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Three years. That’s how long I’ve been searching for a burger worthy of declaring the Best Burger in Tampa. And I might have finally found it…

It has to be a classic cheeseburger because, too often, special ingredients are added to mask the missing flavor or subpar quality of the foundational ingredients. Most burgers fail because the beef itself is flavorless and dry. If the bottom bun isn’t turning into a sponge of beef juices, that patty is NOT moist— and usually not flavorful either. The meat needs to be made with a certain percentage of beef fat rendered to a medium doneness for juice to come running out with each bite. That’s the bar this burger passed.

The bun also needs to be something more flavorful than plain white bread. Most of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten were on a brioche bun, like this one. It also needs to be lightly toasted and buttered on the inside, which helps with structural stability and adds a subtle layer of flavor and texture contrast.

The cheese needs to be something other than fake, processed American cheese, or at least have the option to replace the American cheese. The latter was the case here; I got cheddar.

Once you nail those 3 ingredients, you just need to add a ripe, thick-cut tomato you can actually taste, lettuce that isn’t shredded or iceberg, and a bit of onion sliced thin enough to not overpower the other flavors. Add mayo, ketchup, and mustard as you like. In this case they added “AmSo sauce”, which just seemed like ketchup and mayo combined. It didn’t taste like a special ingredient.

While I didn’t find this amazing burger in what I consider to be South Tampa, Harbor Island is close enough to make American Social my new go-to for burger cravings. However, before I can declare this the Best Burger in Tampa, I need to know two things from you:

We’re on a mission to find the Best Burgers in Tampa! Please review the criteria listed on our poll page and let us know: where is the best cheeseburger in Tampa?

We will research and taste test them until we can identify at least one burger that fits our Best in Tampa criteria, plus a few honorable mentions. Then we will publish the results in a future edition for you to enjoy the burgers of our labor!

We asked if you noticed a different taste or smell in our tap water since the city changed it May 29. One person said no and one said they could tell both the taste and smell were different. These answers are totally opposite of each other, so it would have been interesting to hear from more people to see how noticeable it was.

This pair is a bit of a mystery. The 1925 photo says it is the 200 block of Magnolia Avenue. But across the street today, the building at 303 Magnolia looks like the same building in the 1925 photo. However, the more you look, the more unsure you get. It’s like a “Where’s Waldo” for buildings. The Hyde Park mural is now a window wall. And what happened to the giant white building that was making this a dead-end street in 1925?

Maybe the old photo really is the 200 block, in which case the only thing that’s the same today is that it’s still a dead-end road. However, it now ends at the Selmon Expressway instead of a large building. Maybe the only thing that hasn’t changed is the bricks in the road.

Either way, it’s incredible to see the difference in the vehicles parked in almost the same parking spot 101 years apart!

Since Hurricane Helene backfilled South Tampa neighborhood sewers and ponds with storm surge salt water and probably sewage, I’ve wondered: if the city tap water was contaminated or stopped flowing, you couldn’t buy water at a store for days, you have no electricity to boil water, and you ran out of bottled water, could you filter a South Tampa pond or ditch into unlimited drinking water?

YouTube is full of hikers putting special water filters into dirty water and claiming it is clean enough to drink, so could we do that here after a hurricane?

This turned into a research rabbit hole, but I’ll save you the trouble! Here’s what I learned:

In conclusion: always stock up on bottled water before a hurricane, or evacuate!

Manatees should be on the move along warm water shallows at this time of year. This can include areas like Ballast Point Park and Picnic Island Park. I was at Ballast this week and didn’t see any. Have you spotted any manatees near South Tamps shores this month?

➡ Please reply to let us know when and where! Include a photo for a chance to be featured next week.

Create a More Enjoyable Community: Our mission is to help neighbors live their best life in South Tampa by creating a more fun and connected community. If you’re in favor of this idea, there are several free and paid ways you can support it:

Independent & Transparent: The Scroll is independently owned and operated by a South Tampa resident. Positive mentions can’t be bought. We only include things we have personally tried or trust the person who did doesn’t benefit from mentioning it. We do not include links to businesses, unless they are not-for-profit or paid sponsors we have vetted and noted as such. Clicking on asterisked items (*) may provide us with affiliate compensation, which helps fund us to keep creating for you!

Your Local Writer & Founder: Danielle is a lover of food, craft cocktails, wine, travel, nature, and history. After living in Ohio, Dallas, New Zealand, and 37 countries as a digital nomad, Danielle decided South Tampa was the best place to settle in 2022. She blends a world’s worth of experiences with local expertise as a Meetup event organizer and marketing director to ensure The Scroll is always worth your read!