Culver's

The Culver family opened their first restaurant in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in July 1984, in a building that had been an A&W. They built it around two things Wisconsin takes very seriously: dairy and hospitality. The frozen custard is made fresh throughout the day, the cheese curds are the real squeaky kind, and staff still bring the food to your table.

The burger is the ButterBurger, and the name confuses a lot of first-timers. There is no butter mixed into the beef. The bun is lightly buttered and toasted, and the patty is seared on a flat grill, which together give it a rich, slightly sweet, deeply savoury bite that tastes more like a small-town diner than a national chain.

About 1,000 restaurants in 27 states, most of them in the Midwest.