Smashburgers used to be cheap.
In fact, before “smashburger” became part of the culinary lexicon, many of us simply called them steakburgers. Growing up in the Midwest, I remember watching the cooks at Steak ‘n Shake press little pucks of beef onto a flat-top grill until the edges crisped into something magical.
Back then, nobody thought they were eating gourmet food.
Fast forward a couple of decades and the smashburger has become one of the defining foods of modern American dining. Shake Shack helped elevate the style nationally, Los Angeles pop-ups turned it into an Instagram sensation, and now it seems like every city has a dozen places claiming to make the perfect smashburger.
I even spotted one while traveling through Spain last month.
Which brings me to NADC Burger.
Created by Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee and professional skateboarder Neen Williams, NADC has become one of the hottest names in the smashburger world. The concept is refreshingly simple: one burger, a handful of sides, and an obsessive focus on ingredients.
That simplicity also comes with a price.
Nearly $16 for a single cheeseburger before tax and tip.
So I wanted to answer the question I’ve been asking throughout this entire season of Outrageous Foods:
Is it actually worth it?
Watch the video:
There’s no getting around it.
This burger is outstanding.
The first thing that struck me wasn’t the Wagyu beef or the Martin’s Potato Roll.
It was the juiciness.
Quite simply, this may be the juiciest smashburger I’ve ever eaten.
The beef is aggressively seasoned, the American cheese melts beautifully into the patties, and the burger sauce ties everything together without overwhelming the meat. On paper, none of these ingredients feel particularly luxurious. Martin’s Potato Rolls, American cheese, ketchup, mayonnaise—they’re all supermarket staples.
Yet somehow, they combine into something that feels distinctly NADC.
That’s harder to accomplish than it looks.
As good as the burger is, it isn’t attempting to be fine dining.
It’s not as decadent as Au Cheval or as deeply layered as some of the country’s best chef-driven burgers. Instead, NADC succeeds because it embraces restraint. Everything serves the burger rather than competing with it.
Sixteen dollars for a cheeseburger is no longer shocking.
That’s the strange reality of dining out in 2026.
NADC uses Wagyu beef, premium New School American cheese, and clearly invests in quality ingredients throughout the menu. Even so, you’re still eating a burger on a Martin’s Potato Roll with sauce, pickles, onions, and cheese.
By the time tax and tip enter the equation, you’re approaching twenty dollars for a single burger.
The burger is expensive because it’s good.
The problem is that it’s still expensive.
If you’re dining with a family, adding fries, drinks, or a beer quickly turns burger night into an eighty- or hundred-dollar outing.
That’s simply the new math of dining out.
Final Thoughts on NADC BurgerWhat fascinates me most about NADC isn’t the Wagyu.
It’s what the restaurant says about where American burgers have gone.
A style of burger that once represented inexpensive roadside comfort food has evolved into something chefs obsess over. Michelin-starred restaurateurs are opening burger concepts. Social media has transformed smashburgers into culinary status symbols. And somewhere along the way, sixteen-dollar cheeseburgers stopped feeling unusual.
Could you make something approaching seventy percent of this burger at home?
Absolutely.
Martin’s Potato Rolls are readily available.
American cheese is easy to find.
Burger sauce is essentially ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickles.
Even smashburger technique is surprisingly approachable on a flat-top or cast-iron skillet.
And yet…
I still wanted another NADC burger.
That’s perhaps the highest compliment I can give it.
NADC serves one of the juiciest smashburgers I’ve ever eaten.
It’s distinctive, expertly seasoned, and genuinely memorable.
Whether it’s worth twenty dollars after tax and tip depends entirely on your budget.
But one thing seems increasingly clear.
The age of the twenty-dollar cheeseburger has arrived.
The only question left is how often we’re willing to pay for that last thirty percent that separates a very good homemade burger from a truly great one.
Overall Score: 14.7/20
Outstanding burger.
Expensive habit.
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