Bobby Flay Can't Help But Champion This Fast Food Burger

Beyond being among the highest-paid celebrity chefs on Food Network, Bobby Flay is known for being a proud New Yorker with cuisine influences from within the city and across the world. However, despite his East Coast roots, Flay's taste in burgers strays from what you might expect. When asked about the best fast food burger during an episode of First We Feast's "Hot Ones," Flay opted to praise the California-based In-N-Out rather than his local Shake Shack as the best of the best.

That's right, Bobby Flay joins Gordon Ramsay on team In-N-Out in the long-discussed debate between the West Coast chain and Shake Shack. While Flay's far from an outspoken advocate for In-N-Out and took some time before deciding on it as his answer, his love for the chain isn't surprising when you consider just how much chefs value high-quality ingredients when dealing with fast food. Plus, considering cheeseburgers are the chef's favorite comfort food, one would have to imagine that he's tried his fair share of fast food burgers, making his assessment that In-N-Out has the best all the more significant.

Despite not growing up near what would become his favorite chain, Bobby Flay's love for a good fast food burger is far from a secret, and even led him to make his own. Bobby's Burgers first opened back in 2021 — making it one of the newest restaurants opened by the celebrity chef and restaurateur — and currently has nine locations with a tenth on its way. The restaurant brings a "gourmet" vibe to fast food burgers, allowing you to choose the level of doneness for your burger and marketing itself off the back of Flay's long history as a high-level chef. While this leads to prices much higher than places like In-N-Out, many foodies swear by Bobby's Burgers all the same, with some even calling it better than the legendary West Coast chain.

As for Flay's favorite non-fast food burger, that can be found much closer to home for the New York native. While Flay loves to make burgers at home — cooked medium, not medium rare — his go-to burger spot is J.G. Melon, a restaurant on the Upper East Side that the chef has adored since he was young.