Guest Post by The Snack Sage

Greetings, it's the Snack Sage (the Food Sage's son). In honor of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, we are doling out some medals ourselves. What's more American than a hamburger (well, maybe hot dogs and apple pie, but we'll save that for a future post). Today we are honoring Silicon Valley's Medal-Winning Burgers. We have two winners in each of three categories - you guessed it, gold, silver, and bronze. The judges are my taste buds. Here we go...

Gold Medal

"The Essence Burger" Category: Original Joe's Famous Burger

3/4 pound ground chuck, tumbled in chopped yellow onions, swiss cheese, grilled or broiled and served on their signature french bread. There's no lettuce, no tomato, no pickles...no need. Throw a little ketchup on and I am good to go! It's just meat and cheese. The essence. So good. Almost impossible to eat it all in one sitting. So, therefore, you get two meals out of it. The bread it's on is off the hook as well. 

Gold Medal

"The Fist Pump" Category: Kirk's Tripler Melt

There are three different kinds of cheeses on it. It comes on rye bread (hence the "melt" in the name). First bite always results in a fist pump in the air. Because it's so good and I always forget just how good it is.

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Silver Medal

"The Kitchen Sink Burger" Category: The Counter

You have about 8,000 options from meat choice, to meat weight, to bread, to no bread, to veggies, to fried veggies, to sauces, and lots in between. What I know is whatever I am craving the Counter satisfies. And I know that they will cook it exactly how I want it. Medium Rare...it's the only way. 

Silver Medal

"The Fried Egg Makes It Awesome" Category: The Konjoe

Konjoe Burger in the San Pedro Square Market could also have won the Juiciest Burger category. Especially with the fried egg. You got your beef, sweet roll, lettuce, fried egg, caramelized onions, pickled jalapenos, jack cheese, and konjoe sauce. I'm not a spicy burger guy, so I get it without the pickled jalapeños. But I bet they are legit. The whole thing is legit. 

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Bronze Medal

"The Tried and True Never Disappoints" Category: Red Robin Blue Ribbon 

They have gourmet burgers. They have bottomless fries. Should I keep going? The Blue Ribbon Burger is my personal favorite. Tangy steak sauce, Bleu cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomatoes, chipotle mayo, and crispy onion strings on an onion bun. Boom! 

Bronze Medal

"The I Haven't Forgotten About Fast Food Burgers" Category: In-N-Out Double Double

This was a tough one to call. The Carl's Jr. Super Star was so close, but the In-N-Out Double Double is just a cut above. Gotta go animal style (grilled onions), and whether you are eating in the car or inside, it's so good, so consistent. Surprisingly, the only burger on the list with double patties. So there's another key distinction. 

So what are your Gold Medal burgers? What do you agree with? Disagree with? Have my choices made me lose all credibility when it comes to top burgers? Or have I earned street cred? Weigh in...