Goldie’s Burger Review

A Middle Aged Guy’s Quest for the Perfect Burger in GNV

I’m no professional food critic. I’m just a guy who knows what I like in a burger, and what I like is pretty straightforward: good beef that tastes like beef, cooked right but not to death, with enough moisture to keep things interesting but not so much that I need a hazmat suit. The gold standard? That would be from Miami, 1980s, my neighbor’s backyard burgers fresh off the grill, rich and flavorful, perfectly medium rare and juicy. Those were simpler times, when I was in single digits and loved Saturday morning cartoons and when the best hamburger in your life came from someone’s back patio, not a restaurant. To me, having a great burger back then was a religious experience and although I’ve lived in Gainesville for a long while, I realized that it’s not a particular religion whose temple I’ve searched for round these parts…until now.

I went on the GNV subReddit and asked who has the best burger in Gainesville. From that thread and others, I have composed a list of burger joints to try in the area to see who has “best burger in GNV (according to me)”.

DISCLAIMER: As if it needs to be said, my opinion is my own and my tastebuds aren’t your taste buds. And it’s entirely possible you know more about burgers than I do. If you disagree with anything I’ve said, GREAT! Tell me why HERE.

Goldie’s at Depot Park was one of the places suggested.

Walking into Goldie’s, you’ll see wooden slat walls to follow the boxcar feel, hand painted signs, string lights, picnic tables, a mechanical Gator (for the kids) and an old arcade game sitting quietly in the corner like a well behaved aunt at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to root for the home team and start claiming your favorite seat for the next time you come in.

The menu keeps things honest. Nothing fancy, nothing trying too hard to be Instagram famous. Just: “Here’s what we do, and we do it well.”

On this particular late July afternoon, when the GNV heat was doing its best impression of the sunward surface of Mercury, Winthrop (my son, age 8) and I rolled into Goldie’s around 1:30 PM. Smart move by me: “Let’s visit the burger joint in the old train depot when it’s so hot that my tears are boiling.”

In Goldie’s: no air conditioning (but two box fans and large open doorways on two walls) and exactly two other customers who had already been served. Again, so few customers is not a knock on Goldie’s. Depot Park itself wasn’t particularly crowded because of the heat.

One person was running the till and ducking back into the kitchen to grab the finished orders. Nice guy, took our order, answered questions, offered to cut Winthrop’s cheeseburger in half. Good customer service and hospitality, check.

We kept it simple: smash burger for the old man, cheeseburger for Winthrop. Ten minutes later, we had our brown paper bag of promise, burgers inside, wrapped in foil like little presents from food Santa.

The Burger

The Goldie Sauce, made of vegan mayo, mustard, and relish (it was a very mustard forward blend) was tangy, bright, and a good signature condiment. The lettuce, onions, and pickles were fresh and generously portioned. These also gave the burger the juiciness (I looked for any other way to express moisture level in burgers…couldn’t find it) that I’m looking for. The sesame/poppy seed bun held everything together without falling apart but didn’t dull the flavor, which is all I need from my burger bread.

Here’s the thing about smash burgers: they’re supposed to have that crispy, salty edge that comes from pressing meat onto a hot griddle until it develops what obnoxious food people call the Maillard reaction and what I call “the good crusty part.” That’s where the magic happens, where simple ground beef transforms into something delicious, distinctive, and worthy of the descriptive modifier “smash”.

My patty was cooked well but it arrived without much of that crispy business that separates a smash burger from a thin burger that is very well salted. Again, it was good. But it was just like me at every middle and high school dance I ever attended…a bit shy and trying to blend in.

Winthrop’s Take

Winthrop walked in saying he only wanted an ice cream sandwich, a reasonable position given that it was roughly 9,000 degrees Kelvin outside and ice cream seemed like a survival strategy. He ate every bite of his cheeseburger and completely forgot about dessert. My kid don’t lie about food, he hasn’t the developed social context to see the need for it yet. That’s worth noting and probably more legit than anything I have to say (and less words).

Final Thoughts

Goldie’s has character, and it’s exactly the kind of local spot that makes a town feel different than another town. The person working there clearly cared, the setting is nice, and it has an unpretentious vibe that’s what I look for in a local burger joint in a city park. My burger was good. The sauce was memorable. Portion size great. Moisture level perfect.

Goldie’s reminded me that intention and vibe counts for a lot. And honestly? In a world that seems determined to overcomplicate everything, there’s something to be said for a place that keeps it simple, keeps it local, and keeps showing up with solid burgers.