{"id":466241,"date":"2026-09-17T01:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466241\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T01:58:17","slug":"best-of-orange-county-2026-best-burger-spot-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466241\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of Orange County 2026: Best burger spot \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and do business in OC.<\/p>\n

Here are the top picks for Best burger spot:<\/p>\n

1. In-N-Out Burger<\/p>\n

Multiple locations; in-n-out.com<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not much of a secret to making a good burger, even if you have a not-so-secret menu. In-N-Out Burger not only pulls it off, but does it perennially at the top for voters in the \u201cBest of\u201d list.<\/p>\n

This leads to COO Denny Warnick saying \u201cWe\u2019re truly honored by this recognition and deeply grateful to your readers for their continued support. Our customers mean everything to us, and we are sincerely thankful for the trust they place in our company.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 36 Orange County locations, the restaurants are hard to miss. Just look for long lines of cars and it\u2019s a good chance you\u2019re near an In-N-Out.<\/p>\n

Once a quirky California \u201cthing,\u201d the franchise has slowly and consistently grown, last year making Tennessee the 10th state with locations and new corporate offices.<\/p>\n

Undergirding it all is a deceptively simple recipe and menu of never-frozen hamburger patties boned and ground by in-house butchers, produce and fries sliced daily on-site and shakes made with real ice cream.<\/p>\n

The not- so-secret-menu contains special preparations like Animal Style, Flying Dutchman, Protein or certain personalized tweaks. These include the 3X3 and 4X4, which take the chain\u2019s Double-Double and add extra patties and cheese slices.<\/p>\n

The company remains committed to community service. Inn-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson in November launched the HIS EYES Foundation, a companion charity to In-N-Out Burger Foundation and the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation.<\/p>\n

Warnick says of HIS EYES, \u201cThis initiative is dedicated to bringing hope, immediate support, and long-term solutions to those experiencing homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also see: Best of Orange County 2026: See all the winners<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Habit Burger & Grill<\/p>\n

Multiple locations; habitburger.com<\/a><\/p>\n

From its laid-back California cool roots to corporate ownership by Yum! Brands, there are elements about Habit Burger & Grill that endure and keep it among the most-loved burgers in Orange County.<\/p>\n

These include the Charburger, Double Char and Santa Barbara Char that have been a backbone of the popular eatery since its opening in 1969 as a Goleta Beach shack.<\/p>\n

Featuring seared, flame-grilled patties, melted cheese, and, in the case of the Santa Barbara Char, fresh avocado on toasted sourdough, the burgers are best sellers that capture the chain\u2019s signature flavor.<\/p>\n

Under Yum Brands, which owns about 70% of the restaurants, Habit is nearing 400 shops nationally and about 25 in Orange County.<\/p>\n

While burgers are a signature, the menu also includes salads, veggie burgers, chicken, ahi tuna and grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken bites, onion rings, sweet potato fries, tempura green beans and seven flavors of milkshakes.<\/p>\n

3. The Stand: American Classics Redefined<\/p>\n

Multiple locations; thestand.com<\/a><\/p>\n

In the crowded burger field, you can try to duke it out with the ubiquitous behemoths or \u201credefine\u201d classics, as Southern California-based The Stand has done, in part by expanding the envelope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes us proud is that our burgers are part of a bigger idea: American Classics Redefined,\u201d stated Vice President Zach Wishengrad of the Stand, which has five O.C. locations. \u201cGuests can come in for a great burger and fries, but they can also bring the whole family or office and find great sandwiches, fresh salads, bowls, wraps, hot dogs, shakes, craft beer, wine and more. We want The Stand to be the place where everyone can find something they genuinely crave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Available are 10 burger variations including BYOB \u2014 build your own burgers \u2014 plus an entire kitchen cupboard of offerings. There are also seasonal and rotating specials like jerk chicken bowls, miso salmon sandwiches, and a strawberry birthday cake shake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Each year, we ask Orange County Register readers to choose their favorite places to shop, dine, play and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,183329,11102,183595,158965,158791,183594,5396,113950,183596],"class_list":["post-466241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-best-of-orange-county","tag-burger","tag-cheeseburger","tag-french-fries","tag-habit-burger-grill","tag-hamburger","tag-in-n-out-burger","tag-secret-menu","tag-the-stand-american-classics-redefined"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}