10 of the best burgers in Boston

Fancy pants: There are plenty of restaurants in the South End vying for your business, but none of them top the Carpet Burger at the Gallows. It’s topped with fried oysters and chipotle rémoulade, grilled onions, iceberg lettuce, American cheese, and pickles. Yum.

Spoil yourself: Sliders are one of the best inventions known to humanity, but Lucky’s Lounge takes them to the next level. Here, they come topped with muenster cheese, a fried quail egg, and applewood smoked bacon aioli. Genius.

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Go a little crazy: Boston Burger Company specializes in crazy concoctions on burgers, like the Mac Attack, topped with four-cheese homemade mac and cheese and bacon. And that’s pretty tame by their standards. Feeling brave? You can always create your own from any of their ingredients.

Feel-good: Grass Fed is a suitably hip burger bar for Jamaica Plain. They serve New England-raised beef, offer Starving Artist specials, and feature truffle-parmesan fries.

The curveball: You won’t get your traditional bun at the Lower Depths Tap Room. Instead, go for the Quesadilla Burger, which comes with warm, gooey cheese melted inside a flour tortilla, with tomato salsa guacamole, habanero aioli, and a beef patty. And it’s served with tater tots, too.

Worst-kept secret: Alden & Harlow’s Secret Burger is a fan favorite. Understandably so, as the combo of house-made bun, iceburg gem lettuce, salted onions, pickles, Cabot cheese, and the unnamed sauce top the ground beef patty. Only about three dozen come out of the kitchen each day until they sell out, so don’t wait too late to try one.

Straight-up fast food: Tasty Burger is a classic, and for good reason. With locations in Fenway, Harvard Square, Back Bay, and Southie — all open late — there’s no reason not to get your hands on one. Our pick? The “Big Tasty.” Name says it all.

For the vegetarians: Rather than masquerade as beef, the veggie burger at Audubon Boston absolutely owns its name. It’s made of brown rice, farro, corn, carrots, celery, shallots, ginger, garlic, red bell peppers, scallions, parsley, and cilantro, with chipotle aioli on a brioche bun. Even devout carnivores might consider a bite.

National chain: Five Guys Burgers and Fries is not for the faint of heart (or easily clogged arteries). Points awarded for sheer availability internationally, meaning you never have to go for too long without some of this heavenly hand-food.

Late-night special: A Cheeseburger Club sounds fantastic at any time of the day, but that’s espcially true at 1 a.m. South Street Diner is open 24 hours a day and serves this buger with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo at whatever time you could want it.