For the last 30 years, I’ve told anyone who would listen that the best burger I ever ate was at The Squeeze Inn in Sacramento, CA. The place is still around and if you are there, you should try it. It’s a great burger, but it’s no longer my “best ever”. For that, you must visit Field and Main Restaurant here in Marshall, Va for an Ooomami Smashburger. Trust me on this. You won’t go wrong.

According to some studies, Americans eat about 50 billion burgers a year. Taste is subjective, and we all have our favorites. Sometimes they’re from dives, sometimes gourmet places and occasionally from chains (I’m looking at all of you Five Guys and In-N-Out burger fans). It just so happens my two favorite burgers are from two very different restaurants, 2,700 miles apart.

In 1992, I happened to be in Sacramento, CA and someone recommended trying “The Squeeze Inn”, so called due to its tiny size. It was a small greasy spoon with seating for about a dozen people. It may have had a couple of picnic tables outside. In any case, we finally went and I ordered a cheeseburger. HOLY COW – it was amazing, the best burger I ever had. I couldn’t even tell you what made it so good, other than lots of cheese. A few months later in early ‘93 I was back in Sacramento and stopped in again – was the previous trip a mirage? Was the burger really that good? DOUBLE HOLY COW! It was just as good the second time.

I became an apostle and proselytized regularly. If I knew anyone traveling remotely close to Sacramento, I recommended they stop in. If I met someone from Sacramento, I’d always ask about the Inn. It turns out I wasn’t the only one who liked the place. Virtually anyone who’d eaten there loved their burgers. In fact, Guy Fieri of Diners Drive-ins and Dives TV Show fame, proclaimed it one of the best burgers in America.

Strangely, I haven’t returned to Sacramento since the ‘93 visit, but The Squeeze Inn’s cheeseburger lived on in my mind as the best burger I’d ever eaten. I’d occasionally look up the restaurant online, and they were still receiving rave reviews.

So, what changed for me? The Ooomami Smashburger at Field and Main came along.

Field and Main first opened in 2016. Neal Wavra, the owner, has done a great job of making the place both a destination restaurant AND a good addition to the local restaurant scene. Cathy and I enjoy dinners there on a regular basis. The menu rotates, but I’d tell you their Chicken leg “confit” is one of my favorite meals. Billed as “casual fine dining”, it’s received two favorable reviews from WaPo restaurant critic Tom Sietsma, has won numerous awards, and is constantly written up as one of the best restaurants in Virginia. Their food is excellent. If you saw the place, or looked at their menu, it’s not immediately obvious they would make a great burger, and yet they do.

I was reminded of this on a recent Saturday evening. Returning from an afternoon with my running group, I stopped in to pick up some wine we’d ordered and to get take-out dinner for Cathy and me. I went upstairs to the bar, ordered one of their signature drinks, a “Red Lantern” (definitely try it if you visit) and ordered dinner to go – two Ooomami Smashburgers and an order of loaded crispy potatoes. If you time it right, you can finish your drink in about the time it takes them to make your meal, and that was true on this occasion. I paid, grabbed the food and drove home, where Cathy was waiting.

Both of us were hungry and we tore into the burgers. We’ve eaten them several times before and on this particular night, the revelation hit me – this may well be the best burger I’ve ever eaten. I don’t know if it’s the Wagyu beef, the homemade bacon jam, or both of those combined with the onions and American Cheese that makes it so good, but it is delicious. The loaded crispy potatoes with garlic, bacon, sour cream, scallions and a pimento cheese sauce are pretty d@mned good as well. Focused on our food, we didn’t say much as we ate.

I highly recommend you give it a try, but don’t just take my word for it. Northern Virginia Magazine recently held a competition and of 32 places, it was judged the best burger in Northern Virginia (read here: NoVA Wars: Burger Edition). The loaded crispy potatoes aren’t mandatory, but they’re mighty tasty as well.

The burger is listed on the menu as an appetizer. I know some who do order it as an appetizer or split it between 2-4 people to start the meal. Others order it as their main. With so many good choices on the menu, Cath and I rarely order it as a main unless we are having a casual dinner in the bar or getting take-out. Then? There’s a good chance we have Ooomami Smashburgers in our future.

I know there are many great burgers around, and I’m sure most of you have your own “best burger” in mind at some local restaurant, or some place you remember from your past. For all of you Five Guys or In-N-Out burger fans, if your best burger comes from a chain, that’s OK. I might think you’re living a sheltered life, but I won’t hold it against you.

If you are in Sacramento, CA or Marshall, VA I’d recommend both places for a burger. If you could only choose one place? Visit Field and Main in Marshall. Call me ahead of time and I’ll happily join you.

Addendum:

• For info on Field and Main Restaurant, a reservation is usually required, unless you are sliding into the bar. Additional information can be found here: https://www.fieldandmainrestaurant.com/
• The Squeeze Inn is still around in Sacramento, and now several other places in Northern California. They no longer have their original building (it closed due to a frivolous lawsuit). I still highly recommend you get one of their burgers if in the area. You can find more about them here: http://www.squeezeburger.com/