Burger wars, re-visited

[PK]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Peruna:
<B>"who has to be as old as the building if not older"

Man, that's harsh.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wasn't trying to be harsh, just painting a picture. She is a lovely woman and she is probably why Rose's is the institution it is, but the reality is what it is.

[PerunaPunch]

I hate to be the dissenter here, but my trip to Rose’s was only memorable for the atmosphere. Opened in 1940, you can easily see where Rose’s was once the hapnin’ place to be. There’s a long bar inside and an expansive patio area out back for serving large crowds. Today, that large outdoor patio area only serves cat food to the neighborhood strays.

I too dug the RCs and Dr. Peppers served in glass bottles out of somewhat old-fashioned coolers, and although the chip bags attached to the walls were a quaint touch, I certainly would have preferred fries. The burger I had would actually rank fairly low on my list. Not that it was bad or anything, it was just rather pedestrian for my taste. The bun was garden-variety Mrs. Baird’s, the veggies were fresh, but not plentiful, the cheese, Velveeta. Nothing wrong with the patty, but again, it was of the pre-fab variety and not to be compared with the hand molded 2/3 lbs. of heaven offered by Fudrucker’s, Uptown and the like.

The nail in the coffin was their use of light mayo. I hate light mayo. Whatever they put in it is plain nasty. Blech!!

Overall, a decent spot for the curious. Certainly, an escape from the 21st century. But if you like throwback burger joints with tasty (but not gourmet) burgers, do yourself a favor and drive down the road a bit to Burger House. They serve fries, malts and shakes too!

[Corso]

Not so fast, my friend!

Burger House doesn't hold a candle to Rose's. Rose's is a landmark that still serves up a mean burger.

[PerunaPunch]

I guess my only recourse in the face of such overwhelming pressure is to give the place another try. This time I'll go with some of the Burger Wars crew for witnesses... and order whatever they're getting.

[whatasteve]

I'm in, any time you want to make the trek to Rose's. I thought it was really good.

[PX]

Me too.

[Eddie P.'s Camaro]

I have eaten many a burger around Dallas over the last 6 years, and here are my rankings:

1.) Burger House - Great thin burger, best overall taste, fries are unbeatable.
2.) Chip's - Always cooked to perfection with a great taste.
3.) Balls - Great fat burger, good fries
4.) Angry Dog - Consitently good, perfect size.

Rose's and Snuffer's are also good.
I have tried the Campisi's burger at the urging of the chat...I thought it was very average and it actually hurt me to order a burger there.

Two Rows - I have eaten there twice and it was so bad, I will never go back.

Just my opinion.

[PK]

"Just my opinion."

But of course....that's what these chat boards are all about....personal opinions. Thanks for adding yours!

[PX]

Roses is a place that doesnt believe in frills. By frills I mean little things like a front door, parking spaces, menus, a cash register, windows, plates, cutlery, or glasses. Your burger comes wrapped in wax paper that doubles as your plate, and you drink your soda straight out of the bottle (grape soda, root beer, and others, in real glass bottles.) The old lady who takes your orders and your money is making up the prices as she goes along. For side items you have your choice of either Doritos, or Fritos. The ceiling is so low I cracked my head every time I stood up.
Just finding the place takes some determination, because there is nothing on the outside to indicate its anything more than a empty or abandoned building. To get in I had to try several different doors until I found one that wasnt locked, and that was only after getting past the chain link fence. They dont appear to have regular hours, either. most days they are open just 3 hours, from 11-2, but dont count on it. I have a su****ious feeling that the subertfuge is intentional, to keep out annoying interlopers, like health inspectors, tax collectors, and customers.
What I'm say is, the place has character.
They also make a pretty juicy burger. There's no point in asking for it medium rare, medium well, or anything else, because they all get cooked the same way, but it doesnt matter, its juicy and flavorful, regardless. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm not going to rank it with any of the others, though, because its been too long since last I tried most of the others. I've been eating at Joe Willys alot lately, and that would probably skew my rankings.
I'll definitely go back to Roses sometime though, its a place I have to show to my friends at some point, and they make a very juicy burger. One word of warning, its not cheap. My double burger, bag of chips and 2 sodas somehow added up to 9 dollars.

[PerunaPunch]

Once more into the breach dear friends...

Again, the burgerwars warlords clashed; this time at Adair’s Saloon in Deep Ellum. For longtime SMU alumni, leaving out Adair’s would be akin to overlooking Snuffers, Campisi’s Egyptian or Gordo’s when discussing Mustangs’ cuisine. After all, Mom and Dad ate there while they were dating at SMU. So I’m glad we were finally able to work it into the rotation.

Although Adair’s moved years ago from the original Cedar Springs site, the new and improved dump looks like it’s been there forever. Marker graffiti covered EVERYTHING. I was a bit disappointed, however, that the spit/beer wads appeared to have recently been cleaned off the ceilings. Unlike geriatric Rose’s, Adair’s wears its age well. Here’s a place with some attitude. When our waitress told the cook PX and I wanted our burgers medium rare, he laughed. They came, as all Adair’s burgers do, medium well.

