The Top 2 Best Fast Food Burgers In West Central Missouri

If you're craving a really great top-quality fast food burger in Sedalia, Warrensburg, or anywhere in West Central Missouri, where should you go? Apparently, you'll need to head to Warrensburg or Kansas City if this new article on burger chains with the highest quality food is to be believed.

Eat This, Not That! recently published an article talking about regional fast-food burger joints and how they can serve higher quality food with access to locally sourced ingredients. They singled out six smaller-scale burger chains which they say serve the highest quality food.

Two of the six burger joints on the website's list are more or less accessible to those of us in West Central Missouri, depending on where you live.

First the bad news, none of the burger joints making the Eat This, Not That! list is in Sedalia. And one of the two chains that make the list is going to require a drive into the Kansas City suburbs. The other one will require a drive to Warrensburg, or if it's closer the KC suburbs or Columbia.

What two burger joints am I talking about? Whataburger and Culver's. We all experienced the Whataburger hype over the last couple of years since Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes lobbied hard for the burger chain to build in KC so he could enjoy his favorite fast-food burger.

Yet, being in the Midwest, you might not have experienced the hype that goes along when Culver's goes into a market. I experienced that a little bit when we'd be talking about fast-food burgers in Texas. Culver's there, sort of had the reputation of being the In-N-Out Burger of the Midwest.  Although, frankly, I think Culver's blows In-N-Out Burger away. Yet, that's a different article. By the way, the Eat This, Not That! article also references the In-N-Out of the Midwest impression people have.

Here's what they say about Culver's, which you can find in Warrensburg, and throughout Kansas City:

"Culver's ranked among the top five in 2022's USA Today's Best Regional Fast Food list, and has received rave reviews from Insider's Frank Olito (who called the chain's burgers "the best burger I've ever had") as well as celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern, who recently named Culver's as his go-to fast-food joint for road trips."

 

If you're craving or have yet to try Whataburger, you're going to have to head into the Kansas City area. You'll bump into one though. It's amazing how ubiquitous the chain has become in the one to two years they've been in Kansas City.  Here's what Eat This, Not That! has to say about Whataburger:

"A top-ranked regional burger chain, Whataburger is routinely pitted against California chain In-N-Out in terms of quality. The comparison of the chains is unending on Twitter. Hoping to put the matter to rest, Business Insider conducted a side-by-side test in 2019 and judged in favor of In-N-Out. Whataburger won the popular vote the same year, though, in a survey conducted by USA Today."

I agree with those who voted for Whataburger over In-N-Out Burger. The In-N-Out experience is worth having, and what I found amazing about In-N-Out was the value for the money. In-N-Out is a great simple burger with tasty toppings, yet there are better-tasting burgers out there in the world. Whataburger is one of them.

Yet, there are also better burgers than Whataburger. Don't get me wrong, Whataburger's burgers so big that they require two hands to hold, are worth the experience. If you like sauces and different toppings on your burgers, they do an excellent job. Yet, for a regular cheeseburger or bacon cheeseburger, there are better options if you ask me.

The bottom line is, variety is the spice of life. Eat This, Not That! didn't whiff by putting Whataburger on their list. I had it for dinner last night and enjoyed it because my wife wanted their Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger. Yet, if I'm completely honest, my Whataburger cheeseburger reminded me more of McDonald's, than say Culver's or Five Guys.