Is Boston's Best Burger at Craigie on Main?

The burger at Craigie on Main is indeed popular, to say the least. It's highly acclaimed and recognized by both local and national publications for being one of the best. Heck, their chef, Tony Maws, is even up for a James Beard award (not specifically for the burger, although he probably should be). Earlier this year, it was announced that their burger world would be available in limited supply. Burger lovers everywhere freaked and food chat boards erupted over this news. The reason, states Maws, was that with all the publicity it was receiving, it became challenging to keep up with all the orders, all the while maintaining its superior quality.

This week Burger Boy and I headed to Craigie in the hopes of getting a taste of this holy grail of burgers. Not having a reservation (pretty much a necessity when planning to dine here, FYI) we waited for what seemed like an eternity (or about an hour and a half) for a spot at the bar. During our wait, we nervously watched burger after burger come flying out of the the restaurant's bright and centrally located open kitchen. Just when we were really starting to get panicky and coming close to giving up, we were seated. Before even looking at the menu, we anxiously secured our order: two burgers, medium-rare, please.

Where do I even start? The burger at Craigie on Main needs its own category and I'm not exaggerating one bit. At one point, in between bites I declared that if I knew tomorrow was my last day on earth and I only had enough time to eat one more burger, this would be it. I'm sure I'm romanticizing it just a bit, but it was just that good. With regards to the patty itself, the loosely packed buttery mixture of meats melt in your mouth. Literally. Its perfectly seasoned mixture was punctuated by an alluring, subtly spiced house-made mace ketchup, a couple sprigs of greens and of course, cheese.  Sweet, sweet cheese. Snugly resting in a sesame studded bun and accompanied by thick, crispy and slightly spicy potato wedges, mixed greens and a trio of condiments (additional mace ketchup, homemade pickles and a celery root slaw) this burger does not disappoint. Running at $18, it's worth every last penny.  This is the burger that sonnets and poems and love songs should be written about (again with the romanticizing..)

As good as it was, it wasn't entirely flawless. Not major offenses by any means but more cheese would have been nice (always!) and I thought that the greens didn't have much place in the burger; they just ended up wilting anyways.  I also thought that the celery root slaw lacked a little something. That aside, I thought that this was the best burger I've had thus far. Regarding the hefty price, it is steep, no question about it, but I don't consider myself someone that eats out all that frequently. When I do go out, I like to enjoy things that will inspire me to try something new in my own kitchen. To me, there's an art to going out to eat and it should be special. And I'm not specifically referring only to high end, top dollar restaurants when I say this. Sometimes it's a hole-in-the-wall type place with great music and simple food that's spot on or maybe it's a menu that stretches the boundaries just a bit or an exotic food from a region I'm not familiar with. I realize this request might sometimes come at a price but I'm happy to indulge every so often. Craigie on Main fits the bill as an indulgence and has earned itself a spot at the very top of burger my list.