NoCo’s Best 2021: Burgers

It's that time of the year again: the NoCo's Best food and restaurant competition! I had the honor of researching the best burger in NoCo. Northern Colorado voted Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, Stuft Burger Bar, and Big Al's Burgers and Dogs as the top three burger places in Northern Colorado. We then gathered three judges at Townsquare Media to sample the food and select the winner.

First up was Big Al's. The ambiance is casual and fun, with bright colors accentuated throughout the restaurant. The staff was very kind and welcoming and let me pick out some fun items like their 60/40 burger, their Jalapeño Cream Cheeseburger, and milkshakes. We also sampled their truffle fries and their buffalo fries, which were very flavorful and tasty. The food is featured below:

Next was Stuft. I love their patio, and the location is very accessible right in the middle of Old Town.

Stuft's burgers were really unique and fun. My personal favorite was the Hangover, which featured a burger with bacon, eggs, and (get this) a glazed doughnut for a bun. The jalapeño poppers were also creamy and tasty. The judges decided that Stuft officially has the best sweet potato fries. I am not the biggest sweet potato fan, but I loved them. The fries offer good flavors of slightly spicy and sweet and come with a delicious honey dipping sauce. The burger and the fries are featured below.

Finally, we sampled Bad Daddy's burgers. Two of the favorites were the Smokehouse burger and the Bistro Burger. If you judge a burger by the quality of its patty, Bad Daddy's is the clear winner. Their patties are a substantial portion of the burger and have great, juicy flavor with the right amount of pink. If you're a meat lover, the Smokehouse burger is for you with an Angus patty and pulled pork. They also offered up some tasty homemade chips on the side.

Thank you to all the restaurants for competing and for providing the food. Although there can only be one winner, all of the restaurants offered great food.

NoCo's Best is an annual program that recognizes the best Northern Colorado restaurants and food selected by the residents of Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and NoCo towns.

NoCo's Best 2021 winners were announced at the 2021 Taste of Fort Collins.