The Biltmore Area is a Burger Bonanza for Phoenix

Over the past few months, a burger bonanza has taken hold of a 20-block stretch of Camelback Road in Phoenix. Between 20^th and 40^th streets, those who hunger for hamburgers can get their fix. The movement started with Delux, which has already been open for a few years. As high-end burgers got even trendier, three others opened within months of each other (late 2009 - early 2010) to jockey for market share. Here's a look at the four main players, starting closest to Central Avenue and moving east:

Smashburger (20^th Street) - This is the cheapest of the bunch. It's easy to get out of there with a burger, fries and a drink for $10. That's simply not possible at the competitors. Even better, Smashburger is fresh, fast, laid-back and super-tasty. The patties are thinner and wider rather than the beef puck that is so common at fancy burger restaurants. You can build your own, or pick one of Smashburger's own creations. The build-your-own option offers some great toppings, like a fried egg or a chipotle mayo (and a habanero bun!). I gave Smashburger serious props for having Cholula hot sauce as a condiment, even though I prefer Sriracha. What you get is a well-executed burger shorn of pretense, served by a pretty upbeat crew. I like this place with a vigor I usually reserve for locally owned businesses. That's rare for a chain.

Zinburger (24^th Street) - The schtick here is an ungainly combination of wine bar and burger joint. It's slick and stylish, but ultimately more sizzle than steak. The quality of the beef is excellent, but the thickness of the patty makes for uneven cooking. It's also the greasiest of the four, and thus a clumsy mess to eat - don't take a first date here! The price is also high, ranging north of $10 just for the burger. And the $6 milkshake price makes Vincent Vega's complaints about the Five-Dollar Milkshake in Pulp Fiction seem quaint. Zinburger also treads safe ground with dull clichés like yam fries misidentified as sweet potato fries. The beer selection could use a little boldness. Overall, Zinburger is too greasy, too pricey and too tame.

Delux (32nd Street) - This is the original Biltmore burger place, and this beefy doyenne is aging well. The burgers are always perfectly cooked, and nowhere near as greasy as Zinburger. Starting prices are less than $10. I ordinarily don't rave about buns, but the Delux buns are some of my favorites. I wouldn't mind some spicier options, but I've never gone wrong with the Delux burger (maytag and gruyere cheese and applewood-smoked bacon are always good starts to a burger). Delux mucks about with beer a bit, but ultimately has an okay but uninspiring selection. For non-burger lovers stuck going there, the salads will hit the spot.

The Grind(40^th Street) - It's rare that a burger joint genuinely breaks new ground. But The Grind manages, mostly by cooking its burgers in a coal-fired oven heated to 1,000 degrees. And the burgers are thick, slightly rectangular slabs. The heat chars the outside to a crisp, leaving a very charcoal-like taste that put me off my Sweet & Spicy burger a bit. I liked the candied jalapenos on the burger, but found it more sweet than spicy. The duck fat fries (warning - the menu seems to have changed and no longer includes these) impressed me more - they were thick slabs of potato that emphasized the taste of the taters rather than a fried exterior. The staff here is genuinely excited about the concept. Even if I didn't necessarily consider it the best burger ever (or even within two miles), it was at least different and trying hard not to ride convention's coattails. A place with the dark, speakeasy-like interior of The Grind could, however, use an upgrade in the beer selection. It dismays me to see taps with absolute junk like Pabst Blue Ribbon and Stella Artois (folks, this is Europe's Bud Light) in an otherwise elegant place.