81Smash
Score
Score
Smash Score✅ Certified Smash
Ridgewood's most technique-correct smashburger: Schweid & Sons beef, homemade pickles, and tallow-fried handcut fries. $8.25 for the burger, $14 for the combo.
Photos courtesy of Best Buds Burgers via Yelp.
Best Buds Burgers opened in July 2025 at a former storefront lot in Ridgewood, Queens, founded by Noah Brau - son of the family behind Dorado, the beloved West Village Baja fish taco spot. Brau's last concept was Best Buds Burritos, a San Diego-style California burrito popup at Smorgasburg. With Best Buds Burgers, he stripped it back even further: one burger, one set of fries, one cookie. No modifications, no substitutions.
The Cheeseburger is built around a quarter-pound Schweid & Sons patty smashed on the flat-top, with American cheese, homemade pickles, and griddled onions. The bun goes on a butter wheel before toasting - full, even coverage. The handcut fries are soaked overnight to pull the starch, blanched at low temp, then finished in 100% beef tallow. It's the kind of technique obsession that sounds pretentious until you eat the fries.
Best Buds Burgers is a genuinely great spot. These burgers are damn tasty, the prices are CHEAP and the concept is refreshingly simple. Best Buds brings a little bit of California back to New York City.
This burger was melty, buttery, and absolutely delicious. In typical smash burger fashion, there were lots of crispy crunchy bits to enjoy.
The cheeseburger was delicious - fries have a bit of skin on them which I love and they were cooked perfectly.
I came for the burger, but got fully trojan-horsed by this chocolate chip cookie.
Noah's fries spent a long time in research - soaked overnight to remove starch, blanched at low temp, then finished in beef tallow. They tasted damn good and beat the hell out of In-N-Out fries.
In an era of copycat smashburger spots, Best Buds is one of the better ones - crispy edges, melty cheese, messy perfection.
Refreshingly simple concept. There's nothing fancy to be found here - call up your best bud and go get some burgers.