A juicy hamburger is one of life’s guilty pleasures. But is the pleasure worth the guilt? We had two expert tasters order hamburgers at four chains known for burgers or beef: The Capital Grille, Ruby Tuesday, Outback Steakhouse, and Hard Rock Cafe. For comparison, tasters also ordered from Fuddrucker’s (it has no wait staff so is not in the Ratings), which professes to sell “the world’s greatest hamburgers.” Our experts visited two restaurants from each chain and asked for cheeseless burgers cooked to medium. Now for the guilty part: We also analyzed burgers for fat and sodium and calculated calories.

The Capital Grille’s burger was excellent. The others were very good, though they tasted slightly different from one another. Fuddrucker’s was a bit less tasty than the rest, with a fattier flavor. But at about $5, it’s also cheapest.

Our nutrition figures include burger and roll--no condiments, garnish, cheese, or fries. Keep in mind that for a typical 2,000-calorie daily diet, federal agencies suggest a maximum of 65 grams of fat and 2,300 milligrams of sodium. So some of these burgers provide almost half the calories, more than half the fat, and about a third of the sodium suggested for the entire day. The clear conclusion: Guilt should restrict most people to an occasional burger.

Price is to the nearest 25 cents, weight to the nearest ounce. Numbers are based on an average of four burgers from each chain.

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