Ten burgers, five kitchens, and a $21 gap between the cheapest and the priciest. The almanac counts the valley’s patties.
The census covers every burger on the 14 menus we index for the Menu Finder and ranks none of them. Builds and prices are as the restaurants themselves printed them in mid-July.
| The burger | Where | The build, per the menu | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wagyu Steak Burger | The Mill at Glen Ellen | Applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar, caramelized onion | $29 |
| Mushroom-Stuffed Impossible Burger | The Mill at Glen Ellen | Green chili and jack cheese; vegan option | $29 |
| Sonoma Burger | Jack London Saloon, Glen Ellen | Mushrooms, onions, bacon, pepper jack, Thousand Island | $22 |
| BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger | Jack London Saloon, Glen Ellen | Crispy onion strings, cheddar, BBQ sauce | $21 |
| Stella Burger | Stella, Kenwood | Sesame bun, white cheddar, special sauce — pecorino & garlic-rosemary fries included | $20 |
| Garden Court Burger | Garden Court Cafe, Glen Ellen | Six-ounce beef patty | $20 |
| London Burger | Jack London Saloon, Glen Ellen | Lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, cheese | $19 |
| Kids Burger | Garden Court Cafe, Glen Ellen | Three-ounce patty on an English muffin | $8 |
| Smash Burger | Ausiello’s Homeslice, by Oakmont | Double patty, American cheese, caramelized onions, house pickles, Homeslice sauce | — |
| Smash Burger Pizza* | Ausiello’s Homeslice, by Oakmont | American cheese, ground beef, tomato, red onion, chopped pickles, Homeslice sauce | — |
*The census counts the Smash Burger Pizza under protest from the burger side of the house, and notes the pizza desk has filed a competing claim.
What the numbers say
The median grown-up burger in the valley runs $21. Prices run from $19, for the Saloon’s baseline London Burger, to $29, for The Mill’s wagyu with smoked bacon. The Mill’s mushroom-stuffed Impossible burger also costs $29, exactly the same as its wagyu.
Glen Ellen has seven of the ten burgers. The Jack London Saloon is its specialist, and the only kitchen in the survey with a section of the menu headed “Burgers,” three deep. Kenwood has one, Stella’s $20 burger, and it is the only price on the list that includes fries, pecorino and garlic-rosemary ones at that. Oakmont’s nearest is Ausiello’s Homeslice, technically across the Santa Rosa line on Mountain Hawk Drive. Its double-patty smash burger is unpriced on the published menu.
The budget entry is Garden Court’s $8 kids’ burger, a three-ounce patty on an English muffin, which also makes it the valley’s only breakfast-adjacent burger. The census found exactly one meatless option in the whole valley, and it sits at the top of the price chart.
The fine print
The count covers the menus we index and no more. A few kitchens resist indexing. Salt & Stone’s menu sits behind its ordering platform’s bot protection, so any burger there goes uncounted. Menus change, and prices are as printed on July 18 and re-extracted monthly. Spot a burger we missed? Write to [email protected] and the census will stand corrected.
First in an occasional series counting the valley’s plates. The data suggests salads (23 of them) and desserts (32) are next. Try any craving in the Menu Finder.