Chef Dominic Ruggiero, with his butcher background, grinds his own burger blend — a mix of chuck, brisket, and short rib — at his intimate and buzzy new North Scottsdale restaurant. But some of the best meals come with asterisks — Hush’s being that its burger (draped in gooey American cheese queso and nestled between brioche buns from a local baker) at least for the time being, is only available on Wednesdays. And there are only 12 available. And it’s first come, first serve. But even with such constraints, it would be wrong to leave it off an essential burgers list when it’s one of the best in town. 

Both in branding and in the build of their burgers, Chzburgr feels, at least at first blush, like a Shake Shack copycat. But across the street from ASU’s west valley campus, former fine-dining chef Kelly Fletcher transcends the burger behemoth in worthwhile ways. Along with a layer of paper-thin sliced onion, he smashes his patties deeper into the flattop than the cooks at Shake Shack do, yielding more flavorful, caramelized, and lacy-edged bites.

As if burgers weren’t indulgent enough, Chef Doug Robson bravely takes the pork belly burger at his 7th street restaurant a few steps further, topping a grass-fed patty with fat strips of pork belly coated in a tangy citrus glaze. Pickled onions and a spicy relish cut the richness in half with ample acidity, whereas sliced avocado lends fresh, cool creaminess to each bite. 

At Southern Rail, in the Camelback corridor of Central Phoenix, Chef Justin Beckett takes a stab at a few southern-themed sandwiches — Cubanos and shrimp po’ boys among the bunch — but none have attracted fanfare like his muffaletta burger. Inspired by the popular New Orleans cold cut sandwich, Beckett’s burger is layered with mortadella, salami, provolone, a liberal pile of chopped olives and vegetables, and a healthy smear of creole-spiced aioli. 

Most of the time since they opened their doors in October, Persepshen has featured a burger on a menu that changes on a whim, as husband-and-wife team Jason and Katherine Dwight move through local produce and whole animals in various stages of curing and dry-aging. The burger — most recently adorned with fat crumbles of Danish blue cheese, arugula, lemon aioli, and a touch of strawberry vanilla bean jam atop a patty made from 60-day dry-aged beef, all piled between a brioche bun — follows suit. Their beef blend (its makeup and its age), and likely the toppings, will continue to change.

While the internet doesn’t have as much to say about it, putting pineapple on burgers feels just as polarizing as the pizza equivalent. However, The Stand improves upon a genre of burger that can be marked by soggy, flavorless rings of canned pineapple and gloppy barbecue sauce, both by grilling their pineapple slices until charred and opting for a thin, spicier “honey lava” sauce that cuts a burger which would skew too sweet otherwise.

With a homemade peanut butter spread and a jalapeño jelly that’s neither very gelatinous nor all that sweet, this burger bears little resemblance to the spoonful-of-Jif version that first launched this niche burger category. But Wilderness’ grown-up take lets its quality patty shine. This is a good thing when the desire is also there to taste (and keep on tasting) the terroir-driven beers that give Arizona Wilderness its nationwide reputation as a can’t-miss brewer.

Bitter & Twisted’s indulgent and saucy entry has achieved iconic burger status in Phoenix with how much press it’s received. And for good reason — the English muffin bun imitates pillowy dumplings, cradles a pork-infused patty, and gets layered with a spicy-sweet trio of condiments in jalapeño mayo, Sichuan pickles, and their own dumpling sauce. 

In Avondale, Laura Gonzales and her business partner, Robin Velasquez, run a true-blue burger stand dressed in a loud teal paint job. It’s fitting, then, that it’s the kind of place where regulars go on the weekends to turn the parking lot into a Hot Rod show. The burgers aren’t flashy, but there’s always something fun under the hood; a chopped green chili bacon cheeseburger in the New Mexican style; a bean-chili, cheese, and onion burger in the southern Californian style; and one with a chorizo-spiced patty, chorizo aioli, and a sunny-side up egg, for which they’re best known.

Located in Downtown Mesa, Worth Takeaway is better known for their array of well-executed sandwiches than their classic take on the burger (a half-pound patty topped with cheddar and their own pickles, among other toppings) that’s only available during dinner hours. But it’s their not-so-mild obsession with the cartoon Bob’s Burgers, which inspires specials as well as full-costume pop-ups, that makes Worth such an indispensable place to eat burgers.