This has become my go-to burger joint in the Boston area, pulling ahead of Tasty Burger in Harvard Square as well as the Five Guys chain, Shake Shack, and Fuddrucker's. Why? Because really, EVERYTHING they have is good, and unlike the others (except for SS), you can actually buy (gasp!) a beer or cider to go with your food. No, they're not really good craft beers, but at least there are 2-3 non-Bud/Coors alternatives, and the Angry Orchard cider is a safe bet too...best of all, it comes in a chilled mug! Prices are shockingly reasonable, especially if you go with their plain "Classic" burgers instead of the specialty/themed burgers. If on a budget you can even ask for a decent sized paper cut to get ice water instead of buying a refillable fountain drink.

Now about the burgers: they aren't the biggest (that would be Fuddrucker's, which costs more since you're also paying for the toppings bar) but the meat is perfectly cooked---well done on the outside but still nice and pink on the inside. Many of these burger places that don't ask how you want it cooked, tend to generally overcook leaving you with a sadly bland piece of meat (looking at you, Five Guys!). The specialty burgers come with different kinds of quality buns, not the bottom-of-the-barrel Wonder Bread type plain white buns (ahem, Tasty Burger!).

I'm usually a low-carb eater who avoids ordering fries or onion rings, but Smashburger's fried carbs menu is too damn good not to order whenever I come in: the potatoes and sweet potatoes are fresh not frozen, and hand cut in just the right size, and seasoned perfectly with rosemary and garlic rather than just bathed in salt as you often find at other places.

My only small gripe was their shakes, which are made with Haagen Daaz, which is premium supermarket ice cream that often beats out at ice cream parlour ice creams. Well, in a shake you can't really taste its extra goodness, so it's kind of a waste for the hefty five bucks they charge you, plus it's a rather small serving. I'd rather have cheaper ice cream at a cheaper price and in a larger serving...something that Fuddruckers seems to do best.

The bigger gripe is that they're only open until 10pm, but it's understandable given that they are in a sleepy residential area not right next to college campus like Tasty Burger is.

Oh, and last thing: despite the modest prices, this location has a surprisingly upscale/decent ambiance! I mean, nice wooden tables and gentle non-white-glaring lights, which means you can relax and enjoy your food instead of feeling like you just want to gobble it down and GTFO like the other places (Fuddruckers and Shake Shack are the only exceptions). Plus it's quiet and calm, unlike Tasty Burger. I daresay that if they opened up a location near Harvard, they would easily put both Tasty Burger and Shake Shack out of business in no time at all.

Service was excellent, btw---nice cashier, and they also bring the food out to your table instead of giving you a flashing/beeping coaster that makes you come to the counter to pick it up yourself.

This place really deserves to be much more crowded than it is.