Would you put that on a burger?
Most of us know what belongs on a hamburger. At least, we think we do. Across America, regional burger traditions and familiar local ingredients have produced some combinations you probably wouldn’t think to order. Some go on top. One even goes inside. Which ones would you eat, and which ones would you avoid?
Michigan: Green olives
Michigan’s olive burger puts chopped green olives where you’d normally expect pickles or another familiar topping. Halo Burger is one of the state’s longstanding examples. The olives bring a salty, briny bite that some people love immediately. Others probably wish they’d ordered the regular cheeseburger.
Wisconsin: Butter
Wisconsin’s butter burger takes the state’s dairy connection quite literally. At Solly’s Grille, real Wisconsin butter goes directly onto the beef burger. Other butter burgers use different preparations, but this version makes butter a topping in its own right. The bun has a fairly demanding job afterward.
Colorado: A whole helping of green chili
In Pueblo, a slopper takes a hamburger and smothers it in green chili, often with cheese and chopped onions. This isn’t a little sauce squeezed beneath the bun. It’s a regional burger tradition that turns lunch into something you’ll probably need a fork to finish.
Jeffrey Beall, Wikimedia Commons
Florida: Shoestring potatoes
Miami’s Cuban frita comes piled with thin, crispy shoestring potatoes. El Rey de las Fritas serves the seasoned beef burger with onions and ketchup on a Cuban bun. You could order fries on the side, of course. But this burger has already taken care of that.
Utah: Hot pastrami
Utah’s pastrami burger adds a pile of hot cured meat to a cheeseburger. Crown Burgers helped make the combination a Salt Lake City favorite, serving it with Thousand Island dressing and familiar vegetables. If you thought a beef patty supplied enough meat, Utah has another suggestion.
Natalia Lisovskaya, Shutterstock
Minnesota: Cheese hidden inside
Minnesota’s Jucy Lucy puts the cheese inside the beef instead of laying it on top. At Minneapolis institution Matt’s Bar, that means cheese enclosed between hamburger patties. From the outside, it can look fairly ordinary. The first bite reveals why this became such a local favorite.
North Carolina: Chili and coleslaw
A Carolina-style burger can arrive with chili, coleslaw, mustard and onions all sharing the bun. At Melvins’ in Elizabethtown, ordering it “all the way” gets that familiar regional combination. Slaw might seem like a side dish elsewhere. Here, it has a place directly over the beef.
Missouri: Warm peanut butter
Sedalia’s guberburger made warm peanut butter a local burger talking point. The now-closed Wheel Inn helped make the combination famous, serving it with familiar hamburger toppings. Peanut butter melting over hot beef might sound like someone grabbed the wrong jar. Its local following suggests otherwise.
Oklahoma: Shredded cheese and hickory sauce
Oklahoma’s Theta burger combines shredded cheese with hickory sauce and a creamy condiment. MOB Grill’s version in Oklahoma City adds grilled onions, garlic aioli and pickles beneath piles of shredded American cheese. It’s an established local burger idea with plenty happening between those two bun halves.
South Carolina: Pimento cheese
South Carolina’s pimento cheeseburger has a particularly strong connection to Columbia. The city’s tourism organization highlights the combination across its burger scene. That creamy mixture of cheese, peppers and dressing gives the beef a different topping from a simple slice. It also makes a compellingly messy lunch.
New Jersey: Pork roll
New Jersey’s pork roll is perfectly happy to leave the breakfast sandwich behind. The Burger Shop in Matawan puts it on its Trenton Burger with American cheese and ketchup. Whether you call it pork roll or Taylor ham, beef now has another salty layer to contend with.
istolethetv from Hong Kong, China, Wikimedia Commons
Montana: Peanuts and Miracle Whip
Butte’s Nut Burger goes beyond spreading peanut butter on beef. The version associated with Matt’s Place uses chopped salted peanuts mixed with Miracle Whip. That adds crunch and a sweet, tangy dressing in one topping. It’s a recognized local specialty with a combination you probably wouldn’t predict.
