Yeah, I could eat three more of these.’”

Cliff Crooks

Chef at BLT Steak (address and info) and BLT Prime (address and info)
New York, NY
Favorite fast-food burger: Shake Shack’s Shack Stack

“Normally, I’d get the classic ShackBurger, but if I’m feeling fatty, it’s the Shack Stack all the way. A cheeseburger topped with a cheese-stuffed fried portobello.”

Credit: Lee Breslouer

David Barzelay

Chef at Lazy Bear (address and info)
San Francisco, CA
Favorite fast-food burger: Steak ‘n Shake’s double Steakburger

“My favorite fast-food burger is the double Steakburger at Steak ‘n Shake. When I was in college, it was the one place still open after the bars closed. I have lots of great memories of driving all the way across town to the Steak ‘n Shake with friends just to get those late-night burgers.”

Want to eat what the chefs eat? Head over to Thrillist.com for 7 more famous chefs and their go-to fast-food burger!

More from Thrillist:

Shake Shack Vs. In-N-Out: An East Vs. West Coast Burger Brouhaha

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