George Motz, host of the Travel Channel's new show "Burger Land," is on a mission to find the best burgers in America, and he won't stop traversing the entire country until he uncovers them.
In the course of three months, Motz ate 70 burgers while shooting "Burger Land." He traveled from coast to coast, stopping in states like Mississippi, New Mexico and Illinois along the way, to get a taste for the flair each location puts on their respective patty.
In an interview with the Associated Press, he detailed the most distinctive features of each burger, saying that no two are alike.
"One of the greatest dividing lines is the frozen patty versus the fresh meat burger," he said. "It is very difficult for restaurants to keep fresh meat in the house, so the restaurants that are making hamburgers with fresh ground beef, it's not easy and they're doing the right thing."
Motz also said that he still "craves a burger every single day," adding that he had to employ a strict workout regimen to accommodate eating that many burgers a week.
Here are a handful of his favorite places to get regional spin-offs on the classic American burger.
New Mexico
In a state where the green chile shares state vegetable status with the pinto bean, it comes as little surprise that the most famed kind of burger is the green chile cheeseburger. "They're hot and they're so good," Motz said. "You can only find them in West Texas, south Colorado and the entire state of New Mexico." The green chile cheeseburger also happens to be the state burger.
Connecticut
Motz tried a Steam Cheeseburger in the Northeast for the first time, and loved it, he says. This burger consists of a large piece of ground beef that is steamed in a cabinet alongside its cheese. The dairy is then poured on, "like a molten goo," he says. "It's very unique only to Connecticut."
Texas
"Dallas has a good burger culture," Motz said, citing a few locations as having burgers that comprise the stuff of dreams. He claims that Keller's drive in was like "heaven," and Jack's Burger House, with a Greek spice-infused burger, was among the best he'd tried.
California
In Southern California, Irv's Burgers took Motz's heart. As for the San Francisco Bay Area, he touted Val's Burgers in Hayward for being, "unbelievable."
Catch "Burger Land" on the Travel Channel, Mondays at 10 p.m.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
