Burger Lounge

J. Dean Loring grew up as the son of a butcher and had already opened a burger place, Stars Hamburgers in Humboldt County in Northern California, in 1989, before he teamed up with the bank finance officer Michael Gilligan. In 2007 they opened the first Burger Lounge in La Jolla, the seaside neighbourhood of San Diego, around one idea: burgers made only from American grass-fed, grass-finished beef. A private equity partner came in 2011, and within a few years there were a dozen restaurants around San Diego and Los Angeles.

It collected local awards early, including San Diego Magazine’s best burger several years running, and in 2012 the Forbes Travel Guide put it among America’s ten best burgers. The menu is short: a handful of burgers, chicken and turkey sandwiches, a bunless paleo plate, salads and shakes.

Two details give it character. The house sauce on most burgers is the chain’s own Thousand Island, and the fries are hand-cut and fried in beef tallow, the Belgian way. Most burgers can be made with an Impossible patty, gluten-free or keto-friendly.

Restaurants around San Diego and Los Angeles.

• Crown Burgers (United States, since 1978). The Greek family burger joint that made the pastrami burger a Salt Lake City staple. Also built on beef, a special sauce and cheese.
• McDonald's (United States, since 1940). Same golden arches, wildly different burgers in every country. Also built on beef, a special sauce and cheese.
• Shake Shack (United States, since 2004). A hot dog cart in a New York park that turned into a global burger chain. Also built on beef, a special sauce and cheese.
• Carl's Jr. (United States, since 1941). Charbroiled burgers, onion rings inside the bun, and ads nobody forgot. Also built on beef, a special sauce and cheese.