What makes the best burger? It’s not just the leafy lettuce or the happy cow, it’s the whole experience that comes between the buns. The burger should be quality, in all aspects. It should provide an experience that exceeds the borders of cheese-saturated-paper your package is so artfully wrapped in. It’s the service, the environment, and the accessibility.
In some cases, less is more, taking your experience into the adventures of your journey.
Remember that one time you got off the BART in that sketchy neighborhood, just to find the beef deemed best burger? Or maybe you made a reservation three weeks in advance just to come face-to-face with that burger you saw trending on Insta?
Most importantly, it’s the taste. That first bite that offers a cerebral-euphoric-foodgasmic experience that has turned you into a burger addict. You slowly lower the burger to reveal your chin soaked in burger aftermath. You smile and grab a napkin. Pure bliss.
Mind you, this is definitely a tall list of expectations to stack up against each other. Which is why we scoured the city to find some of San Francisco’s best burgers. It doesn’t matter what area of the city you call your neighborhood, one bite of these burgers is well worth the trip. And appropriately so, we’ve paired our burgers with some of our favorite weed strains to elevate your foodie experience even further.
Gott’s Roadside
Multiple Locations
Gott’s Roadside is proclaimed to be a different kind of burger joint. Classic concepts often resemble greasy spoons, but not Gott’s. Gott’s offers juicy cheeseburgers made of 100% Angus beef that’s vegetarian fed from Niman Ranch, where no hormones or antibiotics are used. Gott’s offers iconic thick chocolate shakes, made with organic ice cream. This is the kind of burger joint that makes you think local. Everything is going to be super fresh and made to order. Looking for something more than your traditional cheeseburger? Well, they have you covered as well. The ahi tuna burger is to die for, and the fresh tacos and salads will help keep you light on your feet to get you through the rest of the day. Not only is their food locally sourced, but so are their brews. Order an Anchor Steam to help you wash down the nosh. With multiple locations, check their website for the closest one to you. This way, you can become a regular.
Cracker Jack by Santa Cruz Mountain Naturals: 3x High Times Award Winner
Racy and Euphoric, this sativa strain combines Jack Herer and Green Crack to bring you a strong buzz. Earthy, pungent, and woody flavors, hold up to an otherwise overwhelmingly strong flavor profile to Gott’s burgers. One of the side effects of this strain is dry mouth, which is why we suggest a triple threat with this pairing; burger, joint, and a brew.
Nopa
560 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.864.8643
Nopa is a neighborhood gathering place where you can dine on some urban-rustic wood fired cuisine with all of your favorite people. This is the kind of spot that has something for everyone. Their concept is simple food with a hyper local focus. Nopa offers a delicious wood grilled hamburger made with pickled onions, french fries and pimento aioli on their weekend brunch menu. You better believe it’s going to be the best god damned burger you’ve ever eaten, especially at seventeen dollars a pop. Keep in mind this is the kind of place that updates their menu frequently, so please check their website to make sure they have everything you’ve set your heart on before trekking on your journey to Nopa. Come for the burger, and stay for the hazelnut kumquat sticky bun. Then you might want to order a slow braised pork shoulder to take home, because why not?
Silver Haze by MedMar Healing Center
Don’t worry about all the food weighing you down, Silver Haze offers a fair amount of energy and the feeling of being uplifted you help get you past your food coma. With a cross between Northern Lights and Haze, this strain offers earthy, pungent, woody flavors. This strain also helps aid lack of appetite, so don’t feel overwhelmed by all of the amazing things Nopa has to offer. A few tokes of this strain and you’ll be ready for this foodie adventure.
Spruce
3640 Sacramento St
San Francisco, CA 94118
415.931.5100
Located in Prisidio Heights, Spruce provides the neighborhood with a place to relax and dine. You absolutely have to try their famous burger, sandwiched between a home-made English muffin bun, loaded with natural beef, pickled onions, zucchini, romaine lettuce and tomatoes, served with French fries. This burger is available Sunday nights, and it’s the perfect way to recap the weekend. We have Chef Mark Sullivan to thank for this amazing burger. His cuisine showcases only the freshest and finest ingredients available to San Francisco based restaurants. With about 80% of the restaurants produce sourced from SMIP Ranch, you can believe that quality is of the utmost importance to this restaurants core values.
