A burger is greater than the sum of its parts. And that’s true not just because eating buns or raw onions on their own is pretty lame, but because a burger is something you crave instead of something you merely want. When you need one, nothing else will do - even if you know it’s not likely to travel as well as, say, your neighborhood pad see ew. So when the craving hits, give a call to one of these 10 spots.
The Spots
Ok, we’re cheating a little bit here. The best burger in Boston isn’t quite available right now. But Bar Lyon is teaming up with its sister restaurants on a combined delivery/pickup menu that features a burger, and it looks like a reasonably close facsimile. The egg and dry-aged beef are gone, but the pork belly, mushroom duxelles, and tarragon aioli are still there. It’s the burger equivalent of a Zoom happy hour: good enough for now.
The best thing about The Haven in JP - its outstanding Scotch selection - isn’t available to-go. But you should be drinking cocktails instead of single malts right now, anyway. So mix up a drink and order their burger with bacon-onion marmalade for either takeout or delivery.
Under normal circumstances, getting one of the limited-number Craigie burgers requires you to leave work early, wait in line outside before it opens, and shout “Burger! Burger! Burger!” at anyone who plausibly looks like they work there once you get inside. Compared to that, placing an online order, driving to Central Square, and giving your hands a few squirts of sanitizer seems downright easy. Both delivery and pickup are available from 5-7:30pm.
All Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Square has five different burgers on the menu, and you can get them via either takeout or delivery. That’s why it’s called All Star Sandwich Bar and not Decent Roll Player Who Plays Multiple Positions And Doesn’t Give Away At-Bats Sandwich Bar.
The burger at The Gallows, which is one of the best in Boston, is available for either pickup or delivery through its sister restaurant Banyan. So when your burger craving hits at the same time as your 60-dumplings-for-$35 craving, you know who to call.
Boston Burger Company
All three of Boston Burger Company’s metro locations are open for takeout or delivery (that would be the Fenway, Harvard Square, and Davis Square). If that isn’t enough good news for you, how about the fact they’re still providing their complete menu of 30 different burgers? Yep, we thought so too.
We love the burgers at Roxy’s Grilled Cheese because they’re among the absolute messiest in Boston. And now that the inevitable Roxy’s sauce stain on our shirt will merely be joining forces with pre-existing toothpaste stains, bourbon stains, and a stain from that poorly executed attempt at making homemade hand sanitizer, it seems like an appropriate time to get their bacon cheeseburger. The Allston location is open for pickup or delivery (the Central Square location is currently closed).
The Met has four different burgers available right now, including one topped with brie, fried egg, and truffle mayo. But save this place for the weekend when you can order their breakfast burger for either takeout or delivery starting at noon. Because when you start your morning/afternoon with a burger, you guarantee that at least one really good thing will happen that day.
The Alcove is normally one of our go-to options when we want good food before a Celtics or Bruins game. Remember the Celtics and Bruins? Those two teams who were extremely well-positioned to make championship runs before the entire world came to a screeching halt? Anyway, Alcove’s burger is available for either delivery or pickup, and it’s a good one that comes topped with cave-aged cheddar.
The Curley burger at JM Curley is the poster child for all bar burgers - it’s juicy, greasy, topped with Russian dressing, and small enough to hold in one hand while having a beer in the other. If you don’t believe in the whole concept of a poster child, well, there’s also a BBQ burger, a veggie burger, and a classic diner burger available for you on Uber Eats.
To be honest, we normally find the Saltie Girl burger to be a little much. But since none of us has too much of anything right now (hair, screen time, and anxiety excluded), a burger topped with fried lobster, pork belly, and avocado might actually be exactly what we need. Delivery and curbside pickup are both available.
