Some burger joints chase trends. 🍔
Others light a hardwood fire and let the beef do the talking. 🔥
In tiny South Royalton, Vermont, Worthy Burger has grilled grass-fed patties inside a renovated freight house since 2012, drawing road-trippers off I-89.
Vermont craft beers pour from the taps, hand-cut fries are fried twice in beef tallow, and locals have been hooked since. 🍟
How Worthy Burger won South Royalton’s hearts
Worthy Burger opened in August 2012 after the team renovated an old freight house in downtown South Royalton, and the grill has been flipping patties over hardwood fire ever since. 🚂
Founders Jason Merrill, Dave Brodrick, and Kurt Lessard later opened a sister restaurant, Worthy Kitchen, in Woodstock in 2013.
Even before that second spot arrived, burger lovers and Vermont food fans were veering off I-89 to find their way to this small town. 🛣️
A burger joint in a town of fewer than 700 people became a statewide destination.
Everything at the Vermont burger joint is cooked made-to-order over a hardwood fire, using 100% grass-fed beef along with line-caught fish and humanely raised poultry. 🥩
The fries are hand-cut every single day, then fried twice in Wagyu beef tallow, a choice the team says is both healthier and tastier than vegetable oil. 🍟
Burger lovers pick their own protein, cheese, and toppings, which turns lunch into a build-your-own adventure with a hint of smoke.
Business Insider even named Worthy Burger Vermont’s iconic burger joint, and that kind of attention fits a restaurant that has stayed true to its roots. 🏆
Food Highlights 🍔
- The Big Daddy M Burger: A 6 oz Almanack Farms beef patty with Bayley Hazen Blue cheese, bacon bits, caramelized onions, and garlic aioli, plus Bibb lettuce and red onion on a Worthy bun. 🧀
- The Barnyard: A turkey and confit duck patty topped with a fried egg, thick-cut bacon, and tangy farmhouse-style cheese. 🥚
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Xtra Worthy: Two 6 oz grass-fed patties on the same hardwood grill, built for serious burger appetites. 🥩
- Mushroom Swiss Burger: A 6 oz Almanack Farms beef patty with Cabot Swiss, roasted mushrooms, garlic aioli, Bibb lettuce, and red onion. 🍄
- Turducky: A blend of pasture-raised turkey and duck confit, grilled over open flames. 🦃
- Fish’wich: A rotating selection of line-caught fish, such as a fresh salmon patty. 🐟
- Worthy Burger: A grass-fed beef patty grilled over Vermont hardwood and served pink in the middle with lettuce, raw onion, and house-made condiments and pickles. 🔥
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Veg Out: A veggie burger that changes with the seasons; one version was a puree of beets and grains in a portobello mushroom with Bayley Hazen Blue. 🍄
Atmosphere 🌲
Worthy Burger fills the old freight house on Rainbow Street, just over the railroad tracks, and it feels like a casual, modern pub with a bar at its center.
Guests order at the counter, take a buzzer, and help themselves to condiments while the open kitchen puts on a show.
Indoor and outdoor seating give you room to enjoy local beers on tap. 🍺
Bottom Line 🏆
Visit for a hardwood-fired grass-fed beef burger, tallow-fried fries, creative options like the Turducky, an old freight house setting, and a long list of Vermont beers. 🍻
Address:
56 Rainbow Street, South Royalton, VT 05068 📍
📞 (802) 763-2575
🕐 Open Thu 4-8 PM, Fri-Sat 12-9 PM, Sun 12-8 PM (closed Mon-Wed)