Best Burger in America!?!

Mel and I went to Stella's on the 10th. It is home to "The Best Burgers in America," as given by GQ Magazine. In case you haven't been to Stella's, it is a little hole in the wall bar owned by the same owner of Hopcat and GRBC. It has a bit of a hipster/alternative/geek vibe. It is dark with some interesting artwork. Outside of the food and drinks, the best part about Stella's is the vintage arcade and pinball games.Nothing like a burger and some Mortal Combat or Street Fighter II. Anyway, on to the food.

We started with the beer battered onion rings with avocado ranch. The rings were cooked very nicely. The batter was light and crispy and the onion was fully cooked and sweet. The ranch worked well with the onion rings with just a hint of avocado coming through. 

 Mel got the Stella blue stuffed burger. The burger is stuffed with blue cheese and bacon. The cheese oozes out of the burger and the bacon adds a nice saltiness and kept the burger from drying out. It also adds some saltiness. It was topped with some onion and crispy lettuce. Ketchup and mustard are at the table. The fries are similar to Hopcat's crack fries and GRBC's seasoned fries, however they are spicier. Mel thinks they go great with a little ranch dressing to cool them off.

I got "the Buffalo" burger. It is just like the Stella blue burger, except it also has buffalo sauce and a celery mayo on it. The buffalo sauce adds a nice little bit of heat and the celery mayo does add a hint of celery flavor that recalls a classic buffalo wing with celery and ranch on the side. The burgers are big and satisfying and the buns are toasted and dense enough to hold up to the burgers, yet also soft enough so they don't tear up your mouth like I have had happen at some restaurants. Also, the burgers, in my experience, are always cooked perfectly to order. Medium is medium, medium well is medium well. 

Stella's is one of those places that you sometimes hesitate to tell people about because you want it all to yourself. It is so unique in a sea of similar bars/eateries. But the burgers and drinks are too good not to tell people about. The servers have always been friendly and you can play arcade games. As far as being "the best burger in America," I don't know about that. I haven't traveled the country eating hamburgers. However, I can say that it is the best burger in Grand Rapids, and possibly the best I have ever eaten. It is the perfect combination of high class taste and working class sensibility; the taste is good enough to be found on a top dollar restaurant, but priced and served so anyone can enjoy it. Highly recommended.