A Burger Love Story
Story and Photos By Anastasia Stanmeyer
Illustration By Leonard Kenyon
ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON at 2 p.m., two hours into getting a head start on the week ahead, I had this urge for a good burger. I get that way sometimes. It could very well be that I was tallying up comments for a question I had posed on social media and by email: What restaurant in the Berkshires has the best burger? I don’t know about you, but when I’m at a restaurant and not sure what to get, I go for the burger. It’s oftentimes a gauge of how good a restaurant is—at least for me.
I made my way through the 100+ responses, and it didn’t take me long to see that Bistro Box was way ahead of the burger pack. Lucky for me, the seasonal roadside eatery was only a mile from my office in Great Barrington. I answered that burger calling and headed to my car.
I was not only looking to satisfy my desire for a good hamburger; I was also looking for inspiration for this article. No surprise that the line to order was long when I arrived at Bistro Box. I was happy to slow down and wait for what would be a good 40 minutes. At the counter, I ordered the BOX Burger with a side of hand-cut fries and unsweetened iced tea with a splash of strawberry lemonade. I took note of the signage: If I brought my furry kids along next time, they would be pleasantly surprised to see a doggie menu just for them, with selections such as Pup Patty (unseasoned grilled sirloin patty), Good Dog (grilled Hebrew National hot dog), and Happy Hound (one scoop vanilla ice cream with a peanut butter biscuit).
I sipped my refreshing drink through a red-and-white striped paper straw—so fresh that it even had bits of strawberries. It was an all-outdoors venue, very casual, with disposable everything except the plastic baskets that the food was served on, along with the metal trays. I scanned my surroundings, and Saturday in the park came to mind. Leashed dogs were stretched out by picnic tables. A toddler swung his plastic bat at T-ball while his mom lounged on a blanket, reading.
People were playing frisbee, corn hole, ladder toss, a huge Connect Four, kicking around a ball, or just chatting away. Eight minutes later, my restaurant pager lit up and vibrated; I grabbed my food from another window, loaded up on ketchup and mustard, and settled into a vacant picnic table under the shade of towering eastern white pines. I looked down at the perfectly positioned grass-fed burger topped with tomato bacon jam, cheddar, and roast garlic aioli. It tasted just like I imagined, like it did when I was here last year around the same time. It tasted like summer. The burger was perfectly cooked to medium with a toasty brioche bun and sliced pickles on the side, along with a heaping pile of fries, lightly salted.
The relaxed rural setting, the burger and fries and iced tea, were the perfect interlude to my afternoon of work. I went back to the office and began listing the restaurants that were flagged as some of the best locations for hamburgers. The prices widely vary, from $8 to $20 on up. So here we go. Your burger adventure is spread out before you, with comments from fans to chew on.
Best Burgers
GREAT BARRINGTON
Bistro Box, 937 S. Main St.; closed Wed; thebistrobox.rocks
“Best veggie burger at The Bistro Box, they have GF buns, too.”
“They offer two delicious beef burger choices as well as the best gluten-free bun I’ve ever tasted!”
Number Ten, 10 Castle St.; open daily; numbertengb.com
“Meat is their specialty. Beef is ground right on premises.”
The Prairie Whale, 178 Main St.; closed Tues and Wed; prairiewhale.com
“Try the North Plain Farm Grass-Fed Cheeseburger!”
The Well Restaurant & Bar, 312 Main St.; closed Sun, Mon, and Tues; wellgb.com “Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger!”
Barrington Brewery, 420 Stockbridge Rd. Unit 4; closed Tues; barringtonbrewery.net
“The first place I think about for a great burger and a cold brew.”
The Marketplace Kitchen Table, 240 Stockbridge Rd.; open daily; marketplacekitchen.com
“The burgers aren’t big, but, good lord, they are absolutely incredible.”
3 Sisters Harvest Café, 800 Main St. (at the VFW); open only for breakfast and lunch, closed Sat and Sun; on Facebook “Catch them on a day when they serve up their bacon cheeseburger or mushroom onion burger!”
Bogies Restaurant & Pub, 935 S Main St.; open daily; bogies935.com
The Black Angus Burger is tasty, with a lot of add-ons to choose from!”
The Backstage Grille, 109 Stockbridge Rd.; open daily; thebackstagegrille.com “My go-to spot for the best burger in GB. Great food and a great crew running the Grille.”
The Elm, 20 Railroad St.; closed Mon; theelmgb.com
“The Elm Burger with comte, black truffle aioli, pickled red onion, and oyster mushrooms is wonderful!”
Guido’s, 760 S. Main St.; open daily; guidosfreshmarketplace.com
“Smashburgers Thursdays at lunch. I like the ‘Americana’ burger best. Delicious and consistently good.”
