steak burgers are great, you pay less to get more, free bread and they've already done some of the chewing for you. Any other food if you asked for them to chew it for you they'd probably call the police.

I've had it both ways. Either the chef wants to put their own touch on the burger and create something amazing or they hate every customer that is too cheap or tasteless to try anything else on the menu so they serve something you'd find at a amusement park.

If you're at a higher end restaurant the burger is a way to put a cheaper, accessible option on the menu. It's there so that a party of 4 or more can show up and someone who's more price sensitive or less adventurous can still have a good time. (Roast chicken and an entree salad serve similar purposes.)

If it's an insult from the chef, that's pretty bad. Extremely snobby to put it on the menu without putting effort in. Burgers are good and a kitchen can outsource the only hard parts (baking a great bun, and grinding the meat) to their suppliers.

One of the best burgers I know was the vegetarian portobello burger with blue cheese at the Burger Bar in Amsterdam. € 5.25 a couple of years ago (I don't think they have it anymore). Quality was sadly variable, but when they get it just right, the taste combo was absolutely divine.

Same here, there is an Italian restaurant near me with normally $30-$40 entrees, and an absolutely fantastic $15 burger.

Where in the word do you live that a sushi restaurant sells hamburgers?

Another comment mentions an Italian restaurant making burgers. Yes I am aware that almost every kebab shack will put on menu pizza too, but come on people...