So, you think that you’re a fast-food expert, do you? Sure, you know the most famous fast-food brands, like McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, Dunkin’, Domino’s Pizza, Taco Bell, and Subway. But you can’t know all these brands. After all, as of 2022 there are 107,541 chain restaurants all across the US. It’d be a miracle if you knew 7,541 of them, never mind the rest of the hundred thousand others. 

We don’t really know how many of these chain restaurants focus more on burgers, but there are probably lots of them. And some of them are extremely good, and should be able to compete with the more famous burger chains, at least in terms of food quality and reasonable prices. But many of these brands are relatively unknown, even in this age of ubiquitous social media. 

In any case, we do our part by focusing the spotlight on comparatively unknown burger chains that really ought to be more popular across the country. 

  1. Meatheads

It’s understandable why the brand isn’t all that famous. Their locations are limited to just Indiana and Illinois, which may make you wonder why Iowa isn’t on the list. 

Come inside, and the place is brightly lit and spotless. The staff people are friendly, so much so that some introverts may find it just a tad uncomfortable. 

But it’s the food here that really gets the spotlight. You have the usual indicators of a great burger joint, as they serve quality beef and fresh-cut fries. 

For the burgers, you pay a small extra fee if you want to add avocado, bacon, or fried eggs to your burger. But it’s free to add other toppings, such as fresh pineapple and roasted red peppers. 

As for the fries, you get a lot of it and it comes with a large bowl of cheese sauce. It’s seriously addictive, and you can be forgiven if you finish the fries all by yourself. 

  1. Killer Burger

This time, the locations are only in Washington (that state with Seattle) and Oregon. And here, they firmly believe that burgers are just enhanced with the presence of bacon. That’s why almost all their burgers feature bacon, along with ⅓-pound beef that’s local and grass-fed. But they also have the bacon-free Purist burger, because they believe in freedom of choice when it comes to burgers. 

Then you have the fries, and you really have them. They come with every order of burger and, get this, they’re bottomless. Seriously, that alone may be worth the price of admission here. Imagine if you have the munchies and visit a Killer Burger, and you end up eating fries for hours. 

As this burger chain is based in Portland, Oregon, they take their beer seriously here. That’s why you can match your terrific burger with great beer. The menu always features Bloodshed red ale and Contract Killer IPA, which are the 2 beers they made with Culmination Brewery. The menu also lists many other popular Oregon beers, including Backside, Fort George, and Ninkasi. 

  1. Burger Lounge

Come to either Nevada or California, and you might stumble upon a Burger Lounge location. It has 22 locations in California, and it’s also on the casino floor of the Aria Resort & Casino. 

It may be difficult to open locations in other states, because their food and ingredient sources are just within these areas. Their burgers are all grass-feed and grass-finished, and they’re either from Grass Run Farms or Miller Ranch Beef. Their turkey burgers are from Shelton’s Farms. Rumiano Bros. supplies the organic cheese. 

Unless you say otherwise, all the burgers here are cooked medium. The toppings are basic, although they do include nitrate-free bacon and avocado. The sides are also both simple and well-made. Come in and order The Husky burger (double beef, double cheese, LTO, pickles, and Thousand Island dressing) and Half and Half (fries and onion rings combined for 2 people), along with a chocolate Big Lounge Shake, and consider yourself lucky. 

Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers 

This burger chain has at least 300 locations, spread out among 30 states. Yet somehow, it has maintained its place under the radar. Their fans call themselves FredHeads, and they don’t really seem to have any success in propagating the word about Freddy’s online. 

But then again, the overall vibe in every Freddy’s location is decidedly like a small-town burger joint in the 1950s. Even its growth was a surprise to the founders. In fact, they only planned on opening just one location. 

A simple order of double steakburger, fries, and maybe a side of fried pickles, may not seem all that special. But it’s actually spectacular, once you get a taste in. You get 2 patties in the burger, along with 2 cheese slices, onion, mustard, and pickles, all combine inside the butter-toasted bun. It’s an old school burger that’s a good example of why classics are still revered. 

Here, you can also get other stuff like hotdogs, and of course, there are the great frozen custards. Check out PriceListo, and the prices are just reasonable. This is one place you can just enjoy your simply great burger and relax.