SHEFFIELD
The Frog, 650 N Main St.; closed Mon; sheffieldfrog.com
“Had the brunch burger and it was out of this world!! So tasty!!”
The Stagecoach Tavern, 854 S. Undermountain Rd. (located at Race Brook Lodge); closed Mon, Tues, and Wed; rblodge.com/thestagecoachtavern “My husband says the burger was the best he ever had!”
SOUTH EGREMONT
The Barn at Egremont Inn, 17 Main St.; closed Mon and Tues; theegremontbarn.com
“Most nights they have live music. Grass-fed burgers; I suggest the blue cheese burger there.”
Made to order at Bistro Box: a BOX Burger with a side of hand-cut fries and unsweetened iced tea with a splash of strawberry lemonade.
STOCKBRIDGE
Lion’s Den, 30 Main St. (downstairs at The Red Lion Inn); closed Mon and Tues; redlioninn.com/dining
The Den Burger is “the best burger I’ve had in the Berkshires.” Live music Wednesdays to Sundays.
LEE
Morgan House, 33 Main St.; closed Mon and Tues; morganhouseinn.com
“The Morgan House is a sleeper for all good food, and the burgers are amazing.”
51 Park Restaurant & Tavern, 51 Park St.; open daily; 51parkrestaurant.com “The burger was wonderful; it was cooked medium well, making it juicy.”
Cafe Triskele, 150 Main St.; closed Mon; cafetriskele.com
“Hamburger with bacon & blue cheese tasted fresh and was perfectly cooked.”
LENOX
Antimony Brewing, 55 Pittsfield Rd. Building 2 (in the Lenox Commons); open daily; antimonybrewing.com
“The new Antimony Brewing has really good burgers—and you can get a bison, lamb, or elk burger!”
Bistro Zinc, 56 Church St.; open daily; bistrozinc.com
“Juicy, flavorful burger—and as big as your head!”
Firefly, 71 Church St.; closed Sun; firefly-lenox.com
“The menu boasts four kinds of burgers; a favorite is the Housemade Salmon Burger with lettuce, tomato, avocado lime smash, and roasted garlic aioli. Yum!”
The Olde Heritage Tavern, 12 Housatonic St.; closed Mon; theheritagetavern.com “Go on Tuesday night! That’s Burger Night at the Heritage, even in the summer!”
PITTSFIELD
District Kitchen & Bar, 40 West St.; closed Mon; district.kitchen
“District Kitchen & Bar burgers are my personal favorite, I’ve never had a bad burger there, and they’re always doing creatively delicious toppings.”
The Roasted Garlic, 483 W Housatonic St.; closed Tues; theroastedgarlic.com “Try the Black Bean Burger: Simple black bean with rice combo-type patty, topped with crisp arugula. The bun was soft and buttery with the roasted garlic mayo. So tasty; easy to take down every bite without feeling overly full.”
Thrive Diner, 145 Wahconah St.; closed Sun, Mon, and Tues; thrivediner.com “Great veggie burger!”
House of Seasoning Grill, 117 Seymour St.; closed Mon; houseofseasoning.com “All their food is spectacular—including the HoS burger!”
101 Restaurant & Bar, 1 West St. (on the second floor of the Holiday Inn and same owners of Patrick’s Pub in Pittsfield); open daily; 101restaurantbar.com
“The Pimento Burger is out of this world!”
Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort, 95 East St.; ottoskitchen.com
“Otto’s is known for their outrageous burger toppings/pairings.”
LANESBOROUGH
Olde Forge Restaurant, 125 N. Main St. closed Tues and Wed; yeoldeforge.com
“The Forge Burger and the Veggie Burger are great!”
Patrons at the Bistro Box are welcome to play frisbee, corn hole, ladder toss, Connect Four, and more in a relaxed setting under the canopy of eastern white pines.
Krispy Cones, 585 S Main St.; open daily; krispyconesicecream.com
“I was totally surprised by the quality of the burger. It was big, it was juicy & delicious.”
DALTON
Shire Beer Co., 63 Flansburg Ave.; closed Sun and Mon; shire.beer
“The Candied Bacon Burger is incredibly tasty. There’s also a veggie burger option—black bean and chipotle patty!”
ADAMS
Bascom Lodge, 3 Summit Rd. (at the top of Mount Greylock); closed Mon and Tues; bascomlodge.net
“Burgers are on the lunch menu. The Summit Burger is great!”
Red’s Viking Pub, 83 Commercial St.; closed Sun, Mon, and Tues. redsvikingpub.com
“They have a lot of different combinations. I have been leaning towards their smash burgers lately.”
NORTH ADAMS
Freight Yard Pub and Restaurant,
1 Furnace St., Building 3; open daily; freightyardpub.com
“Cozy atmosphere, great staff, and one of the best burgers—and some of the best wings—I’ve ever had.”
