Fast Company confirms what many Texans already believe — Whataburger is the best fast-food hamburger restaurant in these United States.
The super-official bracket was quartered into East Coast, West Coast, South (Gulf Coast?) and Mid-West divisions — with Texas chains Whataburger, Burger Street and Fuddruckers seeded in the South.
Each day beginning July 20 readers could log on and vote for their favorite in each round with the champion being decided on July 24.
Object though you may, Tennessee's tiny Krystal dispatched Burger Street's Deluxe in the first round before being avenged by Houston-based Fuddruckers in the second round.
Whataburger won their first round matchup, beating something called The Varsity, before sending Checkers and their Big Buford back to Tampa, Florida in the second round.
The third round winner between Whataburger and Fuddruckers would head to the quarterfinals — and only one Texas chain could advance.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Fuddruckers fell and Whataburger advanced.
In the quarterfinal round Whataburger faced a tough new opponent fresh on the DFW landscape — In-N-Out burger. Voters would ultimately decide In-N-Out's fresh and friendly offerings were no match for Whataburger orange — and the Whataburger was bound for the final.
Culver's ButterBurgers won the Mid-West and faced-off against the East Coast's Five Guys, which is also popular in DFW. Ultimately, ButterBurgers lost and Culver's was sent back to Wisconsin.
In the final round, for the title of The Best Burger in America, Virginia's Five Guys and their fresh-made fries lined up against Texas' classic Whataburger. While the battle, I'd imagine, was a greasy epic, the Whataburger came out on top as America's favorite.
No surprise here ... or to Karl and Carol Hoepfner, a Texas couple who, in 2011, began a quest to visit all 722 Whataburger locations.