‘Bob’s Burgers’ 10 Best Burgers of the Day, Ranked
For 15 seasons and counting, the Belcher family of Bob’s Burgers has been entertaining audiences with family antics and the struggles of running a small, family-owned business. It premiered in 2011, and in the years since, it’s often been held up as one of the best animated shows for adults ever made. Its success also led to a movie, released in 2022.
Among the show’s running gags is the Burger of the Day, a special offered in almost every episode of the series and seen written on a chalkboard behind the counter. The names of the burgers almost always use some sort of pun or wordplay, and the masterminds behind them are almost always Bob and Louise—Louise’s sneaky offerings tend to be inappropriate, if not outright offensive. Many of them have also been featured in the show’s official cookbook. The best of them aren’t just funny but actually sound pretty good, and they’re a pretty good deal for the usual price of $5.95. And while an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture isn’t strictly necessary to catch all the jokes, it certainly doesn’t hurt.
10
The Human Polenta-Pede Burger
“Tina and the Real Ghost” (Season 5, Episode 2)
In “Tina and the Real Ghost,” an exterminator was called to handle a bug infestation in the Belchers’ basement and instead insisted it was haunted. After using an Ouija board and trapping the ghost of a 13-year-old boy named Jeff, Tina struck up a romance with him and took him to school. Among the Burgers of the Day featured in the episode was the Human Polenta-Pede Burger, made with polenta, coarsely ground cornmeal.
As a play on horror movie The Human Centipede, the Human Polenta-Pede Burger didn’t sound very appetizing—but it was a hilarious choice. It was a fitting one for a Halloween episode and was one of the standouts in an episode featuring a few horror-themed burgers. It was also featured in the official cookbook, with a recipe that sounds much more appealing than its name, including buns made out of polenta.
9
The Ruth Tomater Ginsburger
“If You Love It So Much, Why Don’t You Marionette?” (Season 9, Episode 18)
The Ruth Tomater Ginsburger was the Burger of the Day in the Bob’s Burgers Season 9 episode “If You Love It So Much, Why Don’t You Marionette?,” in which Bob took pity on a man passing out flyers outside of Bob’s Burgers who was instructed to do so in that exact spot. The burger was served with heirloom tomatoes and pickled ginger, and its name was a pun on the name of famed Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The Ruth Tomater Ginsburger, like many Burgers of the Day, featured a great play on words. Ginsburg’s name lent itself to a “burger” joke far too easily, and “tomater” played with the name “Bader.” It was a simple burger with just heirloom tomatoes—a possible reference to Ginsburg’s age at the time and her long-running tenure on the Supreme Court—and pickled ginger, but sometimes, the simplest recipes can have the most delicious results.
8
What’s The Worcestershire That Could Happen Burger
“Food Truckin'” (Season 2, Episode 5)
In order to compete with vendors selling food outside the restaurant who refused to go elsewhere, Bob started his own food truck in the Season 2 episode “Food Truckin’.” The kids stirred up trouble by angering other drivers when the truck participated in a food-truck festival. A quick look into the window of the restaurant showed that one of the episode’s Burgers of the Day was the What’s The Worcestershire That Could Happen Burger.
Despite taking place outside of the restaurant, “Food Truckin’” still had a brief look at the Burger of the Day. The What’s The Worcestershire That Could Happen Burger was another simple burger with a pun-based name. It was topped with Worcestershire sauce and was a play on the phrase “what the worst that could happen?,” making great use of the infamously hard-to-pronounce “Worcestershire.” It was one of a few burgers to use both the pun and the condiment, but it was one of the most memorable.
7
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Zucchini Burger
“Bob Fires the Kids” (Season 3, Episode 3)
Bob, after remembering his own childhood, became concerned that the kids were missing out on their childhoods and weren’t enjoying their summer, and fired them from the restaurant in the memorable Bob’s Burgers episode, “Bob Fires the Kids.” The episode’s Burger of the Day was the Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Zucchini Burger. Its name was a reference to the song “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini,” written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss and first performed by Brian Hyland.
“Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Zucchini Burger” was a mouthful, figuratively and literally. That’s quite a long name for a burger, but it’s also fun to say and has a great pun on “bikini.” It also sounds pretty delicious, too, so it’s no surprise it was also one of the burgers included in the official cookbook, where it really lives up to its name—sliders with a bell pepper and yogurt sauce, served with a side of zucchini.
6
Parma Parma Parma Chameleon Burger
“Gene It On” (Season 4, Episode 20)
After falling and biting her tongue during a cheerleading audition, Tina was unable to speak, and Louise served as her translator in the Season 4 episode “Gene It On.” Gene was offered a spot on the squad instead. One of the two Burgers of the Day featured in the episode was the Parma Parma Parma Chameleon Burger, a reference to the Culture Club song “Karma Chameleon.” It was served with Parmesan crisp.