Texas: Beans and Fritos
San Antonio’s bean burger puts beans and Fritos right alongside the beef. At EZ’s, the combination includes housemade black beans, cheddar, onions and picante sauce. Those chips add crunch while the beans make the whole thing more substantial. It’s considerably busier than the name suggests.
Alaska: Reindeer sausage
In Wasilla, reindeer sausage gives an ordinary hamburger some serious competition for space. Mat-Su Family Restaurant puts it on a burger with Swiss cheese, while Last Frontier Brewing adds it alongside ham, bacon and an egg. Apparently, one kind of meat wasn’t going to be enough.
New Mexico: Green chile
New Mexico’s green chile cheeseburger is a regional institution with an official tourism trail devoted to it. Roasted green chile adds heat and flavor to beef and melted cheese. The topping might sound simple, but this is a state that takes the combination very seriously.
Luz from Houston, Wikimedia Commons
Illinois: Giardiniera
Chicago’s spicy pickled vegetable mix doesn’t have to stay on an Italian beef sandwich. FatDuck Tavern & Grill in Forest Park lists a burger topped with giardiniera, pepper jack and garlic aioli. It brings crunch, heat and enough tang to wake up the whole sandwich.
Ohio: Goetta
Cincinnati’s goetta mixes meat, oats and seasonings into a breakfast staple that also works on burgers. Burgitto Bistro lists its Burgoetta with two slices of goetta alongside a steak burger and American cheese. Breakfast and lunch apparently decided there was no reason to stay separate.
Connecticut: Steamed cheddar
Connecticut’s steamed cheeseburger does things differently right from the start. At Ted’s in Meriden, the beef and cheddar are steamed separately before meeting on the bun. The resulting blanket of melted cheese looks nothing like a tidy American cheese slice. Nobody seems especially bothered by that.
Connie Ma from United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Louisiana: Fried boudin balls
Louisiana’s boudin brings seasoned meat and rice into the burger business. Bourbon Street Deli tops a beef patty with a fried boudin ball, while Our Mom’s uses boudin balls with pepper jack and onion jam. That’s a substantial topping, even before you consider ordering a side.
Pennsylvania: Crispy scrapple
Pennsylvania’s scrapple tradition gives burgers a breakfast topping with some regional history behind it. Octoraro Tavern in Oxford lists a Farmer’s Burger with American cheese and crispy scrapple. The fried slice adds another texture to the beef, although scrapple skeptics may still need some convincing.
Idaho: Huckleberry jam
Idaho’s huckleberries turn up in burger sauces as well as desserts. At Hood Burger in Meridian, huckleberry bacon-pepper jam joins bacon, Swiss and blue cheese spread. The Hickory in Rexburg also uses huckleberry barbecue sauce. Sweet berries and beef have clearly found something to talk about.
Kansas: Burnt ends
On the Kansas side of the Kansas City barbecue scene, burnt ends don’t always arrive on their own plate. Q39 serves a burger topped with them, adding smoky brisket to ground beef. It’s a fairly convincing argument that a hamburger can always use more barbecue.
Gatorfan252525, Wikimedia Commons
Rhode Island: Hot-wiener toppings
Rhode Island’s hot-wiener tradition has crossed over to hamburgers. Olneyville New York System lists a Wiener Hamburger with mustard, onions, celery salt, meat sauce and chopped wiener. You get the familiar regional toppings plus another meat entirely. It’s a burger with a surprisingly crowded bun.
California: Avocado
California’s pick probably won’t frighten anyone, but avocado certainly changes the usual burger formula. The California Avocado Commission even publishes its own version. That creamy layer gives the beef a different texture, although keeping slippery avocado slices inside the bun can become a separate challenge.
Pan Pacific, Wikimedia Commons
Maryland: Crab dip
Maryland’s enthusiasm for crab extends straight onto the burger bun. Baltimore’s Hull Street Blues Cafe lists a Fort McHenry Burger with crab dip, fried onion rings, bacon and cheddar. It’s rich, messy and ambitious. A plain cheeseburger would have trouble keeping up with that lineup.
