In the 2022 movie, “The Menu,” Margot (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) tells famed Chef Julian Slowik (played by Ralph Fiennes) that she wants a cheeseburger. His reply: “We can do a cheeseburger. I’ll make you a very traditional cheeseburger. I’ll have you feel as though you’re having the first cheeseburger you ever ate.”
When he serves her the cheeseburger, she takes a bite, and then declares, “Now that’s a cheeseburger.”
Since May was National Hamburger Month, I decided to go on a quest to find the best cheeseburgers in Orange County—not necessarily traditional, but ones that made me smile as I took a bite and hopefully echo Margot’s words: “Now that’s a cheeseburger.”
I do have my favorites, but I solicited burger suggestions from friends. The result was a list too long to tackle, but I devoured as many burgers as I could.
The following below are the results of my burger research.
The Mayor’s Table: Famous Fries, No Skimping
The Mayor’s Table at the Lido House hotel is named for the former Newport Beach City Hall that used to occupy the land where The Mayor’s Table now serves fabulous cuisine, courtesy of Executive Chef and Partner Riley Huddleston.
Among the dishes offered for both lunch and dinner is a cheeseburger: 1/2 lb. wagyu beef, cheddar cheese, heritage bacon, umami grilled onion, and garlic aioli, served with chef’s famous fries—and they are famous.
Huddleston’s Boise Fry Co. in Idaho won several Best Fries titles, and those fries are on the Mayor’s House menu.
Huddleston’s recipe for a perfect burger: “Do not skimp on ingredients. The bacon is pecan smoked and it’s thicker—you need that bite. It’s all about texture in a burger, and simplicity. If you put too much on a burger it loses what a burger is about.”
Huddleston recalled some of the best burgers he had growing up were at rodeos. No cheese or lettuce or tomatoes, just a burger patty pressed down on the grill.
Quite different from the Mayor’s Table cheeseburger, which uses American wagyu, onions grilled and compressed, and garlic aioli.
And then there’s the burger bun.
“I tried many different buns—seeded or not seeded. A brioche bun is too much, too rich. And then the onion, if it’s not grilled it takes away from the meat flavor, and a burger is all about the meat.”
The verdict: this is an excellent burger, with no ingredient overpowering another. The award-winning fries are fantastic, with seasoning I’d love to take home and use on everything I grill.
Huddleston is introducing a new dinner menu in June, but you can bet the cheeseburger will still hold a place of honor.
The Mayor’s Table: 3300 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, (949) 524-8500, lidohousehotel.com/mayors-table-pacific-pub.html
A Restaurant: A Limited Selection
When you peruse the A Restaurant menu, you won’t see a cheeseburger listed at the famed Newport Beach spot along Coast Highway. That’s because they only make 10 every night, so you have to ask for one—if there are any left.
According to Steven Ackad, A Restaurant’s manager and beverage director, the restaurant does its own butchering, and the beef used in the burger comes from the filet and ribeye scraps.
“It’s an off-menu item made with a lot of love,” Ackad said.
“It’s an amazing burger.”
In addition to the beef patties, A Restaurant adds arugula, caramelized onions, applewood-smoked bacon, your choice of bleu cheese or four-year aged cheddar, proprietary secret sauce and a brioche bun.
The dish comes with fries—in this case, twice-fried skin on fries.
I paired the burger with a new Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Andrew Jones, which was blended by Jordan Otterbein, managing partner of River Jetty Restaurant Group (owner of A Restaurant), Ackad and others from A Restaurant.
“We went through several incarnations and finally settled on the one that is in the bottle,” Ackad said.
“It was a process. We were not trying to make a Bordeaux, we were trying to make a good reserve Paso cab, and that’s what we came up with. It is roughly 85% cabernet from a couple of different vineyards, 5% percent merlot, 5% petite verdot, and 5% petite sirah.
Because it is a 2022 vintage, it’s a little young, so we added the petite sirah to give it more structure and body. I think it is drinking pretty well. It is blended to make it more approachable early.”
The verdict: this is a damn good cheeseburger (with cheddar). Ordered just under medium, the meat was slightly pink and juicy, the thick bacon paired well with the other burger ingredients, and the bun held up well. Now that’s a cheeseburger.
Although young, the wine opened up in the glass with a little swirling and was a perfect accompaniment to the burger.
A Restaurant: 3334 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, (949) 650-6505, riverjettyrg.com/a-restaurant
Olea and Vine: Worth Ordering Again
Olea in Newport Beach has so many wonderful menu options, yet every time I visit, I order the same thing: the American Wagyu Burger with extra sharp white cheddar, applewood bacon, pickled onion, roasted tomato, butter lettuce, secret sauce and a challah bun, accompanied by herb fries.
I usually pair this with either Opolo zinfandel or a fabulous smoked old fashioned courtesy of mixologist Inga Tantisalidchai.
I asked Chef Jared Cook, the Business Journal’s Chef of the Year for 2024, why his Olea burger is such a standout.
“The burger patty is 100% American wagyu chuck, super coarse ground. I tried 30 different blends until I found the best one,” Cook said. “We add Lolla Rosa lettuce, which is red and kind of bitter, smoked onion and mushroom, Worcestershire sauce, taleggio cheese and whole grain mustard.”
His fries are also notable—crisp on the outside, soft inside, and addicting.
“We soak the fries then fry them once, cool them, and fry them again,” Cook said.
San Clemente’s Vine is a sister property of Olea, and has what I still consider one of the top burgers in OC—the Mexicali burger. This handful of goodness features American Kobe beef, queso fresco, avocado, chile de arbol crème, sweet onion slaw, roasted spicy serrano chile and hand-cut herb fries.
This is an outrageously good burger, one I have been back to several times to make sure it’s as good as I think it is. Yes, it is.
The Mexicali burger is also the favorite of Cook, the executive chef of Vine, Olea and the other restaurants in Russ Bendel’s restaurant group—although his Mexicali burger at Bloom in San Juan Capistrano has two patties instead of one.
Vine: 211 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, (949) 361-2079, vinesanclemente.com
Olea: 2001 Westcliff Drive, Ste. 100, Newport Beach, (949) 287-6807, oleanewportbeach.com
Great Bites: Lunch Goers Return for Dinner
Great Bites is a fast-casual concept in downtown Huntington Beach that serves fine dining-quality food.
My first time at Great Bites I didn’t know what to order because everything looked so good (there are photos of each dish on the Great Bites website) so I went with one of the most popular items: bacon and avocado cheeseburger made with premium wagyu beef, on a handmade brioche bun with organic shredded lettuce, organic heirloom tomato, cheddar cheese, applewood smoked bacon, sliced avocado and organic secret sauce.
When the burger came out, I took one bite, then another. And another. This is a ridiculously good burger. The bacon is perfectly crisp yet not dry, the avocados added another dimension of flavor, the bun was soft yet held up to the burger which was cooked a perfect medium rare with juices slowly oozing out.
“Most people have our burger and fries on their first visit and then they return to try other things,” said Great Bites owner Josh Crater.
“I can’t tell you how many times we have a new customer come in for lunch and then return the same day for dinner, saying it was so good they wanted to come back right away. For every ingredient on our menu, we tasted tons of options and selected only the best. When you buy ultra-premium ingredients and put them together it’s the difference between just good bites and Great Bites.”
Great Bites: 303 3rd St., Huntington Beach, (714) 794-3777, order.toasttab.com/online/greatbiteshb