Goodfriend. 2.0

Burger Babes visited Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House in July (I realized today that I never published this post).  Even though we had been before, it is guaranteed to be in everyone's top 10 and with new people in the group, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit.

While we waited for the whole group to show up, we ordered a couple of appetizers, fried pickles and some crazy good fries.  A huge platter of waffle fries covered in bacon, chives, and blue cheese, and of course, ranch for dipping.  These were ridiculous! You really don't even need to order anything else.

As always the service was good and our burgers came exceptionally fast.  A couple of people ordered the 'Shroom Burger and gave it two thumbs up.  The mushrooms were perfectly sautéed, which let's face it, isn't always easy.  

The cheeseburger with bacon also got an excellent review.  Those pickles!  So crunchy!

I had the Morning Glory, a delicious cheeseburger topped with bacon and a fried egg. Goodfriend will always ask you how you want your burger cooked (thank you for that).  To me, their medium is perfect; pink throughout, but not overly pink. The ingredients are always fresh and top quality. And as someone who always struggles to cook the perfect fried egg, I'm amazed how time after time they get it just right. Just a little bit runny . . . you know, just enough to have that great yolk covering you burger, but not out of control messy.  If you had to pick one "bad" thing about the Goodfriend burger, some might say it's the bun.  Totally a personal preference, but how much bread is too much bread when it comes to your hamburger bun?

Goodfriend also has a pretty extensive beer collection, so if that's your thing, you should definitely check it out.  It's a great place to spend the afternoon, hanging out with friends, eating amazing food and having a drink or two.  Of course, if you go early enough in the day, you can pick up tomorrow's breakfast at Hypnotic Donuts beforehand.

Wingfield's

Mention Wingfield's to most Dallasites and they'll know exactly what you're talking about.  One of the biggest, baddest burgers in the state.  Possibly anywhere.  A perennial contender for not just the best burger in Dallas, but in Texas, Wingfield's is so legendary they don't even have a website.  Think about that - in 2013, one of the most well known burger places in the state does their business based solely on word of mouth.  And being listed as one of Texas Monthly's top 10 burgers in 2009 certainly didn't hurt either. 

Wingfield's is just south of the Dallas Zoo, at Beckley & Illinois.  And you definitely need to be watching for it as it's a very small, very unassuming building.  There's no place to eat inside.  You walk in and and you are immediately at the counter where you place your order.  Be prepared. This is a cash only establishment.  After placing our order, we went back to the car to prep our dining area.  Luckily, Amanda drove and she has a tailagte.  Not only does she have the perfect car for this sort of adventure, she recently packed up her classroom and still had her stools in her car.  We couldn't have planned it any better than this!

When your burger is ready, there will be a rap on the window for you to some back in and get it.  You're handed a white paper sack and if you're like me, you might think, hmmm...this is kind of heavy.  Well, no wonder.  Just look at this bad boy.  And honestly, the picture doesn't do it justice.

The burger is absolutely great! And totally deserving of anything fabulous ever said about it. Wingfield's doesn't do all of the bells and whistles; we're talking a good, old school burger.  Most of us got the bacon and cheeseburger.  I think I counted six perfectly cooked, thick strips of bacon on my burger.  That gave the burger a lot of flavor.  The cheese, a slice of American, was a bit tougher to notice.  I would imagine because there was just one slice and in proportion to everything else, that's just not enough.  I omitted the tomato, but after seeing how red and juicy they were, I regretted doing so.  When you order your burger, you'll be asked if you want mustard and mayo.  I wasn't feeling the mayo love today, so I left that off.  Apparently what that means at Wingfield's is double mustard, coating both buns in it.  While I like mustard, I'm not that passionate about it. That is one thing I would do over; either get both condiments, or be sure to say you only want mustard on one bun.  Adding ketchup helped, but with only two packets, I couldn't do too much.  I really can't even tell you how much that meat patty weighed.  Fairly certain it's the largest I've ever had.  And one thing that really impressed my was the bun.  Typically, with that kind of set up, you know that burger is going to be falling apart.  Amazingly enough, it held together really well, even when I sent it down to eat an onion ring.  