Public Eat + Drink, 34 Holden St. (same owners as District in Pittsfield); closed Sun and Mon; publiceatanddrink.com “The brie burger is phenomenal!”
Trail House Kitchen and Bar, 896 State Rd. (Route 2), on the Mohawk Trail; open daily; trailhousekitchen.com
“The Taylor Brothers Bacon Burger is one-of-a-kind!”
Chingon Taco Truck, 1111 MASS MoCA Way (at the entrance courtyard of MASS MoCA); newly open, so check for days/ hours; chingontacotruck.com “Hamburguesa!”
Pedrin’s Dairy Bar, 1360 Curran Hwy.; open daily; on Facebook
“Just straight-up American hamburger heaven.”
WILLIAMSTOWN
Gramercy Bistro, 16 Water St.; closed Wed; gramercybistro.com“The Forge Burger and the Veggie Burger are great!”
Krispy Cones, 585 S Main St.; open daily; krispyconesicecream.com
“I was totally surprised by the quality of the burger. It was big, it was juicy & delicious.”
DALTON
Shire Beer Co., 63 Flansburg Ave.; closed Sun and Mon; shire.beer
“The Candied Bacon Burger is incredibly tasty. There’s also a veggie burger option—black bean and chipotle patty!”
ADAMS
Bascom Lodge, 3 Summit Rd. (at the top of Mount Greylock); closed Mon and Tues; bascomlodge.net
“Burgers are on the lunch menu. The Summit Burger is great!”
Red’s Viking Pub, 83 Commercial St.; closed Sun, Mon, and Tues. redsvikingpub.com
“They have a lot of different combinations. I have been leaning towards their smash burgers lately.”
NORTH ADAMS
DAN MCCARTHY
Freight Yard Pub and Restaurant, 1 Furnace St., Building 3; open daily; freightyardpub.com
“Cozy atmosphere, great staff, and one of the best burgers—and some of the best wings—I’ve ever had.”
Public Eat + Drink, 34 Holden St. (same owners as District in Pittsfield); closed Sun and Mon; publiceatanddrink.com “The brie burger is phenomenal!”
Trail House Kitchen and Bar, 896 State Rd. (Route 2), on the Mohawk Trail; open daily; trailhousekitchen.com
“The Taylor Brothers Bacon Burger is one-of-a-kind!”
Chingon Taco Truck, 1111 MASS MoCA Way (at the entrance courtyard of MASS MoCA); newly open, so check for days/hours; chingontacotruck.com “Hamburguesa!”
Pedrin’s Dairy Bar, 1360 Curran Hwy.; open daily; on Facebook
“Just straight-up American hamburger heaven.”
WILLIAMSTOWN
Gramercy Bistro, 16 Water St.; closed
Wed; gramercybistro.com
“Tuesday Night is Burger Night! It’s the best!”
Purple Pub, 65 Spring St.; closed Mon and Tues; purplepub.com
“Great burgers, and for an alternative to beef, try The Atlantic housemate salmon burger with spinach, cheddar, and spicy remoulade!”
Water Street Grille, 123 Water St.; open daily; waterstgrill.com
“A unique selection of burgers, like the New England, the Tennessee, the California, and the Buffalo. All excellent!”
Mezze Bistro + Bar, 777 Cold Spring Rd. Route 7; closed Mon and Tues; mezzerestaurant.com
“Mezze Burger Night on Wednesdays is delicious.”
CHESTER
The Chester Common Table, 30 Main St.; closed Mon and Tues;
chestercommontable.com
“Reasonably priced, it has several burger options on the menu, including Buffalo Style Burger and House made Lentil and Mushroom Veggie Burger.”
NEW LEBANON, NEW YORK
M&M’s Tap and Tavern, 501 US-20, New Lebanon, N.Y.; closed Mon; mmtapandtavernny.com
“Just had the Cajun Burger with sweet potatoes. Best burger I’ve had in a long time, and maybe the best ever!”
HILLSDALE, NEW YORK
Hillsdale House, 2634 NY-23, Hillsdale, N.Y.; closed Tues; hillsdalehouse1797.com
“What a lovely local restaurant for a burger and fish and chips.”
EAST CHATHAM, NEW YORK
The Gnome Bistro, 1267 NY-295, East Chatham, N.Y.; closed Mon and Tues; thegnomebistro.com
“Try out the Build Your Gnome Burger! It doesn’t disappoint.”
LAKEVILLE, CONNECTICUT
Black Rabbit Bar & Grille, 2 Ethan Allen St., Lakeville, Conn.; closed Mon and Tues; blackrabbitbarandgrille.com
“Great and inventive burger choices, with names like Bella, Buddha, Posh Spice, and Black Bean, among others.”