The Parma Parma Parma Chameleon Burger sounded simple yet delicious—some of the Burgers of the Day can include unusual ingredients, but the Parma Chameleon was a straightforward burger with Parmesan crisp. “Parma” was an easy and obvious pun on “karma,” plus it was fun to say and even more fun to sing. It was among the recipes included in the official cookbook, unsurprising given its simplicity, wordplay and pop-culture reference.
5
Fifth Day of Christmas Burger
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins” (Season 3, Episode 9)
In Bob’s Burgers‘ Season 3’s Christmas episode “God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins,” Bob inherited a storage unit, and despite the family’s hopes that it might contain something valuable, they found a man named Chet (Zach Galifianakis) living inside it. Linda invited him to stay at the restaurant. Among a few Christmas-themed Burgers of the Day in the episode was the Fifth Day of Christmas Burger, served with “five golden rings of onion.”
The Fifth Day of Christmas Burger was one of the few burgers whose name didn’t contain a pun, but it was still a great joke referencing the classic Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” especially when it came to the burger’s side dish. The gift on the fifth day is “five golden rings”—while fries are the quintessential burger pairing, onion rings are also a great choice, and they have a golden color to them.
4
The Bleu by You Burger
“Gene It On” (Season 4, Episode 20)
In the episode “Gene It On,” Tina was injured during auditions for the cheerleading squad, and Gene’s dramatic reaction made an impression and led to him being offered a spot instead of Tina. The episode featured two Burgers of the Day—the first was the Parma Parma Parma Chameleon, and the other was the Bleu by You, made with locally sourced bleu cheese. The name was a reference to Linda Ronstadt’s song “Blue Bayou.”
Plenty of episodes feature multiple Burgers of the Day, but “Gene It On” had the distinction of having two of the best, and the second was even better than the first. The Bleu by You Burger had one of the best puns of all the Burgers of the Day—not only did it change “blue” to “bleu,” as in bleu cheese, but it also had a great play on words with “by you” instead of “bayou.”
3
The Cauliflower’s Cumin From Inside the House Burger
“Fort Night” (Season 4, Episode 2)
In the Season 4 Halloween episode “Fort Night,” Tina, Gene, and Louise plotted to get more candy by teaming up with Andy (Laura Silverman) and Ollie Pesto (Sarah Silverman) and wearing a Chinese dragon costume but ended up trapped in the costume. Meanwhile, Bob’s Burgers offered Cauliflower’s Cumin From Inside the House as the Burger of the Day, made with cauliflower and cumin. The burger’s name referenced the horror trope of “the call’s coming from inside the house.”
Some of the best Burgers of the Day made use of multiple puns, including the Cauliflower’s Cumin From Inside the House, with puns on both “call” and “coming.” The show featured a few Burgers of the Day with cauliflower, but this was among the most memorable. The reference to horror tropes was especially fitting for a funny Halloween episode, and the use of cumin meant the burger would be packed with flavor.
2
Fleetwood Jack Burger
“Long Time Listener, First Time Bob” (Season 9, Episode 19)
In the Season 9 Bob’s Burgers episode “Long Time Listener, First Time Bob” was the Fleetwood Jack, the Belcher family tried to help Bob’s hero, a DJ, make a comeback. Meanwhile, at the restaurant, with a surplus of sweet potatoes due to a failed attempt to serve sweet potato fries, Linda used them to make pies instead. The chalkboard indicated that the Burger of the Day was the Fleetwood Jack, served with “sweet little pies,” with “pies” taking the place of the crossed-out word “fries.”
It’s fitting that the Burger of the Day in an episode about a DJ was music-related. The Fleetwood Jack once again made great use of a pun, turning the “Mac” in their name to “Jack,” a kind of cheese. It also worked well with the episode’s plot dealing with sweet potatoes—one of the band’s hit songs was “Little Lies,” and both “fries” and “pies” worked as punny dishes to go with it.
1
The Band on the Bun Burger
“Burgerboss” (Season 2, Episode 4)
When Bob’s rival, Jimmy Pesto, got the highest score on a burger-flipping video game, he put his name in as “BOB SUX,” leading Bob to become obsessed with the game in “Burgerboss.” The episode featured three Burgers of the Day, the last of which was the Band on the Bun, served with wings. Its name was a reference to the song “Band on the Run” by Wings, the band formed by Paul McCartney after the breakup of The Beatles.
The Band on the Bun Burger wasn’t just a pun on a song title. Like some of the other best Burgers of the Day, it had another joke—in addition to its name, its side dish of wings was a reference to the band itself. And, of course, what makes a great Burger of the Day isn’t just its name but its ingredients, and this one sounded like a great meal.