  

The onion rings were good. The onions (white) had a great, fresh flavor and the rings were crispy.  The fries were average at best.  Honestly, you go to Wingfield's for the burger, no sides needed.  Not a one of us even came close to finishing our burger.  Please promise me, if you are a burger lover and you haven't been to Wingfield's, you will add it to your list.  Friendly service, a different type of experience for most of us, and a truly amazing burger.



Helpful hints for your first visit to Wingfield's:
1.  Carpool - parking is very limited.
2.  Go in a car that is conducive to outside dining (tailgate preferred).
3.  Throw a couple of stools or chairs in the car, just in case.
4.  Take cash.
5.  Skip the sides.
6. Be prepared for a lot of mustard if you hold the mayo.
7.  Napkins won't work.  Take your own paper towels or ask the lady behind the counter to borrow her roll.
8.  Unless you are a freak of nature, it's not really necessary to get the double patty.
9.  Go with friends or family who you love to hang out with and you can be who you are.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

Burger Babes Strike Again . . .

This time, in Preston Center at Hopdoddy Burger Bar.  Originally from Austin, Hopdoddy Burger Bar only recently came to Dallas, and judging by the continuous line out of the door, North Texans are happy about this.  Hopdoddy is a bit like Liberty Burger.  You wait in line to place your order while an employee finds and reserves your table.  And most brilliantly, the line passes right by the bar, so you can have a head start on your drink or sample one of the many Texas brews.

Our burgers arrived after about 15 to 20 minutes and what a site to behold.

 Becky's Classic

Angus Beef, Red Leaf, Lettuce, White Onion, Ripe Beef Steak Tomato, Sassy Sauce, Swiss Cheese, Bacon

 Amanda's Continental Club

Turkey, Provolone, Apple-Smoked Bacon, Arugula, Mayo & Basil Pesto on Whole Wheat

Esther's Llano Poblano Burger earned rave reviews:

Angus Beef, Pepper Jack, Roasted Poblano, Apple-Smoked Bacon, Chipotle Mayo

:
Audra's Magic 'Shroom - Angus Beef, Texas Goat Cheese, Field Mushrooms, Mayo & Basil Pesto

This was probably one of the best burgers with mushrooms I've ever had.  Traditionally, you think a mushroom burger comes with Swiss cheese, but the goat cheese was the most absolute perfect compliment to the mushrooms and the mayo & basil pesto!

Another thing that makes a Hopdoddy Burger so good?  The freshly baked in-house buns. In fact, Hopdoddy bakes their buns twice daily.  Of course, a place that grinds meat daily and bakes their own buns is only naturally going to have the freshest and healthiest of ingredients.

Both the Kennebec Fries and the Truffle Fries were phenomenal! 


Even if the drive to Preston Center is not quick and easy for you, you should definitely add a visit to this burger bar to your to-do-list. Combining an awesome burger and fries with a laid back place to hang out and try Texas brews definitely creates a winning situation!

Burger House

Since 1951, Burger House has been a part of the Dallas landscape.  The original location on Hillcrest, across from SMU, is still going strong.  But even if you aren't an SMU Mustang or reside in the Park Cities, don't worry, there are five additional locations, including one in Lubbock, and franchising is a possibility.

Walking into Burger House, it's obvious the building is 60 plus years old.  It's just as obvious that they are proud of their humble beginnings.  In fact, I would say it's a part of their charm.  Don't go with a large crowd, the small patio tables and picnic benches really don't support that.  But Burger House is a great place to go if you have the hankering for just a good, honest, burger with a healthy side of savory fries.

