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.

Chop House Burger

It's always nice to have a quality burger right in your own backyard.  And at the end of the first week of school, you typically don't want to go much farther than your own backyard. So Chop House Burger in Euless seemed like the perfect destination for the Burger Babes this month.

A lot of people were feeling the urge for a burger on Friday and Chop House was packed. Service was a bit slow, but the manager acknowledged it and offered his apologies to our group of 7. Because you order at the counter, people placed their orders as they arrived which just meant we had a lot of time to talk and catch up with each other.

Chop House is a really great burger!  And when you're in the Mid-Cities, it's nice to have this casual, yet not fast food option for a burger.  Like I said, the wait for our food was a bit longer, but when my burger arrived, this is what I received - 

So how could I possibly be annoyed if it took a little longer than usual?

In the past, I've ordered a Chop House Burger (black summer truffle sauce, shaved red onion, vine ripened tomato, green leaf lettuce and whatever toppings you want to add). Add bacon & a fried egg on top and you'll be in heaven!

On this visit to CHB, I opted for the Wine Country Burger.  Adorned with arugula, honey mustard, vine ripened tomatoes and my current obsession, goat cheese, the 100% certified Angus Beef ground chuck is cooked medium (unless otherwise requested).  A popular discussion among burger lovers is the meat to bun ratio.  At first glance, the brioche bun looked like it might be too much for the patty. But this toasted bun was absolutely perfect.  For lack of a better word, it was squishable, yet strong enough for the juicy patty and all its trimmings.  The meat has a fresh taste to it and it was both seasoned & cooked to perfection.  Seriously!  Posting this picture makes me want to go back today for another one.

If you're a fan of the turkey burger, you'll want to try the Gobbler.  Sometimes a turkey burger can be dry, but I have it on good authority that it too, was juicy and full of flavor.

It's not a burger review without mention of the sides.  At CHB, only fries are an option - but you have 3 choices.  Even going with the regular french fries will not disappoint you. Light and the perfect amount of crispy to soft ratio.  But, if you're feeling fancy, then try the Truffle Parmesan Fries.  Yes, you read correctly and they are scrumptious! White truffle oil, Parmesan cheese, and chopped parsley sprinkle regular fries.  If you're there with a friend, you can get one order to share and be plenty satisfied.  For those of you who love chili cheese fries, you'll want to sample them here - no doubt! Homemade Texas chili, sharp cheddar, onions and cilantro - how do you say no to that?

The original Chop House is in Dallas and we visited the Euless location.  But do not fear, the website says locations are coming to Ft. Worth, Southlake, Plano, & Frisco; soon much of the Metroplex will be able to enjoy this tastiness!

Boulevardier

When you see the write up about Boulevardier, a French-inspired, neighborhood-friendly bistro, you don't think burger.  But this Bishop Arts bistro consistently shows up on Dallas' best burgers, and as we learned last night, for good reason.

Friday night is a busy time in the Bishop Arts District (you may want to consider making reservations), so we waited about 15 minutes at the bar. The bartender was helpful and friendly, making recommendations once he learned it was our first time at Boulevardier.  I don't remember the name of the beer, but it was sour & tangy and would compliment my burger perfectly.

After a short wait, these fabulous burgers and fries showed up at our table.  The presentation was great, although some may prefer their burger on an actual plate.  I liked the butcher block and the bucket of fries - something fun & different.

The fries were perfectly cooked,  Crispy, but soft on the inside and seasoned with a touch of black pepper.  Notice the pickles.  They were fabulous bread & butter pickles with that perfect crunchiness and tang. Tasty on the burger and by themselves.  I'm not really a tomato person so I didn't add it to my burger.  Plus, it was cut too thick for my tastes.

I ordered my burger medium and it was cooked to absolute perfection. The burger is a thick patty of grass-fed beef with a nice, just right char on the outside. and juicy on the inside.  The combination of house bacon, caramelized onions, and gruyere cheese just may be my favorite combo.  There really are no words to describe how yummy this was.  Even if you're not an onion person, these were done so well you just may not realize they're there.  The burger also comes with a garlic aioli you can add to your burger and that is a definite recommendation.  The patty is served on a pain au lait bun (again, delish!), but it's a lot of bread.  I ended up eating half of my burger sans bread and I'm so glad I did. The flavors were even more intense and delectable.

In addition to amazing food, Boulevardier provides wonderful service.  The staff was knowledgeable and very attentive.  Add that to delicious food and a creative cocktail menu, and Boulevardier is good option for a night out on the town.  And when the weather permits, you can hang out in Bishop Arts before or after dinner and even grab a piece of pie from Emporium

We're Back!

Wow!  I didn't realize the Burger Babes had been on hiatus for a year and a half.  While I know we haven't gone without a burger in that time frame, we haven't done so as an official group.  Here's what I've learned.  Yes, I love a good great burger!  And I do want to know where to find the best burgers in DFW.  But, more importantly, I love my girls most of all.  And being with them is one of the things that brings me immense joy.  Here are some of my favorite pics over the years.  I don't have pictures of everyone (gotta work on that), but I absolutely have the memories, and for that I am truly grateful.  Want to be a part of this amazing group?  Message me and I'll add you to the group.
Here's to Burger Babes 2.0!

