Chubby's Burger Shack

The most recent Burger Babes adventure found us in Ft. Worth at Chubby's Burger Shack.  Chubby's has a small inside dining area with a larger patio and accomodates wide range of people, from families with young kids to TCU Horn Frogs, and of course us, the Burger Babes.  And, Chubby's has a wide variety of burgers as well to make all of these people happy.




Chubby Burger in front, onion rings in the middle and Green Chile Burger in the back

According to our waitress, the Bleu Cheese Burger was heavy on the bleu cheese, so I opted for a Chubby Burger with cheese.  The Chubby Burger is 1/3 lb. patty; for the more health conscious burger lovers, you can go for the Not-So-Chubby, at only 1/4 of a pound of beef.  Looking back, that might not have been a bad choice.  My burger was good, but it was a lot!  After about 15 minutes the following burgers arrived:  Cowboy Burger (Chubby Burger topped with BBQ sauce, bacon, pepperjack cheese, and an onion ring), which received rave reviews and the Green Chili Burger (Chubby burger topped with grilled green chilis and pepper jack cheese) with not so rave reviews. 



Cowboy Burger

My Chubby Burger was really good.  It had a great flavor I couldn't quite pinpoint; some kind of sweetness.  The open burger was served in a basket, allowing me to see two squares of melted American cheese.  And that cheese covered almost every inch of the patty.  At first, I was a bit disappointed that the cheese wasn't cheddar, but after taking a bite I was pleasantly surprised and reminded of how yummy melted American can be.  Condiments for your burger can be found just a few feet away at the condiment bar.  Only ketchup had a place at the table.  While not my favorite burger, it is a good burger that will fill you up and leave you feeling happy.

Now let's talk about sides.  Of course, there were the traditional fries.  Chubby's are the perfect size, a bit thicker than McDonald's, soft and wonderfully seasoned.  A sad note...no sweet potato fries.  Most burger places are offering these nowdays, so it seemed odd not to have that choice.  We also ordered onion rings, which were prepared almost like tempura.  Different, but nice.  The fried pickles were prepared in the same manner.  While good, I think I'll stick with the more traditional method of frying sides.  The downside to these tempura-like sides?  Once they get cold, they're not quite as yummy, which means we didn't finish our baskets.


Fried Pickles!



Final decision?  Chubby's has a good burger and it's the kind of place that's pretty fun to hang out at.  It has a neighborly kind of feel and it seemed like many of the customers and staff knew each other well.  If you're on that end of Camp Bowie (which is a really long street, by the way) and you are in the mood for a good burger, it's worth your time.





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!

Patty Shack

The always fabulous Groupon has led me to another burger joint, this time in Grand Prairie.  Patty Shack is on Avenue K, right off of 360.  It is a small, neighborhood hangout kind of place.  It's the kind of place where you seat yourself and the staff can be very attentive because of its small size.  Our drinks were never empty and a couple of different manager-types checked on us throughout the evening.

This wasn't an official BB outing.  More of a reconn mission with my friend Mandy.  The turn around time to get our order was the average wait time, probably about 10 mniutes.  Mandy ordered the Chowboy (BBQ sauce and cheddar, topped with relish and shack sticks) and I ordered the Shackadelic (bacon, swiss, and mushrooms).  Here's the twist with burgers at the Patty Shack.  They do the mix-in thing.  Instead of my burger being topped with Swiss cheese, bacon, and mushrooms, it is all mixed into the 1/3 lb. fresh sirloin patty.  Even though I had seen the section "Build Your Own Dang Burger," for some reason it didn't click with me, so I was a bit disappointed when my burger arrived.  It's just one of those things.  You know, you're expecting one thing, and something else comes along.  The first couple of bites were fabulous.  As the menu says, the flat top grill is definitely well-seasoned.  But, about halfway through, I was done.  Not that it wasn't a good burger, it just wasn't my kind of burger.  And there were a couple of other logistical things.  I don't understand shredded lettuce on a burger.  It falls out and makes a mess.  And, while I appreciate a hearty patty, I don't want it to be measurably larger than the bun.  That just makes for a burger that falls apart.  I'm already pretty likely to make a mess all by myself, so I don't need any help in how the burger is constructed.



Shackadelic!


We ordered sweet tater fries and seasoned curly fries.  Both were very solid and good, although not unlike the fries you would find in other places.  Now, Mandy's burger came topped with Shack Sticks, breaded jalapeno and onion slivers; she gave those two thumbs up!  Totally missed seeing the fried pickles on the menu.  That would be a definite on the next visit.

