Celestial Burger Experience at Lucky 13 in SLC

Lucky 13 is a great little place on 1300 South in Salt Lake City right by the Spring Mobile baseball park.  The parking is limited and the building is low-key but that combination adds to the overall essence that is Lucky 13.  Famous for a few different burgers, this is the type of place you could spend hours in and feel fine doing it.  The lunch crowd and dinner crowd are apparently two very different groups (one being sober) so prepare accordingly but no matter what, you’ll love the burgers.

I went with the Lucky 13 Celestial Burger ($9.00 burger & fries – $11.00 w/ drink ) which is covered in bacon, grilled onions, bbq sauce and cheddar cheese.  It was a messy mother of a burger but went down smooth and left my hands dripping with bbq sauce.  The meat itself is never frozen chuck and the freshness of all the ingredients was evident with every bite.  The bacon at Lucky 13 is some of the best bacon I have EVER tasted.  They smoke it in-house daily and you can taste the amazing flavors with every bite.  In fact, I think I might order a side of bacon next time because it was that good.  The bun was a nice chewy protection around the burger and held up relatively nicely to the juicy patty and dripping bbq sauce.  Every bite was wonderful and I can see why their burgers are talked about.

The fries were good and the variety of side options were phenomenol: onion rings, roasted garlic rosemary fries, cajun fries, fried pickles or jalapeno bottle caps.  Their fry sauce was of the bbq sauce infused selection and actually went well with the fries.  The garlic fries were amazingly potent so if you love your garlic, this is the place to come.  Also, pay attention to their “Specials” board as you walk in.  Today, they had their Breathalyzer Burger for $4.  The drinks were constantly being refilled and the service was great.

I spent a little extra time with head chef Nick and he showed off the kitchen area.  The burger patties are never frozen, the burgers are served fresh and cooked medium to medium-well.  He also walked me over to where they smoke their bacon and jalapeno poppers. They start smoking at 10:30am every morning and don’t stop until they close.  Everything about Lucky 13 was relaxed, delicious and pleasant and the burgers were phenomenal.  In fact, I’d say the Celestial Burger at Lucky 13 is the best Celestial Burger I’ve ever had….seriously!  If you are looking for a juicy, messy, mean burger loaded with flavor then Lucky 13 is a great choice.  If you are looking for a light burger than you’ll want to avoid Lucky 13 like the plague.

Lucky 13
135 West 1300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
(801) 487-4418