Photo courtesy Joshua HustonBurgers in the middle of the night versus burgers only at lunchtime. Classic, American burgers of beef and cheese and bread versus bizarre burger conglomerations of chorizo and chiles and barbecued pork. Mediocre burgers made to cash in on the current burger zeitgeist versus braniac burgers that the boundaries of what a burger is supposed to be.These are the elements that define the battle between Dope Burger and BuiltBurger–two of the new kids on the block in Seattle’s burger war. Dope Burger is the sloppy, late-night classic. Built is the brash newcomer with wild ideas about how the classic cheeseburger can be made better. And in this week’s review, I come down fairly definitively on one side–but you’ll just have to read to find out which one.In the meantime, here’s some burger porn to whet your appetite. Enjoy . . .Photo courtesy Joshua Huston”At midnight on Friday the crowd at Dope Burger–which opened in the former Noodle Ranch space on Second Avenue in Belltown a little over a month ago under the same ownership, but with a vastly different concept–is sluggish. The takeout window in the back is clotted with party casualties looking confused by the simple menu or just staring, mesmerized by the giant TV hacked into the wall and the bright colors of the graffiti-style Dope Burger mural that bleeds out across one entire side of the room. A few tables are scattered around the narrow dining area, which, with its slick bar and thatched sacking on the ceiling, still retains a touch of its former occupant’s decor. And in the kitchen, I can see the cooks dancing.”Photo courtesy Joshua Huston”The dope delux is two patties, glommed together with gooey melted American cheese and dressed with the classic burger-flipper’s mirepoix: tomato, onions, iceberg lettuce, and pickles. The lettuce is shredded, which is nice, and stuck to the burger via the convenient expedient of “dope sauce” (just ketchup, mayonnaise, and a little kick of spice). The tomato is thin and limp, the onions chopped, allegedly, but basically nonexistent. But the big problem is the burger itself.It tastes like meatloaf.”Photo courtesy Joshua Huston”I’m comforted by the aura of cheap beer and party liquor that hangs on the night like a caul. A few beers in, and suddenly a fat burger and some greasy fries can seem like the greatest idea ever thought. This is the notional space in which Dope Burger exists. It keeps long hours on the weekends (’til 1:30 in the morning) and exists for the simple purpose of providing ground beef and fried foods to those badly in need. That the restaurant has only been open a month doesn’t bother me at all because, after all, they’re only making burgers. If a burger restaurant can’t perfect its method for making the one thing that anchors and centers its menu within 30 minutes of opening, there are going to be problems. At 30 days, the crew should be experts.”Photo courtesy Joshua Huston”The best thing on the Built menu (and I’m only saying “best” because, even now, I’m craving another hit of it like it’d been crammed with heroin) is the Magnificent Chorizo, a beef patty cut with smoky-hot Mexican chorizo, studded with chunks of roasted poblano, threaded with melted cotija, and topped with a cilantro-lime coleslaw which itself would easily be my favorite side at a different restaurant in a different place. All this is then mounted on a toasted sesame-seed roll as buttery and soft as brioche, and served on a plain white plate like the work of art it is. The flavor is spicy, smoky, savory, and beefy all at the same time, the texture a complicated play of soft roll, perfectly mid-rare meat, and crisp, crunching slaw. On the side there’s an order of potato beignets, fried to a bare, delicate sweetness, then spiced with a hint of salt, maybe some cayenne, a little paprika. Naked, they are delicious. But they’re even better dipped in the smear of garlic aioli that decorates the end of my rectangular plate.”Photo courtesy Joshua Huston”But it’s worth it for the Pinnacle Bacon Bleu, its patty made of beef and roasted bacon, caramelized onion, and Danish bleu cheese; or the Thrill BBQ Pork, with its barbecued pork and ground pork, roasted red peppers and onions, all dressed in Old Bay-spiked slaw and dill pickles. The Thrill tastes like eating a pulled-pork sandwich that has been deconstructed atom by atom, rendered into a gas, infused into a great burger, and then served. Like the Magnificent Chorizo, it is unlike anything I’ve had before, and something I feel I need more of.Like now.”For more pretty words, check out the full text of the review right here. For more pretty pictures, view the rest of the slideshow over here.