Best Burger in the wine country

[MissDottie19]

I'm going up to Calistoga next week for my birthday and have been craving a good burger. A really really good decadent burger. I'm willing to drive anywhere up there, but I'm not sure where to go.

Any suggestions?

If I were in SF, I'd try that butter burger, but alas! And has anyone tried that?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Courduroy]

I had a fantastic duck burger at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen (Cindy Pawlcyn) in St Helena...very unique and possibly one of the best burgers I have ever eaten

http://www.cindysbackstreetkitchen.com

[rruben1]

I know it is heretical, and I'm no vegetarian, but the veggie burger at the Rutherford Grill, with the tarragon cole slaw, is one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life.
For the more traditional among us, it's tough to beat the burger at Gott's, eaten outdoors, on a sunny afternoon.

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Rutherford Grill
1180 Rutherford Rd, Napa, CA 94558

[maria lorraine]

Many folks think the ahi burger is better than the regular burger at Gott's, me included.

[CarrieWas218]

I'm with you, ML! The ahi burger rocks...

[Junie D]

Though the OP has had her delicious burger, I'll add a couple of very downscale Napa spots for a good burger:

Squeeze Inn (in the Vallerga's shopping center on Trancas/Redwood at Solano Ave.)
http://www.squeezeinnhamburgers.com/

Big D Burgers (on Silverado Trail near First St

)

I'm also a fan of Norman Rose's lamb burger

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Big D Burgers
1005 Silverado Trl, Napa, CA 94559

[uberslop]

One of the best burgers I've had anywhere in the Bay Area was the first one I had at Ravenous, in Healdsburg -- a thundering neural blast of burger perfection. I went back and it was still exceptional, if not at the same burgasmic levels.

[maria lorraine]

That *is* a good one, if the OP gets that far north.

[boltsfan]

+1

[celeryroot]

Good but I like the one at Zin in Healdsburg better

[boltsfan]

We love Zin but have only been there for dinner... had the hanger steak and it was amazing. They also had A.Rafanelli by the bottle.

[celeryroot]

Bistro Ralph at lunch........Lamb burger with potato strings is wonderful

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Bistro Ralph
109 Plaza St, Healdsburg, CA 95448

[wally]

I have had a great burger at Ravenous. I have also had a great burger at Jackson's Bar and Oven in Santa Rosa.

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Jackson's Bar and Oven
135 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

[Dan Wodarcyk]

Angele. Best burger in Napa.

[The Dive]

Different part of "wine country," but the grilled boar burger at Zazu is quite tasty.

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Zazu Restaurant
3535 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

[MissDottie19]

I passed Gotts and the place was busy busy busy, so I would certainly go there.

I actually went to Mustards, but there was a bit of a wait, so we traveled a bit and settled on Girl and the Fig and had an AMAZING burger there--medium rare with brie. They make the rolls, the pickles and the bacon there themselves and oh lordy, it was perfect.

But I'm keeping this list for next time--I'm still bummed about Martini House tho--that sounded like a great burger.

[ikb]

i remember gott's (aka taylor's refresher) has a very good burger. i haven't been there in a few years though.

[maria lorraine]

The burger with onion rings atop at Bistro Don Giovanni was declared one of the 20 best
in the nation according to an article a few years back. It's very good.

Hydro, where you'll be in Calistoga, has a good burger with good flavor.

The Kobe beef burger at Press is wonderful.

I like the one at Rutherford Grill too.

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Rutherford Grill
1180 Rutherford Rd, Napa, CA 94558

[ROCKLES]

Nothing wrong with Mustards...its a a great burger
http://www.mustardsgrill.com/menus/main

[chocomel]

Never tried Martini House's but I would second Mustards especially with mushrooms on top. The meat was ground to a nice consistency, they cook it to a perfect medium rare. It was one of the best burger I've ever had, and so simple, without lots of unneccessary toppings.

[Ridge]

The burgers at Norm Rose tavern in downtown Napa are amazing.

[CarrieWas218]

Ridge, thanks for the nudge; I went to Norman Rose on Friday for lunch and had their lamb burger which was astonishingly good. Topped with herbed goat cheese and wilted garlic spinach, this my be my go-to burger in the neighborhood, despite the $14 price tag.

The truffled fried with parmesan cheese and caper aioli was pretty good as well.

[Nopa]

Second that!

[boltsfan]

Agreed as well... Mustards has an outstanding burger!

[Kathleen M]

I've always been very happy with the burgers at Mikes at the Crossroads, in the Crossroads Center at the corner of Hwy 116 and Old Redwood Highway in Cotati. Mike thinks a burger needs to have cheese (couldn't agree more) and so charges extra to leave the cheese off. He's quite a character. We also recently had a terrific burger (well, two terrific burgers, one for me, one for DH) at Barley and Hops in Occidental. This would be quite a drive from Calistoga, but especially if it's a nice day, it would be beautiful drive. The burgers were cooked perfectly medium rare as ordered, generous toppings, nice bun.

[DavidT]

Current thread on best Bay Area burgers:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/776932

[bobpantzer]

My favorites when I lived in Yountville, aside from the now closed Martini House, were the burger with gorgonzola at Alexis Baking in Napa which they serve on their house baked bun with a decent caesar salad and the one at Pacific Blues in Yountville where they have a nice outdoor patio. I was never fond of the one at Taylor's Refresher, now Gott's Roadside, in St. Helena.

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Pacific Blues Cafe
6525 Washington St, Yountville, CA 94599

[wineguy7]

Red Rock Cafe in Napa is my favorite.
http://www.backdoorbbq.com/cafe.html

[wolfe]

The dilemma of the burger dichotomy. There's burgers and there's Burgers. I liked the Red Rock but it's not in the decadent category.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4977...

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Red Rock Cafe
1010 Lincoln Ave, Napa, CA 94558

[wineguy7]

At Red Rock I always get a burger with bacon and bleu cheese. It's pretty decadent, at least by my definition of the word. Also like the french fries as well as the onion rings there.

[wolfe]

MartinI House has the one I want to try.

http://www.martinihouse.com/menus/lun...

[bobpantzer]

Martini House closed a few months ago. There burger was great, though..

[wolfe]

Curses, foiled again.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMtrTAFP2CQ...

[jan262]

Martini House is closed.