 My overall impression of the Patty Shack?  A good neighborhood burger joint with a friendly staff and a lot of choice when it comes to building your burger.  The sides are good and you will definitely leave not hungry.  With its proximity to the Ballpark and Cowboy Stadium, it would be a great before or after the game pitstop.  Not sure that I'll add it to the Burger Babes list, although I would encourage everyone to try it out if they are in the Grand Prairie/Arlington area.



Chowboy



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.

Rudy's Bar & Grill

Last week I headed to the Windy City of Chicago for a family reunion.  Before going, I did my homework and googled "best burgers in Chicago."  The list was pretty extensive. Since I was only going to be in Chicago for a couple of days, it was a little stressful in making the right decision.  My first choice, Kuma's Corner, was not going to work out logisitically, so my cousins and I opted for Rudy's Bar & Grill on Madison, right off of Michigan.  It was the perfect place to stop on our way back to the hotel from the Art Institute.

I choose the BBQ Burger which consisted of cheddar cheese, Sweet Baby Ray’s, bacon and an onion ring, and of course, a side of fries.  We didn't have to wait too long, although my Diet Coke was pretty much gone by the time my burger arrived.  I should explain though, that Rudy's only carries the mini bottles of Diet Coke, so it didn't take too much time to drink it.  (My least favorite thing about Chicago is the lack of Coke products to be found; it's very much a Pepsi town).

The fries were super yummy.  Perfectly seasoned, no ketchup needed.  The burger was a sight to behold.  I love it when the server asks how I want my burger cooked and it actually comes cooked that way.  Take note servers and chefs...that's always a good thing.  The thick patty was cooked medium and the slices of bacon were cooked perfectly.  Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce is a perfect choice for a burger...just the right amount of sweet and tangy.  Even the onion ring and melted cheddar was the perfect addition to top off the burger.  While the burger was super tasty, it was also super messy.  If you're going to create a burger with a thick patty and a lot of sauce, you really need to serve it with a pretty substantial bun.  That was the weakness of the burger. 

Rudy's has a good burger menu with lots of options, including a build your own.  If you're hanging out at Millenium Park or the Art Institute and you get the craving for a burger, it's definitely a good stop.  I don't know that I would go again if I were to revisit Chicago.  There are a lot of other outstanding burgers in the Windy City.   Hmmm...maybe the Burger Babes need to spread their wings a bit. 

Until next time...

Molly's Burgers

I love the Groupon and the Daily Deal!  It has given me the opportunity to try new places I might not otherwise know about.  Today I used my Daily Deal at Molly's Burgers (Little Rd. & I-20) in Arlington.  Although it was a bit of a drive for me, it was worth it. 

Molly's Burgers has quite a few choices...way more than the basics you find at places like Goff's or Club Schmitz.  I ordered the Kylee, complete with provolone, avocado, and a spicy mayo (not too spicy though).  While I originally thought making a burger decision was tough, I was overwhelmed with the choices of sides: fries, fries with rosemary & thyme, fried pickles, fried zucchini, or inion rings.  What's a girl to do?  The person who took my order recommended the onion rings so I went with those.  After placing my order with the very friendly employee, I filled my cup with Diet Coke and grabbed a table.  I made sure to get a complimentary serving of homemade pinto beans in the huge pot under the tv.  I thought it was kind of strange, but kind of cute, and the beans were actually quite yummy.  While I waited for my lunch, I perused the Trivial Pursuit cards that were at my table.  To me,that is even better than playing Words with Friends while I wait.

 

After about 5 minutes, this is what arrived!

The burger was beautifully put together.  Those are fried onions you see sprinkled on the top of the cheese.  The avocado added a perfect creaminess to the burger and was a perfect match for the spicy mayo that they use.  I will admit, the patty was pretty thin and I was a bit disappointed in that.  And there really wasn't anything special about the flavor of the patty itself, but that was easy to ignore with the combination of all of the condiments.

The onion rings were too done and too crispy for me.  Despite the recommendation from the girl behind the counter, they weren't all that fabulous and I will get a different side next time.  I'm thinking fried pickles!

If you have small kids, this is absolutely a great place to take them.  There are a couple of kid-sized tables in the restaurant and there is a shelf filled with games and puzzles for entertainment.

I was too full to try one of their shakes or pies, but I did grab a yummy red velvet cake ball for the ride home.

If you are in the South Arlington/Mansfield area and you want a good burger and a friendly, family-oriented place to hang out, then you should definitely put Molly's on your list.