The Best of 2023 – Part 2: Burgers & Brews (& Chicken & Pizza)

As promised, here is Part 2 of our Best of 2023 list, featuring the best breweries, burger joints, chicken sandwiches and pizzas from our travels the past 12 months. (Don’t forget to read Part 1 and Part 3 to get the full scoop of our food recommendations).

Once again, this list is not all-encompassing, and does not feature other food we’ve tried in these same categories in prior years. And once more, it is my honest opinion, and I have received no incentive from any of the establishments below.

Breweries

Breweries are another go-to on our travels, and early December saw us visit our 350th brewery nationwide! I cannot even begin to estimate how many individual beers I have personally tasted, but it has been enough to tell the difference between just beer and something truly praise-worthy. Though I like very few IPAs (ask me sometime for my opinion on the IPA trend), I enjoy trying just about everything else across the spectrum, from pilsners to porters, stouts to sours.

🥇 Wild Barrel Brewing – San Marcos, CA: Sadly, as of this writing, Wild Barrel has poured their last tulip glass of berliner weisse and closed up shop due to insurmountable economic storms. In spite of that news, this brewery holds a special place in my travel heart for two reasons. First, as a sour beer connoisseur, it can be hard to find a good kettle sour, gose or weisse beer, but Wild Barrel had over a dozen on tap at any one time! With that broad offering, you might think they would just all run together, but each maintained its own unique place, with exciting ingredients such as dragonfruit and cheesecake. Second, Wild Barrel was the 350th brewery we visited in our nearly 8 years of marriage, which is no small feat. For now, I will savor the last 2 cans of strawberry peach sour in my fridge, and raise them up to the creative minds behind Wild Barrel.

🥈 Dark Sky Brewing – Flagstaff, AZ: One part beer, one part food, one part atmosphere. This simple recipe is the roadmap to a great brewery, and Dark Sky follows it to a T. Beers run the gamut, but IPA-lovers will rejoice at the impressive resume of IPA styles, both standard and unusual, while the brewery also serves up great mainstream favorites and some impressive seasonal sour beers, such as the Melon Grab Fruited Gose with Tajin last summer. In terms of food, the in-house “Pizzicleta” serves up some of the best pies we’ve tasted, and I debated long and hard whether to include Dark Sky on our brewery or pizza list. After your tasty slices are gone, be sure to dive into some house-made gelato.

🥉 Brewery X – Anaheim, CA: Atmosphere is the name of the game here, with an enormous festival-sized outdoor area for enjoying a frothy pint, or noshing on some excellent pub grub from the on-site food trucks. Try the Polar Xpresso coffee stout or Huckleberry hard seltzer, and pair it with the Slap & Pickle Burger or a pan of Poutine.

Burgers

I like to think of myself as somewhat of a burger aficionado. I have tasted so many burgers that many now are just run-of-the-mill, but when I try something amazing, I can’t help but tell everyone about it. I love unusual toppings (think kimchi at a McMenamin’s a few years back), and am very adventurous when it comes to trying outside-the-box burger offerings. Just about anyone can make a burger, but it takes a true artisan to serve a burger experience.

🥇 The House – Show Low, AZ: Not only does The House earn our gold medal for 2023, it easily earns a spot on our Top 5 of all time burger list. The food was so good, we went back a second time, and it was even better than the first. Essentially all the food is great here, and if you’re not in the mood for a burger, I recommend the BBQ Founder or Buffalo Chicken Sammie, but the absolute heavy-hitter of The House is the White Mountain Donut Burger. Take a moment and picture this: 8 ounces of beef. Bacon. Grilled onions. A fried egg. Chipotle Aioli. Oh yeah, and it’s served between 2 glazed donuts. I don’t care what diet you’re on or how many calories or blah blah blah, this is the most incredible burger you will ever eat. No, experience. (If it sounds like too much, they do also serve a mean PB&J Burger with peanut butter, havarti and habanero raspberry jelly). Save a little room for dessert, and hop across the yard to Red Barn Creamery & Sweets Shop for delectable ice cream!

🥈 Green Lantern Pub – Copalis Beach, WA: This might be one of the most unexpected inclusions on an elite list such as mine (elite, ha!), but the recently revamped Green Lantern in tiny Copalis Beach provided an unexpected treat last January on a stormy day on our last trip to the coast before our son was born. Overall, everything is about what you would expect from a standard pub, but on a chilly winter day, it was hard to beat the daily special that featured double meat, bacon and grilled onions, paired with hot and salty fries. I also added a hearty bowl of clam chowder to eat by the fireplace, and a signature Green Lantern cocktail.