Although the service was so slow (we guessed the people who got served before us were still there from lunch), the burgers came out very tasty and juicy (even considering the fact that they WERE medium well), and this also gave us the opportunity to discuss quarterbacks, weather, the relative strengths and weaknesses of both teams and the possibility of an upset while putting away 3 pitchers of beer. The only downside to the burger was that the bun wasn’t quite up to the task of holding burger and ample toppings together. Although it can’t officially alter the standings, the grilltop cooked fries were some of the best to date. Bun aside, we probably could have had a contender, but as it is, Adairs comes in at #7.

1A. Snookie’s
1B. Uptown Bar & Grill
3. Fudrucker's
4. Joe Willy's
5. Snuffers
6. First & 10
7. Adair’s Saloon
8. Cheesecake Factory
9. Earl's
10. Campisi's
11. Jake's
12. Tipperary Inn
13. Two Rows
14. Chips
15. Rose’s

P.S. PX, can you do the math once everyone weighs in, so we can handicap the top 5 (or so) for the Great Burg-Off?

Please go low enough in the standings that 1st and 10 is included, so that Whatasteve doesn't blame the Russians on rigging the judging,

[DallasDiehard]

Eddie P's Camaro -

Glad to see another opinion on this list (although the regular gang is extremely thorough and entertaining.) But I've got to disagree with you (hence the value of everyone having an opinion): Burger House and Balls are terrible excuses for burgers. I totally agree with your high ranking of Chip's, though. I always thought the Burger Guys had that ranked way too low.

[PK]

We rank them based on our experience when we eat there together. Chip's was a real disapointment to all of us that had enjoyed Chip's in the past. May have just been a bad day for them.

Personally I use to like the burgers at Ball's, but then I haven't eaten there in years...too many screaming kids in the place. Burger House use to be a favorite of mine, but I think I may have gotten burned out on it.

You should try some of our top rated places for yourself and see if you agree with us. Of course, we don't even all agree with each other so....

[PerunaPunch]

Yes, I also liked Chips in days past. Especially those onion thingys. However, when we tried the Chips over near Knox, it wasn't very good at all. The time before that, I hit the one on Lover's and it was so bad that I didn't even eat the burger!

For you that know me, that's saying a lot. Blame it on my Cajun blood or whatever, but I'll eat damn near anything I can catch... But not that Chips burger. Don't know what's going on with those guys.

[PX]

Adairs is a place with its own personality and charm, and the burger tasted pretty good, too bad it took an hour to get to the table. After sitting at the table for 20 minutes, and still no waitress in sight, some of us approached the bartender and tried to order our burgers from him. THEN the waitress appeared. 45 minutes later a 12 year old kid showed up with half the burgers and fries and didnt know who got what. I think we got it sorted out eventually.
The burger itself wasnt bad. Thick patty (not big in diameter though) fresh vegetables, thick slice of tomato and onion with crisp lettuce. Too bad the bun fell apart as soon as I picked it up. Eating became a very sloppy and unpleasant endeavour.
If you're not particularly hungry and just want to put away a pitcher or 2 of beer, and dont mind waiting an hour or so for your burger, then you might try Adairs. The Burger tasted pretty good. Otherwise, though, go somewhere else. I cant reccomend it. Thumbs down.

Punch, I can do the math, but you guys need to tell me how many places will be in the burgoff, and you need to drop all this 1A 1B 1whatever business. just give me your rankings.

[whatasteve]

Adairs had its points. The ambience was filthy, which allowed me to harken back to my days living in the fraternity house at SMU (and actually held a strong resemblance to my apartment.) There were TVs on with college football (got to catch Maryland abusing Georgia Tech, which was nice.) The beer was relatively cold, although the choices were limited. And the 40-day, 40-night wait for our food gave us time to dissect the LaTech depth chart in detail and allowed PX ample time to explain the intracacies of the SMU recruiting process, give us a rundown on Mike Dement's next 142 overseas recruits and offer a brief crash course in biological engineering while we were waiting.

Finally the burgers arrived. And overall, they weren't bad. The beef itself was above average, at least, and the toppings were tasty and flavorful. Seeing as how I like my burger medium-well, rather than "cow sushi" like some of the others in the Burger Crew, it was cooked perfectly. (As the waitress said, "we only cook them one way - you can call it whatever you want.)

The bun essentially ruined what was otherwise a good burger. As soon as you pick this thing up, the cold, dry bun crumbles in your hand, meaning that if you have any ketchup, mustard or mayo on the thing, you need a beach towel to clean up. Fortunately, we maintain a manners-free style of eating at all Burger Crew gatherings, so we were able to overlook the mess and still enjoy the burger. But the bun was so bad (think of the buns in Hughes-Trigg cafeteria and take it down about 10 notches) than an otherwise good burger got bumped down to adequate status. The fries were poor, but this ranking is about the burger, and with enough beer, you really won't notice, anyway. That, of course, also relies on your ability to induce the waitstaff to actually deliver your beer while you're rushing to your car to feed the meter, since the wait for dinner will inevitably leave you illegally parked.

The complete and official standings:

1. Uptown Bar & Grill
2. First & 10
3. Rose's
4. Snookie's
5. Fuddrucker's
6. Earl's
7. Jake's
8. Joe Willy's
9. Chips
10. Tipperary Inn
11. Adairs
12. Two Rows
13. Campisi's
14. Cheesecake Factory
15. Snuffers