Indiana: Peanut butter
Peanut butter has more than one home on Indiana burger menus. West Lafayette’s Triple XXX Family Restaurant serves it on the Duane Purvis All American, while state park inns have featured a peanut butter-and-bacon burger. The usual lettuce and tomato suddenly have some unusual company.
West Virginia: Ramps
West Virginia’s seasonal ramps bring a pungent onion-and-garlic flavor to burgers. Local tourism coverage has highlighted Cafe One Ten’s Ramp & Roll Burger and Burger Carte’s version with ramp aioli. These springtime specialties give the bun a distinctly Appalachian ingredient you won’t find year-round.
Jacob Meismer, Wikimedia Commons
Hawaii: Pineapple and teriyaki sauce
Hawaii’s sweet-and-savory burger combination brings pineapple and teriyaki sauce together over beef. Mahaloha Burger lists both on its Pineapple Teriyaki Burger, alongside grilled onions and other toppings. If fruit on a burger sounds wrong, this is one place where the menu might persuade you otherwise.
New York: Rochester meat hot sauce
Rochester’s meat hot sauce gives burgers something thicker and more substantial than ordinary hot sauce. It’s a defining part of the city’s Garbage Plate tradition, where burgers can arrive over other foods beneath the sauce. This is one regional meal that doesn’t worry much about neat presentation.
North Dakota: Sauerkraut
North Dakota’s German food heritage shows up in burger toppings, too. Kroll’s Diner has offered a German Burger with sauerkraut and pepper jack, with Thousand Island dressing on the side. That tangy cabbage gives the burger a very different bite from the usual lettuce and tomato.
Oregon: Marionberry jam
Oregon’s marionberries have found a home on burgers as well as in pies. Portland’s Mando has paired marionberry jam with beef, bacon and peanut butter. Migration Brewing also featured a jalapeño-marionberry version for Burger Week. Those berries clearly aren’t waiting around for the dessert menu.
Zigzag Mountain Art, Shutterstock
Delaware: Scrapple
Scrapple already has a devoted following at Delaware breakfast tables. At McGlynns Pub in Dover, it also joins a burger with bacon, Swiss cheese and a fried egg. If you’re already a scrapple fan, this probably sounds sensible. Everyone else may need the ingredients explained first.
Deans Charbal, Wikimedia Commons
Georgia: Fried green tomatoes
Fried green tomatoes are familiar Southern food, and Georgia burger menus give them another place to land. Macon’s Rookery has featured them on its Walden Greenback Burger with bacon, goat cheese and remoulade. That crisp, tart slice does considerably more work than an ordinary tomato.
Nevada: A chorizo patty
Nevada’s Basque food traditions offer an alternative to the usual bacon topping. Villa Basque Cafe in Carson City describes its Sheepher Cheese Burger as one beef patty paired with one chorizo patty. That second layer brings seasoned sausage into a burger that was already substantial.
Massachusetts: Cranberry sauce
Massachusetts cranberries have found their way onto beef as well as turkey. When Smashburger arrived in Natick in 2013, its regional New Englander featured cranberry sauce, grilled onions and cranberry Stilton. It was a sweet-and-tangy local interpretation that gave a familiar holiday condiment another assignment.
Iowa: Maytag blue cheese
Iowa’s Maytag blue cheese gives burgers a sharp, distinctly local topping. At the Iowa Taproom in Des Moines, the Maytag burger includes blue cheese crumbles, honey-peppercorn bacon and blue cheese mayo. If you like your cheese mild, this probably isn’t the burger you’re looking for.
Virginia: Country ham
Virginia’s salt-cured country ham gives a burger something stronger than the usual deli slice. Virginia Diner’s Rail Car pairs it with two beef patties, Swiss, bacon, onion straws and Dijon-style sauce. It’s a local ingredient doing familiar work, although this sandwich doesn’t exactly travel light.