When you get to Burger House, simply walk up to the window to place your order.  I recommend getting a double.  After having the super thin patty at Jake's, I've learned to ask about the thickness of the patties when a double is on the menu.  I ordered the double cheeseburger.  After what seemed like forever, but it really wasn't, our names were called one by one and this is what we were presented with - 

How does this not make you happy?  And hungry for a burger?  Like, right now?  The meat was absolutely perfect - in terms of flavor and how it was cooked.  Absolutely great flavor and not overly cooked or dried out.  Now, a word of warning.  The burger comes with mustard and the cook is a fan of mustard.  I was just glad I had asked for ketchup to counter some of the tang of the mustard.  You know how I feel about shredded lettuce and that was a downside, but it wasn't a terrible distraction.  I still don't like it, but if the burger is put together well and the bun doesn't fall apart, then it's a little bit easier to handle.  The bun wasn't anything special, but it was the perfect partner to the double patty.  I always appreciate a good pairing of meat hamburger patty and buns; sometimes I think people underrate the relationship between the two.

Burger House is well known for seasoning they've been putting on their fries for 61 years, and rightly so.  It is incredibly savory and flavorful and I would say worth purchasing for your own pantry.  Are you a fan of onion rings instead?  Well, you can't go wrong with those bad boys either.  Great cut of a white onion and a crunchy outside.  The onions stay together with the crust even when you take a big bite.

Unless you're on the patio, I wouldn't say that Burger House is the kind of place where you might just hang out with friends for an hour or two.  Especially because there are no refills on sodas and the cups are small (by today's standards anyway).  But, I would say that getting a shake and lingering for a few extra minutes is definitely worth it.

Burger House is a Dallas institution and with five Dallas locations, most definitely doable.  I always encourage people to go to the original location if possible, but if that's not possible, you've got other locations to choose from.

Oh yeah, I forget the exact name, but they've got some crazy hot dog/hamburger combination going on.  If you're brave enough to try it, let me how it is.

Hunky's

The August edition of Burger Babes took place at Hunky's.  There are actually two locations, one in the Bishop Arts District and one on Cedar Springs,which is the one we visited.

After snagging a couple of tables in the back, we took turns placing our orders at the front counter.  Luckily, for these hungry girls, it didn't take but 10 minutes for the burgers to start coming out to our tables.  There was one glitch with an order, but it was quickly fixed.  I wasn't feeling in a fancy hamburger mood that night, so I opted for a Bacon Cheeseburger, with a side of onion rings.  After 10 minutes, this is what arrived:

Bacon Cheeseburger with onion rings

The patty was perfectly cooked, fabulously juicy.  And it was topped with a piece of cheddar cheese that covered the entire patty (and then some), although you can choose from American, Swiss, Jack, Blue, or Mozzarella.  And the bacon slices that were on my burger with thick and cooked to perfection, full of flavor. Since the burger already came with mustard, I added a bit of ketchup to neutralize that tangy flavor.  And that was just what the burger needed.  The buns fit nicely with the burger and it didn't fall apart, always important.  It was buttered and grilled with a nice crispiness to the edges.

The onion rings were good, although I prefer onion rings made from purple onions, not yellow.  The winner, though was the sweet potato fries.  Those were fabulously yummy!  You can get all sorts of other sides at Hunky's...and that's great to have variety.  

Another great thing about Hunky's is the variety in the burgers.  Not only are there different specialty burgers, but for those of you who are a bit more health conscious, you can get a turkey burger or a veggie burger. I love having option available. 

Hunky's definitely gets a thumbs up.  It's a tasty, well done burger and the customer service is great.  And even though we had been done with our meal for a long time, we never felt pressured to leave our cozy corner.  And no matter which location you go to, you're sure to have a lot of options for entertainment after dinner.  

Until next time!

Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House

Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House is another one of Dallas's most recent burger joints to open up this past year and it definitely ranks up at the top.  Open for business since October of 2011, it is a casual, neighborhood bar in East Dallas.

The patio was already full when we arrived save for one table located right in front of the TV showing the Ranger game.  And the weather was spectacular so we were already off to a perfect start.  And because it is a beer garden, there's no rush to order your meal.  We were actually able to wait for everyone to show up before we ordered.  That doesn't always happen. 

