Philly's 5 favorite burgers, via Zagat
The winner, Blue Duck, is a BYOB restaurant in Northeast Philadelphia.
Zagat Survey, which routinely polls restaurant-goers, is out today with its 2015 Burger Survey, which runs down the top five picks in 17 U.S. cities and offers some insight nationally on burger preferences.
This is one list from Zagat that does not reward the hoity-toity establishments, as you can see from Philadelphia's top 5:
1. The Blue Duck, an American BYOB in Northeast Philadelphia
2. Spot Gourmet Burgers, a food truck on Drexel's campus that is about to open a brick-and-mortar location
3. Village Whiskey, the Jose Garces bar at 20th and Sansom Streets
4. Fountain Porter, a bar near East Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia
5. Nick's Roast Beef Bar & Grille, the Old City location of this bar
Zagat, which polled online from July 9 to Aug. 5, got responses from 8,748 people across the country, 42% of whom were women,.
Participants report eating burgers 3.9 times per month on average, typically getting their fix at specialty burger eateries (56%), general restaurants (25%), fast-food spots (6%) diners (4%), or choosing to make them at home instead (9%).
Half of respondents (49%) say they are willing to spend between $10 and $14.99 on a burger, while 25% said they would be OK with spending $15 to $19.99. 14% of people would prefer not to spend more than $10, and a smaller 7% of folks would spend between $20 to $24.99 to get their fix. Only 5% of participants would be comfortable paying $25 or more for a patty. When asked if they'd splurge more than $25 on a "mind-blowing" burger, participants were evenly split: 50% said "yes" and 50% said "no."
As for cooking preference, 43% are fans of medium-rare, followed closely by a 37% preference for medium. Medium-well lags behind at 12%, while the least popular options are tied on either end of the spectrum: 4% like it rare and another 4% ask for their patties well-done.
The Blue Duck and Village Whiskey won top prizes at the 2015 Burger Brawl. The Blue Duck won the people's choice award at the 2014 Burger Brawl two months before the restaurant opened.