🥉 Maggie’s Kitchen – Ouray, CO: The first thing you’ll notice here is there is a lot of Sharpie graffiti on the walls. And tables. And doors. And the ceiling. And every surface imaginable. But Maggie’s will help you with this rite of passage, as they supply all the Sharpies! Beyond the unique atmosphere, the food is pretty dang good, too. There’s about 35 items to choose from, but I have to give the nod to the Serranon Bacon Cheeseburger or the Portabella Mushroom Burger. Prices are reasonable here, and service is quick.

Chicken

So chicken is kind of my new food go-to. For years, I thought chicken sandwiches were just boring and bland, because all I had tried were mainstream fare that was tolerable at best. But then I started hearing and reading about true chicken-craft, and since then have enjoyed some unbelievable options. Though I’ve had a few favorites the past few years, I think a new bird now gets to wear the crown.

🥇 Doughbird – Moab, UT: Doughbird is another place that not only warrants a gold medal for the year, but currently holds the #1 spot on my all-time chicken list. I loved it so much that I even bought a hat! The first thing to know about Doughbird is they are only open certain days of the week, and chicken is only available for about 3 hours during the middle of the day. Earlier, you can and should still stop by and have one of the outrageous donut offerings, which change constantly and feature fun flavors such as Chai Latte Cheesecake, Key Lime Poppyseed or Rocky Road. But the chicken is the show-stopper. Order a sandwich on a brioche donut bun, choose your heat, and prepare to lose your mind with how amazing the taste is.

🥈 Cloud Food Court – Kirkland, WA: Located just steps from the scenic Lake Washington waterfront, Cloud Food Court is the perfect place to grab a bite on a sunny day, watching the boats and the ducks while you chow down. Though they offer a great variety of food including burgers and some wonderful Mediterranean favorites, the simple Fried Chicken Sandwich with house sauce absolutely hits the mark.

🥉 Cosmos Burger – Carlsbad, CA: With 2 California coastal locations, Cosmos is known more for their burgers, but offer several other great menu options. On a whim, I opted for the Truffle Honey Chicken Sandwich, and was so glad I did. The tenders are hand-dipped and enormous, juicy and packed with flavor, and the truffle honey and herb aioli tango complements the chicken perfectly.

Pizza

Over the years, we have tried so many pizzas. Many are good, several have been sub-par, but each year a few stand out as some of the best we’ve tried. This year, despite our travels taking us to numerous western states, all the best pizza we had was right here at home in Western Washington, and all 3 just so happen to be at breweries.

🥇 San Juan Island Brewing Company – Friday Harbor, WA: Just up the street from the Friday Harbor ferry landing, you’ll find a stately pub with soaring ceilings, an inviting covered patio, and lots of great beer and food options. Start out with one of their excellent seasonals such as the Pumpkin Ale or Winter Ale, or a flagship like the Bull Kelp ESB. Now food is the hard choice…The menu is chock-full of great starters, and burgers like the CBJ Burger with gouda, bacon onion jam and arugula, but pizza is the bomb here. Creative pies include the Hot Honey + Salami and the No. 2 Schoolhouse (my fav) with pesto, local sausage, cheese, mushrooms and Mama Lil’s Peppers. To be honest, San Juan Island Brewing could have easily made the list for burger and beer as well.

🥈 North Fork Brewery– Deming, WA: North Fork has been one of our favorite local brew pubs since we discovered it several years ago. The fact that it is over an hour away doesn’t phase us; in fact, the prospect of eating at North Fork is one of the main reasons we end up hiking so often along the scenic Mount Baker Highway! As far as beer goes, they do things both by the book and outside the norm (think cucumber gose that tastes like pickle juice), so there’s a little something for everyone. But when it comes to pizza and similar foods, North Fork earns its keep. Not only are the pizzas generously-sized (opt for the 18” even if there’s only 2 of you), but they are piled with crowd favorite toppings and cooked to perfection. I should caution that opting for pizza will be a difficult choice, as the oven-fired grinder sandwiches are also worthy of their own gold medal. Plan a winter ski trip to Mt. Baker or a summer hike to one of the many popular trails, and finish it off with a pint and pie!

🥉 Sound 2 Summit Brewing – Everett, WA: Sound 2 Summit has operated a brewpub in nearby Snohomish for several years, and I’ve always enjoyed their food offerings. This summer, they opened a fresh location in a brand-spankin-new building along the revamped Everett waterfront, building a whole new food menu. I expected the food to be on par with the Snohomish experience, but was treated to an amazing surprise with their pizza. Classics like pepperoni and Hawaiian are always an option, but if you’re feeling adventurous, try out the Prosciutto and Pear or my personal favorite, the Pork and Pine with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, pineapple and bacon. Though not pizza, I also must throw in a plug for the Smoked Gouda Mac n Cheese, an absolute explosion of flavor and comfort.

Stay tuned for the final installation, featuring all the other food that we’ve tried, with seafood, tacos, ethnic cuisine and more!