There are probably about 10 different types of burgers to choose from and all of them sounded so wonderful.  There are definitely some I plan on trying in the future.  All of their burgers are made with natural grass-fed beef and most everything is made in house which you can tell as soon as you take a bite.  I ended up going with The Coop, with the fried egg cooked just a touch hard and the patty with a touch of pink.  It was absolutely delicious:  Burgers at Goodfriend are the kind you'll want to cut in half to be to handle properly, but even then I still made a mess.  Just a sign of a good burger filled with tasty, fresh condiments.  I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, but just look at how red and fresh those slices are!  So yummy!  I'm about ready to get in the car and head back to East Dallas as I write this.

Other burgers you might consider trying are the Loretta (their version of a blue cheese burger), the Pepper Bomb (made with habaneros, serranos & jalapenos - yikes!), or the Latin Lover (chorizo burger).  If you want a burger without beef, you're in luck!  You can try a turkey burger, a lamb burger, and even a black bean burger.


I don't remember the name of this one, but it has some kind onion compote - heard it was awesome!



You can't ever go wrong with a good old-fashioned cheeseburger.

We had three sides to select from and you can't go wrong with any of them.  You can choose from waffle fries (good) or sweet potato waffle fries (better).  And if you can't decide, don't worry, they'll let you order a basket with both.  Not a potato lover?  You absolutely won't miss with the fried battered green beans.  Yes, I said fried batter green beans served with a tangy ranch-like dip.  Up until this point, Smashburger had my heart when it cam to friend green beans, but the beans at Goodfriend are way better by far.

You might still be unsure of my opinion of the burgers at Goodfriend.  I know I haven't been very complimentary.  A definite two thumbs up!  It has everything - great food on a patio with a friendly, laid-back atmosphere.  Be warned though, the kitchen doesn't open until 5, so no burgers until dinnertime.

Until next time!



Liberty Burger

Ever since Liberty Burger opened last November, it has enjoyed high accolades.  It's located at the corner of Forest and Inwood and tonight, just like every night since opening, it's had a steady stream of people coming in for fabulous burgers.  I"ve not met one person who didn't have great things to say about this burger which is made from tenderloin, chuck, and brisket.  Unless, of course, you order the bison burger, and that apparently, is just as fabulous.



Big O Rings



When you enter Liberty Burger, you are automaticaly in line to place your order. And I think there's always a line.  Because the line is long, someone is there to take your drink order, which arrives lickety split.  That is a great little piece of customer service.  Liberty Burger has a wide variety of specialty burgers, and some of them are pretty unique; the Amore includes cantaloupe.  I just had to get the Nooner.  It's been awhile since I've had a burger with a fried egg, and it was just calling my name.  The buns are homemade, and it's built with American cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, ham, hash browns, and ketchup.  I'm not really a hash browns kind of girl, so I went without them.  But after I saw someone else's Nooner, I kind of wish I had kept them on.  They looked pretty tasy and crunchy, not soggy like I think hash browns usually are.  Despite the full restaurant, it didn't take very long to get our orders.

Let's start with the sides this time.  The sweet potato fries and skinny fries are good, although I think the sweet potato fries could have used a little something.  I would say their star side is definitely the Big O Rings.  Great flavor, the perfect amount of crisp, and fabulous onions cooked to perfection.



As you can see, a Liberty Burger is a sight to behold.  The homeade buns are in perfect proportion to all of the yummy goodness and the meat is fulll of flavor, although it was cooked all the way through and I prefer my burgers with a touch of pink.  And at this point, I'm really struggling with the rest of my review.  When I placed my order, I debated omitting the ketchup.  While I am a fan of ketchup, I don't always need it on my burger, especially if there's going to be fried egg goodness.  Well, I should have gone with my gut.  Not only did the burger not need the ketchup, there was too much ketchup on the burger and that just overpowered any yumminess.  And I feel the same way about the ham as well.  Love it on my pizza, but I don't really need it on my burger.  I would have been happy with just the bacon.  Of course, I can't help but think that maybe the hash browns would have been a good balance for the ham.