Tangerine Haze by Heirloom Genetics
This sativa-dominant hybrid known particularly for its strong citrus notes in smell and taste. The zesty tangerine aroma accented with floral notes brings a particularly pleasing brightness to your meal when paired with the burger at Spruce. Enjoy your burger almost immediately after smoking. You’ll feel your stress melt away as your pain subsides you. You’ll find your lack of appetite a thing of the past, because you can’t help but continue to eat another bite, until the very last fry.
Roam Artisan Burgers
Multiple Locations
Roam Artisan Burgers is the acceleration of the burger, from the beginning (picture roaming in a pasture), all the way to your mouth. Roam is totally committed to taking advantage of the accessibility of sustainable meats and produce that we have available in SF. They offer 100% grass-fed beef, free-range turkey, all-natural bison and even have organic veggie patty options available. Get creative with your burger and customize it to point where your friends say, “I’ve never seen anything like it!!” Then pair it with one of their amazing Straus Family Creamery shakes, made with organic ice cream. While you’re at it, go ahead an add a Bruleed marshmallow, with not a single ounce of regret … because it’s organic? They also offer house made sodas, kombucha on tap, and a killer selection of local brews. Their set up is pretty relaxed, so don’t worry if a little of your customized burger lands on your shirt, you’ve earned it.
Premium Jack by Canna Grow Consultants
Considered one of the top 10 medical sativas and has won multiple awards. Effects are described as euphoric, happy, relaxed and hungry. That is just the space you want to be in when you’re craving your next burger experience. With flavor notes of pine, rose, and woody, we suggest enjoying with some sweet potatoes fries, and a burger loaded with avocado.
Marlowe
500 Brannan Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.777.1413
Located in the SoMa neighborhood, this bistro offers a meat centric menu with bold flavors by three-star Executive Chef, Jennifer Puccio, so needless to say, you gotta try the Marlowe burger. This beauty is made with caramelized onions, gooey cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, and horseradish aioli, all served with French fries. You might feel like you’re in a refined butcher shop, or in a dreamlike state of euphoria after having one bite of your burger. None of that sounds like a bad place to be. The atmosphere might be casual, but the food is all fancy. This is the kind of menu where you’ve planned to come for the burger, but might get swept away by Deviled eggs, baked oysters and bone marrow … so you might need to bring back up. You friends will be uber glad you invited them.
Red Dragon by River City Phoenix
Featuring a sweet, fruity, aroma, and a truly unique cannabis experience. Which is why we definitely encourage you to pair this sweet strain with a savory burger by Marlowe. Red Dragon offers a happy and uplifting experience, but has also been known to cause paranoia. If you’re the type, grab your burger to-go and enjoy this moment couch side.
Super Duper
Multiple Locations
Did somebody say free pickles?! And they’re house made?! Sold. Yes, we also love the fact that the burgers are made sustainably and locally. Or the fact that they are a local business conscience of their carbon footprint. Your waist line might not feel the greatest after consuming mass amounts of pickles and stuffing your face with super-duper-awesome-fantastic burgers, but at least you can feel good about eating these burgers in other ways. Like the fact that all of their packaging is 100% compostable, or the fact that they work with local designers and sign painters, bringing additional jobs to our community. The milkshakes are made with organic ice cream. They source from family-owned ranches, such as Niman and Brandt. You’ll fall in love with this place so much that you’ll plan on returning the following morning for some of their house-made donuts for breakfast. This place is on point on so many levels. Lucky us, there are multiple locations.
Bubblegum by Gold Coast Collection
Featuring flavor notes of sweet, berry and flowery. Some people say it tastes like bubblegum, go figure. This strain will make you feel super duper euphoric, happy and relaxed. This is the perfect head space to pig out on mouth watering burgers. The sweetness of the marijuana paired with a savory burger offers a well balanced high. Then bring it back to the sweet side and finish your experience with one of those organically delicious milkshakes, it will help with the dry mouth. With multiple awards in the Cannabis Cup, you know you’re in for a treat with this strain.
