We know you can get a burger just about anywhere, but like a lot of the other things you can find in Las Vegas, the city tries to go one better, even for the classic burger. So, what makes the burgers here really good?

Well, it might be the bread. We serve up our burgers a lot of different ways, putting patties between slices of Texas toast and even lettuce leaves. But we really appreciate a good bun, whether it’s sesame, brioche or butter bun. At Burger Bar in Mandalay Place, you can order up your sandwich any way you want and one of the best ways is on a pretzel bun. Yup, all the salty chewy goodness of a soft pretzel in bun form.

Mac-N-Cheese Bacon Burger

Mac-N-Cheese Bacon Burger

Of course, it might be the toppings. You can put a lot of wacky things on top of your meat, and we do. Who could have envisioned the Mac-N-Cheese Bacon Burger at Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar in The Linq Hotel? That one’s got six-cheese mac and cheese and applewood bacon, and it’s an award winner, too. At Toby Keith’s in Harrah’s, you can get monster, big, huge, ginormous onion rings on your Old West burger; Bobby’s Burger Palace in The Shops at Crystals will throw potato chips on top of anything you happen to want it on.

Does the cheese count as a topping? ’Cause it should be a whole thing by itself. At Stripburger in Fashion Show, the Famous Blue Cheese Burger has enough cheese to almost qualify as a second patty. At B&B Burger and Beer in The Venetian, a sunny-side-up fried egg hits the spot in the Morning After.

Maybe it’s the sides. The pickle chips at BLT Burger in The Mirage are teeny, cute little things, but they sure are tasty, giving you a little vinegary pop in your mouth. I don’t really like pickles, but I have eaten a whole order while my hubby just looked at me, begging for some with those puppy eyes. Sorry, dog.

It might be that crazy milkshake. You can put alcohol in anything, but bourbon really goes well with the shake. Bobby’s Burger Palace has a vanilla caramel bourbon shake and BLT Burger has one called Grandma’s Treat, with a healthy dose of Maker’s Mark in there (and lots of whipped cream on top!).

The Hog Burger

The Hog Burger

And it just might be the meat. B&B Burger and Beer uses the same beef you’ll find at its steakhouse, Carnevino, a proprietary brisket and chuck blend. Many of the burger places here use American Kobe, or certified Angus; you’ll find they are proud of their beef, and rightly so. BLT Burger has created a buffalo burger with fried jalapeños that it’s putting out in honor of the National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 8-14. Heck, Gordon Ramsay BurGR even has a Hog Burger; it’s made from a special free-range mangalitsa pig.

Truthfully, what makes having a burger in Vegas beautiful are all these things. You can spend a lot, and you will get a lot; you can spend a little, and you will still get a lot. The common ingredient is quality, and you’ll find it in the sides, the toppings, the meat—but mostly in how much care goes into the food. It’s worth every penny.