Baby Bella Burger with Skinny Fries



Everyone else absolutely loved their burger whereas I liked mine.  But I also know that I didn't have the right combination of condiments.  I definitely want to go back and give Liberty Burger a second chance.  Next time I might just try a the standard Liberty Burger with no frills.  Although the Baby Bella looked pretty awesome.  Then again, so did the Wild West.  Or maybe the Libertine...

Adair's

If you've lived in Dallas any amount of time, more than likely you've heard of Adair's Saloon.  It's on Commerce, in the heart of Deep Ellum and it's been there since 1963. It's a small dive known for its live music, burgers, and the patrons who sign their name in Sharpie wherever there's some space.  Anytime you talk burgers in Dallas, Adair's usually comes up.  And it is a good burger, but overall, it's not my go-to.

Once you've snagged your seat, you place your order at the bar.  Choices at Adair's are pretty basic: hamburger, cheeseburger, and a couple of other options if you're not in the mood for a burger (What?!?!).  For sides you can pick french fries (duh!), chips, or even popcorn or peanuts.

You know the burgers are fresh and that it's a small kitchen since it takes about 15 - 20 minutes to get your burger and fries when it's not busy.  And the presentation is anything but fancy...something so pleasing and comforting about a burger wrapped in that red and white checkered paper. 

It's no lie.  The cheeseburger at Adair's is great.  The thick and juicy patty is cooked well and served on a no frills white bun.  Not that big of a fan of the shredded lettuce, but it's manageable.  The burger comes with mustard, but you have to add your own ketchup.  Definitely an old school burger that will hit the spot.

As you know, while we are the Burger Babes, the sides that come with our burgers are just as important.  And even if french fries are the only option, that's something we can live with...if they're good.  I am so sad to say that Adair's gets a failing mark on this part of the meal.  Although they looked like they had been cooked just right, they tasted like they had been fried in some really old oil.  Even the ketchup didn't help.  Again, so sad.  Coupled with the lackluster fries was the not so pleasant aroma that intensified the further back into the bar you walked.  So I can't really even recommend stopping by Adair's if you happen to be in the neighborhood and you're looking for a burger.  There are just too many other fabulous options on the same block.  I think the exception would be if there's a band playing that you really want to see, or if you really love Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Because the fries had been so disappointing and a couple of us were still hungry, we walked across the street the Twisted Root.  Thanks to Tina for getting us the Fried Ride.


Straight Cut Fries, Sweet Potato Chips, Fried Onion Strings, Quincy’s Fried Pickles, and Fried Green Beans, partnered with peppercorn and chipotle ranch.

 And although we didn't actually eat a burger this time, the Burger Babes have visited the Twisted Root Burger Co.in the past and we can confidently recommend any of the burger choices

Until next month...

Stackhouse

Stackhouse Burgers is one of Dallas' newest burger joints and quite possibly one of the best.  Located in an newly renovated bungalow on Gaston Avenue, close to the Baylor School of Dentistry, Stackhouse knows burgers and customer service.

We arrived around 7:00 and we were some of the first customers of the evening, but by the time we left a little after 9:00, the place had filled up and there were even a couple of brave souls sitting upstairs on the patio.  At Stackhouse, you place your order at the bar, grab a number, and find a seat.  Burgers are simple here.  You order a single or a double, both of which come with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a pickle (made in house) all on a toasted custom-made brioche bun.  (I love burgers on brioche buns!)  Then you just decide what you want to stack on your burger; mushrooms, grilled onions, chili, avocado, fried egg, and bacon are some of the choices, not to mention at least six different kinds of cheese.  I ordered a single with a slice of cheddar and a slice of swiss with a side of onion rings.  Probably the most popular burger of the night was the house special, a chorizo hamburger complete with monterrey jack cheese, a grilled poblano pepper, and fried egg.

