There are those among us who think burgers are holy.Food fit for the gods. Last-meal worthy.So, naturally, burgermeisters rejoiced when we heard about Zinburger.It's the newest in the Fox Restaurant Concepts stable. Sam Fox shut down his popular Bistro Zin last year to transform it into a more casual, but still hip, burger joint.The place was hopping and had a get-hustlin' vibe on all of our visits. The dining room is brighter, sassier and much louder than before, with bare tables packed tightly together, cozy booths and a bank of televisions over the bar.The patio — heated these days — is a little more laid-back and definitely less noisy.The burgers here aren't bargains, but for burger lovers, they aren't outrageous either — they range from $8 to $14.And they aren't all meat.There's the ahi sandwich ($13), served on a doughy bun with ripe avocado slices and ahi brushed with a tamari soy glaze. The ahi was velvety and rare and sliced too thin to hold up against the bun. You'd be better off asking for the bun to be served on the side.And there's "Clint's Almost Famous Vegetable Burger" ($9), named for the chef, Clint Woods."There are about 17 different vegetables in there," said the eager-to-please waiter. The chef, he said, is "quite proud of his burgers."We aren't sure about the number of ingredients, but it is loaded with non-meat delights such as edamame, white beans, zucchini, caramelized onions, tofu, bell peppers and mushrooms. It was a fine meat substitute, if you must have a substitute for meat. The fresh, toasted roll holding the crispy patty also hosted a nice, thick slice of mozzarella smoked to a fine flavor, and a sweet tomato marmalade. This is a taste- and texture-rich burger that aims to please — and does.But nothing pleased the way the Kobe Burger ($14) did. Actually, Kobe-style burger — the cow was raised in America, not Kobe, Japan. Still, it was pampered — though probably not with sake and massages. American Kobe generally comes from free-range cattle that are given no hormones and are fed a natural diet.The Kobe meat at Zinburger — it hails from Idaho's Snake River Farms — was a buttery, flavorful indulgence topped with wild mushrooms and Cheddar cheese to complex it up a bit.Don't believe there's a difference? Taste a Kobe burger next to Zinburger's hand-ground Angus beef, which is quite good. The Kobe will win hands down in the taste category, with a quiet sweetness and a rich taste that lingers lovingly.A word to the wise: Don't bother with ketchup or mustard, and ask them to hold the mayo on this baby. It's pretty glorious in its near-pure state.As for those other burgers, we found we liked building our own — start with the Plain & Simple Burger ($8), which comes with lettuce, tomato and mayo, and choose from a big selection of toppings ($1 each), such as cheeses, avocados, jalapeños and even fried egg.We went with the silky, sweet avocado and goat cheese. To tell the truth, the goat cheese was a tad overwhelming, but we love goat cheese. We didn't care.Zinburger does a lot right — the buns are fresh and toasted (though not topped with sesame seeds); the high-grade, mostly chuck-meat patties are hefty (a nice half-pound each) and juicy without being greasy.But burger lovers will note that the meat is cooked on a hot grill, not over a fire. That crispy outside with the tender inside is missed.The Double Truffle Fries ($5), cooked in truffle oil to infuse them with an earthy taste, come in a nice-size basket with a generous serving of truffle aïoli on the side. One visit the fries were cold; on another, the aïoli was too lemony — it was on the verge of tartar sauce. But on a third visit, they hit the jackpot — a balance in the aïoli and piping hot fries generously covered with fat specks of salt.The Zucchini Fries ($5), topped with Parmesan cheese and served with ranch dressing, were nice and crisp on the outside, soft (but not too) on the in.The milkshakes ($6 each) are a big to-do at Zinburger — Fox pastry chef Spike Ames altered some of her most popular desserts to come up with almost-too-thick-for-a-straw shakes that were new yet familiar.Her Bars of Zin shake was a rich chocolate made with Breyer's ice cream, melted chocolate and micro-nibbles of praline. We missed the textures and layers of flavors of the original Bars of Zin, which had crunchy chocolate praline cookies layered with a silky Belgian chocolate mousse and topped by two warm sauces, chocolate and caramel. Still, we were very appreciative of the rich chocolately taste.But the other shakes sampled — the Crème Brûlée, which had crushed caramel, and the Cookies & Cream were, well, dull. Ames' wonderful Oreo-style cookies were blended in to the point of nonexistence in the Cookies & Cream, and they gave the shake an almost chalky texture.And here's the thing: The gods fully intended hamburgers and fries to be consumed at the same time as the shakes. We won't again make the mistake of saving the Zinburger shakes for dessert. We'll inhale those with our hamburgers, thankyouverymuch.