Review: Every Chili’s Burger, Ranked From Worst to Best | Invesloan.com

The Bacon Rancher burger cost $19.49, excluding tax, at our local Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

The bacon was arranged in a crisscross design on top of the burger patties and cheese. Two slices of cheese were on the burger patties, which were smashed and had a crispy texture.

The ranch dressing worked well with the other ingredients in the burger and added a creamy, tangy flavor that offset the savoriness of the two burger patties and bacon.

However, we thought this burger bordered on too much meat. We couldn’t clearly taste the bacon over the juicy, meaty flavor of the patties, and the moisture from the two burgers affected the texture of the bun, which struggled to hold its shape.

We also missed some of the fresher ingredients, like lettuce or tomato, that we enjoyed in the other burgers we tried.

Overall, this burger just wasn’t to our personal taste.

The Double Oldtimer with cheese cost $17.79, excluding tax, at our local Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

The burgers were stacked neatly on top of one another, with the toppings under the beef. We thought this was interesting — we usually place burger toppings on top of the patties to prevent the bottom bun from getting soggy.

A thin slice of cheese separated the two burger patties, and we thought the lettuce and tomato tasted fresh. However, we had mixed feelings about the mustard.

The mustard almost overpowered the other ingredients, and the additional patty made the burger so juicy that the bread was nearly flattened. Still, we thought the burger patties were cooked perfectly and had an excellent texture.

It was a great classic burger, similar to one we might make at a cookout. However, we all agreed that when dining out, we prefer to choose more creative options.

The Oldtimer cost $13.29, excluding tax, at our local Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

We were interested to see how this burger compared to the others, which were all topped with cheese.

Unlike with the double, we could distinctly taste all the ingredients since there was no second patty to overpower the flavor of the toppings. We also surprisingly didn’t miss the cheese — the burger was so juicy and moist, it didn’t need it.

However, the mustard was still a little strong. One of us thought the addition of ketchup would have balanced out the burger more, but another reporter thought it was fine without it.

The Mushroom Swiss Burger cost $14.79, excluding tax, at our local Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

This burger was stacked high, with mushrooms falling out of the bun. One of our reporters, in particular, is a big fan of mushrooms, and these ones looked perfectly cooked and came in a hearty serving. We were excited to try it.

This burger tasted earthy but not overpowering, thanks to the generous serving of mushrooms, but the onions were the secret star.

The burger patty, which was cooked medium, kept its shape while adding moisture, as did the mushrooms. The lettuce, onions, and tomato balanced out the burger by adding crunch, and the creamy mayonnaise pulled it all together.

One of our reporters actually deemed this burger as their second favorite, but it was beaten in the overall ranking.

The BBQ Brisket Burger cost $17.59, excluding tax.

The beef patty was topped with a slice of cheddar cheese, pickles, and a mound of pulled brisket slathered in Chili’s sweet barbecue sauce.

The combination of the soft and moist pulled brisket and the crispy yet juicy patty worked well for this burger, especially when combined with the barbecue sauce that we caught a noticeable whiff of even before tucking in to eat.

The sweetness of the sauce also provided a solid balance to the tartness of the pickles.

One of our reporters, who usually reaches for ketchup when eating burgers, noticed she didn’t feel the need with this burger.

Since we were splitting the burger, we didn’t feel it was overwhelmingly meaty. However, as much as we enjoyed our smaller portions, we could imagine that eating the whole burger by ourselves could result in meat overload.

The Just Bacon Burger cost $14.99, excluding tax.

Despite its size and plentiful ingredients, this burger looked to be holding up decently within its bun. We were curious to see if that would be the case after we portioned it out. After cutting it into four pieces, each section held up.

The ingredients in this burger, besides the patty, reminded us of a familiar favorite: a BLT. But what worked so well was that we could taste each component, as none overpowered the other.

There was a generous amount of crispy bacon, the slice of tomato was thick and juicy, and the mayo-covered lettuce added a touch of freshness to each bite.

As much as we enjoyed it, we ended up placing two burgers ahead that were just as delicious but more unique.

The burger costs $14.39, excluding tax, at my closest Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

Like the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, Chili’s Big QP burger comes with a single burger patty. However, Chili’s said its patty has 85% more meat than the McDonald’s version.

Chili’s culinary director Brian Paquette also told Business Insider that this is the first time the chain has introduced a burger with ketchup already added to it.

The pickles and diced red onions also added sharpness and crunch to the burger.

The “Big QP” name doesn’t lie — it was a big burger and it tasted very similar to a Quarter Pounder, just a bit more elevated in terms of quality and portion size. Our only complaint was with the cheese.

The slices could have been melted just a bit more, but this could have been because we tried the burger at a media event and not an actual Chili’s restaurant.

The Big Smasher Burger cost $14.39, excluding tax.

The Thousand Island dressing was dripping from all sides of the burger. One reporter remarked that we should’ve worn bibs.

It looked like the Big Smasher Burger was going to be a saucy mess, but the dressing turned out to be one of our favorite aspects.

The Big Smasher Burger wasn’t the easiest to handle, as it left our hands slick with sauce, but it made up for the mess with flavor.

The Thousand Island dressing was creamy and thick, yet refreshing and tangy, helped by an assortment of red onions and pickles. It completely coated the juicy patty. Despite the heavy amount of dressing and juices, the bun remained intact, unlike some other burgers on the menu.

It had a tasty zing that we felt made it an ideal burger to eat in the summer.

The Alex’s Santa Fe Burger cost $16.29, excluding tax, at our local Chili’s in Glendale, New York.

It came with one beef patty, avocado, pepper jack cheese, red onion, jalapeños, tomato, pickles, cilantro, and the chain’s spicy Santa Fe sauce.

We reached a quick consensus that Alex’s Santa Fe Burger was our favorite burger, as it was by far the most creative.

Created by Chili’s sous chef Alex Gomez in 2018, the burger is jam-packed with as many flavors as it has colorful ingredients.

The jalapeños and slightly smoky Santa Fe sauce gave each bite a kick, but the slices of avocado and tomato, the juicy patty, and the cheese balanced it out. As one reporter noted, it was spicy but not to the level that had us immediately reaching for a glass of water.

The burger’s brightness and freshness helped it live up to its Southwestern-inspired name and made it our top choice on the menu.

This definitely wasn’t your average chain-restaurant burger — and it cemented Chili’s as the casual-dining chain to watch, in our humble opinion.