After about a 10 minute wait, our burgers arrived and we were ALL very excited about our burgers.  Very delicious!  In fact, Anita claims that her chorizo burger was the best she's ever had and Stackhouse broke Esther's top five.  That, my friends, is very high praise.  The patty is incredibly good, full of flavor, and cooked to perfection.  Apparently one of the owners has a great connection and you won't find a patty like it anywhere else.    The veggies were fresh...yea for red onions on burgers and homemade, super thin pickles.  The only downside to my burger was that the tomato was so fresh and juicy that my bottom bun was a bit soggy.  But, I was able to plow through it.  And isn't it a sign of a great burger if there are juices running down your arms and you need multiple napkins?

Between our group of seven, we got the following sides: sweet potato fries, onion rings, and french fries.  And these were some of the best sides we've had.  The onion rings were thinly sliced and breaded.  This means you get a lot of them and better yet, you can eat a lot because there's not too much breading. The sweet potato fries were thinly cut and pretty tasty.  But the blue ribbon winner?  Fresh cut french fries that go through a lengthy process before even making it to the fryer.  And if they don't pass muster, they get thrown out and the process starts all over.

Obviously, the Burger Babes fully enjoyed our meal.  (Did I mention that Stackhouse has sweet tea and it was just about perfect?)  But in addition to our meal, we were also highly impressed with the customer service.  One of the owners, Randy Kienast, took the time to sit down and talk with us.  He was intrigued by our group (who isn't?) and wanted to know other burger places we had been and what we thought were some of the best burgers in town.    And when we told him, he wanted to know what we liked so much about those places.  He said he knew that we knew burgers when we rattled off all of our top places.  And he was incredibly open to our two suggestions (fried pickles and a sampler of sides).

Yes, Dallas has a ton of burger places, but Stackhouse definitely has one of the very best and it is well worth your time to visit.

Click here for an interview with Randy Kienast.

Strokers Ice House

Better late than never, right?

The October Burger Babes outing took us to Strokers Ice House, which is located on Harry Hines Blvd.  In addition to the Ice House that serves burgers, it's also a biker bar complete with a tattoo parlor.  Strokers is pretty well known, earning the honor of being the best bike hangout in Texas for three years in a row.  Inside you can sit at one of the few tables, or belly up to the bar.  If you're feeling lucky, there are a few pool tables just begging for a game.  But, really, you want to be outside under the spacious tent sitting at either a picnic table or standing around a spool table.  Outside is most definitely the best place to be on a gorgeous October evening, especially once the live music starts up.

There are a few choices when it comes to your burger order, but I tend to stay with the classics in a place like this.  After placing our orders inside at the bar, we ambled back outside and patiently waited for about ten minutes.  At that point we figured our burgers would be done, so we headed back to the bar to pick them up.   

The Strokers cheeseburger is pretty old school.  Nothing fancy, just a fabulously charred burger.  If you're a fan of sides, then this would not be the place for you.  Burgers come with just two sides: 1) a bag of Zax chips and 2) potato salad.  Not that the chips aren't good, but I would much rather have fries or rings.  The potato salad is good.

If you're not a biker, then Strokers might not be on your radar.  But, I will tell you, it's a fun place to hang out, listen to live music, people watch, and enjoy a beautiful Texas evening with friends.  The burger is good and the pace is anything but hurried.  In fact, if you're there for an extended amount of time, you'll probably find yourself heading back inside to load up on unshelled peanuts and popcorn, wondering where the evening has gone to.

Be sure to read The Strokers Dallas Story...it's pretty cool!

Village Burger Bar.

This month we went to the Village Burger Bar in West Village.  We got there early enough to grab some seats at the bar.  Luckily, a table on the patio opened up right as we placed our order, so we headed outside to enjoy a gorgeous evening and some people watching with our burgers. At VB Bar, you grab your own seat and then walk up to the bar when you're ready to place your order. 

Having frequented Village Burger earlier in my youth, I knew the thing to order was the Blue Burger.  Just listen to this line up: bacon, avocado, blue cheese crumbles, baby greens & dressing.  How can that not be good fabulous?  It took about 15 minutes for our small group to receive our burgers, but a burger at VB is definitely worth the wait.

