Americans have spoken, and they want their burger chains to focus on the burgers.

Smaller hamburger joints are driving rapid growth within the industry, with overall sales growing 16.4% in 2010, according to an AdAge report on data from Technomic.

Part of the appeal is that, where the bigger chains are concentrating on sideshows like breakfast and advertising, the smaller ones are concentrating on making a great burger, and customers appear to be prioritizing quality.

Particularly impressive is Denver brand Smashburger, which increased to $46 million in sales from $24 million last year.

Although McDonald's was the biggest dollar gainer in U.S. sales, small companies are clearly closing the gap.