There are productive and efficient ways to spend your spring break. Then there’s 50 feet of inefficiency, and then there’s what I did.

Eating a wide array of burgers in just a few days is definitely not an efficient way to spend a week off. It takes a toll on you financially, mentally, and physically. But, nonetheless, it was unforgettable. Both in good and bad ways.

For five days, I invested myself in an expensive, disgusting, and glorious journey: going to burger joints around the area and trying some of their signature burgers. I’ve returned, and I’m back to share insights, recommendations, and praise. Here’s the highlight reel from some of the restaurants visited, burgers eaten, and fries dipped.

Honest Abe’s

Ever since its opening in 2012, Honest Abe’s has been a Lincoln mainstay. Often heralded as the best burger Lincoln has to offer, expectations are always through the roof. The restaurant is decked out with American flags and pictures of Abe Lincoln on the inside. Patriotism seemingly runs through everyone’s veins.

The 1809 is widely regarded as Honest Abe’s signature burger. Packed with bacon, smoked gouda cheese, sweet smokey mayo, and pickled apples, it is essentially a rich man’s bacon cheeseburger.

The first bite of the burger leads you to believe you’re just eating another bacon cheeseburger, but the second bite is where things get real. The pickled apples come in and really compliment the sweet smokey mayo well. They also provide a good contrast to the saltiness of the bacon.

Honest Abe’s never fails to disappoint. From the gourmet food to the patriotism, you’re always in for a quality burger.

Bronco’s

Opened in 1959, this Omaha staple has been around for quite some time and has seen the rapid growth of the city.

Bronco’s may lead you to believe that it’s just another run-down, fast food restaurant. When you enter, you can tell, just by the look of things, that burgers have been flipped in this place for quite some time. But when you dig into the first bite of your burger is when you realize how peculiar this place really is.

Bronco’s serves breakfast, fried chicken, and fish, but its burgers are what drives many to the restaurant. Bronco’s calling card might just be their Big Bronco burger. It takes a Big Mac-like approach to things, with an extra bun in between the two patties, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a special sauce. But this thing is far off from the quality of a Big Mac, and far off in a good way. Most restaurants claim to have a special sauce, but in reality it’s just some variation of thousand island dressing or fry sauce. “Bronco sauce,” as they call it, is nowhere close to the taste of the fraudulent sauces most places have to offer. The taste of it is difficult to describe. It’s unpredictable. It surprises you. And that’s what makes it so good.

The Tam Bar and Grill

Peanut butter on a burger is an odd combination. That isn’t to say it can’t work.

The Tam O’ shanter describes one of its most prolific burgers as “ooey gooey good!” They take the phrase seriously with The Peanut Butter Melt, one of the many unique burgers they offer.

Alongside the beef patty, there are red onions and swiss cheese, and then a thick blanket of peanut butter. The peanut butter undoubtedly adds a unique taste to the burger, it almost blankets the taste of the cheese and onion, and would make one think they’re simply eating a peanut butter and beef sandwich. The Peanut Butter Melt has a lot of peanut butter, but it also has a high quality beef patty, and bun that helps the burger keep its shape.

A shmeer of peanut butter would’ve been better, but peanut butter on a burger works and is unique and it is one of many special burgers The Tam offers.

Winners and Losers

There were gems and there were bumps in the road, but nothing I ate will be forgotten, for both good and bad reasons. Here’s a highlight of the good and the bad.

Winner: Honest Abe’s. it never gets old and they can pack flavor in a burger like nobody else.

Loser: Peanut Butter. It can get a little messy.

Winner: Bronco sauce. A unique taste that’s unlike any sauce I’ve had before.

Loser: My health.

Winner: The Tam’s fries. A crisp outside with a fluffy inside, it doesn’t get better than that.