Isn't this just beautiful?  Look at the thickness of that patty!  And can you see the top bun glisten with a touch of butter?   I think avocado and bacon makes just about anything better, but it does put this burger over the top.  Super creamy avocado and numerous strips of bacon piled together for a flavorful crunch.  If you're a fan of blue cheese, you know that to order a blue cheese burger can sometimes be a dicey move.  I've had burgers where I had to scrape half of the blue cheese off and it was still too powerful.  But this Blue Burger is just right.  Crumbles sprinkled on top of the patty, right next to that bacon and avocado.  Now that's flavor!


If you know anything about the Village Burger, you know that they have some of the best fries anywhere in Dallas.  We all ordered different kinds to share, which is the Burger Babe way.  You won't go wrong with either the fries flavored with truffle oil or the sweet potato fries, seasoned with a touch of honey. The onion rings are pretty good too.  They make those super thick ones with a fantastic crunch.  I couldn't figure out the seasoning, but it did give those onion rings a bit of a bite.

The Village Burger Bar does have one of the best blue cheese burgers around and overall, it's in my top 10 burger joints.  Add that to a great patio with a laid back atmosphere where you can hang with good friends deep into the night, and you just can't go wrong.

Ketchup Bar

Ketchup Bar is located at Cole and Hall in Uptown Dallas.  I'm not really sure how long it's been there, but it has a new feel to it.  It was a big gathering tonight, so the staff had to be pretty creative on how to seat us, but we made it work.  And it all worked out for the best...we ended up in the corner by the kitchen.  A good idea since we did get a little rowdy.

Before we even thought about burgers, we decided some appetizers were necessary.  And of course, this means french fries!  At Ketchup, making your fry decision is made a little easier because you can request the fry trio.  What makes it tough is you have seven things to choose from: house fries, sweet potato fries, zucchini fries, white truffle parmesan fries, spicy buffalo fries, garlic chive fries, and onion rings. The house and sweet potato fries are good, nothing too spectacular.  The white truffle parmesan fries are different and tasty, but the winner...zucchini fries!  Very yummy and just the right amount of crisp.

As you can imagine, a place named Ketchup Bar is obviously going to be big on ketchup.  They make four flavors - chipotle, spiced, house and green tomato. The green tomato is absolutely fabulous!  I would totally buy my own bottle.

I wasn't feeling too fancy tonight, so I just ordered the ketchup burger - Tillamook Cheddar, caramelized red onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and their signature house ketchup (also extrememly yummy!) on fresh baked brioche.  This is what arrived after about a 20  minute wait. 

It is a great burger!  The brioche bun was the perfect bread choice since the the patty is thick and juicy. The condiments were kept to a minimum. The caramelized onions are the perfectly tasty compliment to the juicy patty and the sweetness of the house ketchup.  Ketchup uses only the freshest organic ingredients and you can definitely tell.  They'll cook your burgers to order and they are full of flavor. Another popular burger is the Roadhouse (gruyère, cherrywood smoked bacon, onion rings, garlic mayo and tomato on fresh baked brioche).  Everyone truly enojyed their burgers this evening.  While it's not in my top 5, it is a really good burger with fantabulous sides.  If you're hanging out in the Uptown part of Dallas, it's definitely a must visit.

Normally, I would end the review right here.  But, I have to give a shout out to our waiter, "Sam" from Morocco/Mexcio City.  He absolutely earned his pay tonight.  Tonight's gathering of Burger Babes was a pretty wild and crazy combination of ladies and we had fun teasing & flirting with our waiter.  But he took it all in stride and actually dished a little back to us.

Quick disclaimer:  Since Ketchup Bar is in Uptown, parking is limited.  There is valet, but it's $10.  You can probably find some parking along Cole if you don't mind a short walk.

Quick disclaimer #2:  Double check when happy hour ends.  The website said 4 to 7, but we didn't get the happy hour prices for our 6:30 beverages.