Arizona: Roasted green chiles
Arizona shares the Southwest’s enthusiasm for putting green chiles on practically anything worth eating. At Chelsea’s Kitchen in Phoenix, freshly roasted green chiles join melted cheddar on a burger. It’s a regional flavor that makes a plain cheeseburger seem like it’s missing something.
Vermont: Maple syrup
Vermont maple syrup can end up on a burger without anyone reaching for pancakes. Archie’s Grill in Shelburne adds it to its Vermont Bacon Cheeseburger with local beef, bacon and cheddar. It’s a sweet finish to a savory sandwich, with several Vermont ingredients sharing the bun.
Mississippi: Comeback sauce
Mississippi’s comeback sauce has a name that sets fairly high expectations. Burgers Blues Barbecue puts it on its Comeback Burger with fried green tomato, pepper jack, bacon and caramelized onions. The creamy sauce is a familiar regional flavor getting a much bigger role than dipping duty.
Maine: Lobster
Maine lobster doesn’t have to choose between a roll and a dinner plate. At Portland’s Highroller Lobster Co., the Surf & Turf tops a beef burger with butter-poached lobster meat. It’s a very Maine way to make a hamburger feel considerably more extravagant than usual.
Kentucky: Beer cheese
Kentucky’s beer cheese makes a comfortable jump from appetizer to burger topping. Cumberland Grill House in Somerset lists a Kentucky Beer Cheese Burger with bacon and fried pickles. You get the creamy cheese spread, salty bacon and a little crunch in the same bite.
South Dakota: Cream cheese and jalapeños
South Dakota burger menus offer some enthusiastic cream cheese combinations. Powder House’s seasonal lunch menu includes its Holy Terror Burger with cream cheese, jalapeños and bacon, while Black Hills Burger & Pizza has featured its Hot Granny. Creamy cheese and spicy peppers make a surprisingly comfortable pair.
Alabama: White barbecue sauce
Alabama’s tangy, mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce is usually associated with chicken. But Woodside Restaurant at Gulf State Park also lists an Alabama White BBQ Burger. If you’re used to red barbecue sauce, the color might throw you. The first bite could change your mind.
Nebraska: Sauerkraut and corned beef
Nebraska’s Reuben connection provides inspiration for a burger with a very different personality. Double V in Grand Island lists an Omaha Burger with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss and Thousand Island dressing. If you like a Reuben, there’s a good chance this combination will make immediate sense.
Warren Price Photography, Shutterstock
Tennessee: Whiskey glaze
Tennessee whiskey has found a place on the burger menu. Burger Republic’s Tennessee burger uses Jack Daniel’s honey glaze with cheese, bacon, smoked ketchup and crispy onions. It’s a local ingredient getting a sweet-and-savory assignment, and a rather convincing reason to order extra napkins.
Linus Strandholm, Shutterstock
New Hampshire: Maple-flavored sauces
New Hampshire’s maple connection turns up in burger condiments as well as breakfast syrup. Black Mtn. Burger Co. in Lincoln lists maple mayo and New Hampshire maple syrup among its options. Other local menus have used maple-based reductions. A little sweetness can change the entire burger.
Washington: Cream cheese
Seattle’s cream cheese enthusiasm extends beyond its famous hot dogs. Rain City Burgers puts cream cheese on its Sounders Burger with jalapeños, bacon and pepper jack. It’s a documented local burger combination that brings a cool, creamy layer to a sandwich with plenty of heat.
Arkansas: Fried pickles
Fried pickles built a following in Atkins in the 60s, and they’ve also made their way onto Arkansas burgers. Little Rock’s now-closed Busker served them with fried green tomato, cheddar and remoulade. Regular pickles suddenly seem a little underprepared for the job.
Wyoming: Chugwater chili
Wyoming’s Chugwater connection gives an ordinary chili burger a local identity. The Chugwater Soda Fountain serves a chili burger and also sells the town’s namesake chili seasonings. Smothering beef with chili isn’t unique to Wyoming, but this example gives the familiar combination a hometown association.
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