M & O Station Grill

M& O Station Grill, formerly known as the 7^th Street Station Grill, had been around for about four years.  Not only is M & O a burger destination, but you’ll also get some local history.  The M & O stands for Marvin and Obie, brothers and founders of Leonard’s Department Store.  Leonard’s was a Forth Worth fixture for much of the twentieth century.  The Leonard Department Store Museum is attached to the grill, so when you visit, be sure to save time to stroll through the museum. 

M & O Station Grill is a small establishment and true to Ft. Worth character, friendly and inviting.  You order at the counter and service is speedy.  Between the three of us, we ordered sweet potato fries, onion rings, and French fries.  All three sides were delicious.  Nothing was frozen . . . you could taste the freshness on the potatoes and onions.  None of the sides had a lot of seasoning, but that was okay because there was so much flavor that came from the freshness of the ingredients.  

I had the Award Winning Bleu Cow Burger.  And it was definitely deserving of that title.  The patties were perfectly cooked and had just the right amount of seasoning.  Bleu cheese burgers can sometimes be a gamble.  Too much bleu cheese makes a burger unenjoyable.  Luckily, M & O puts the perfect amount of cheese on their burgers.  Instead of being overwhelming, when combined with the bacon, the burger had the perfect flavor.  M & O has created their own burger sauces.  The sauce my burger came with had a nice tang to it, although I don’t know that a bleu cheese bacon burger needs any more tang.   One important thing to note is the fact that the burgers come with two patties so I definitely got my fill of protein yesterday.  That being said, I do think the double meat contributed to the one negative and that was the messy bun.  I’m all for more meat, but when you do that, you have to make sure your hamburger bun can handle it.  Perhaps a toasted bun, or something more substantial would have been a better choice.  But overall it, is a great burger and definitely worth the jaunt over to Ft. Worth.  Especially since you can get a little history with your meal and a old-fashioned homemade milkshake to wash it all down.

Big State Drug

Since many of the Burger Babes are teachers and we have two glorious weeks off, we opted for a daytime excursion this month and we went to Big State Drug in Irving. Big State is a family owned pharmacy/diner/gift shop that's been around since 1948.  This was actually my third time to visit Big State, although the first time I've been for a burger.  Previously I've had the fried egg sandwich and the BLT . . . highly recommend either of them!

Service was super fast.  Esther, who arrived a few minutes after we had ordered, got her meal at the same time we did.  I guess it helps that it's a small establishment; it seats maybe 15???

I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with fries.  After just a few minutes, this is what was delivered to me:

The patty was done, with a bit of char, which I always appreciate.  And it was a nice thickness.  Not so thin that you want to order double meat, but not so thick that it doesn't fit on the bun.  I'm always intrigued by the condiments a burger place offers.  Big State will prepare your burger with mustard, mayo, or both, but it's up to the customer to add the ketchup.  To me, ketchup is the non-negotiable.  But no biggie, easy to add.  As usual, the shredded lettuce made a mess, but I fought through it.  The bacon was definitely the absolute best part of the burger.  My burger had three beautifully perfectly prepared strips of bacon, overflowing out of my burger.  The fries, unfortunately, were not anything to speak of.  I'm pretty sure they are Ore Ida.  And I'm fine with Ore Ida when you add some seasoning and do something to make it your own.  Just like a brownie or cookie mix.  Add a chopped up Milky Way to the brownie batter, or a teaspoon of almond extract to the sugar cookie mix to make it have that homemade feel.  That's how I feel about Ore Ida french fries.  

Overall, I'm not super impressed with the burgers at Big State.  Future visits would include the aforementioned fried egg sandwich, or even a malt.  I know that many consider Big State an Irving institution, but after having had so many fabulous burgers over the last few years, it's hard to get excited about their burgers.  Not that they're bad, they're just not great.

BurgerFest 2013

Yesterday was the first ever (and I hope first of many) BurgerFest!  It was in the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market and you really couldn't have asked for a better day.  After twenty-four hours of dreary weather and much needed rain, we had sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s; perfect for roaming Deep Ellum in search of fabulous burgers!

Here's a list of the players.  While we didn't get to everyone, we did tried a combination of familiar and new.

• Twisted Root
• Maple & Motor
• Stackhouse
• Chop House
• Mixed Up Burgers
• Max's Wine Dive
• Haystack
• Whiskey Cake
• Asador
• Easy Slider
• Cook Hall
• Ten Bells Tavern
• Garden Cafe

Burgers we already love - 
Because we already know about the awesomeness of Maple & Motor, Stackhouse, Chop House, and Mixed Up Burgers we opted not to visit these tents.  And while Twisted Root is always a Top 5 burger for me, I had never tried the goat meat.  So I convinced Kelly to try it with me.  And it was a good burger.  I'm not sure if it was the goat cheese that enhanced the meat, but I did enjoy this slider.  The bread seemed different this time and it wasn't as great as it normally is, but it still put a smile on my face.

New Burgers - 
I was excited that most of the participants were new to me, and a few of them I had been hearing great things about, so I was excited to try Haystack, Whiskey Cafe, and Easy Slider before making them official Burger Babe outings.

Haystack's offering was a chicken fried burger with gravy and jalapeno slices.  Strange, but yummy!  Super yummy, in fact!  We left off the jalapenos, although I can't help but think that they would really tie everything together.  But the chicken fried hamburger patty has a great flavor and the texture was perfect.  Just the right amount of crunch. And the jalapeno-bacon cream gravy was delicious!  Made me want a plate of mashed potatoes.  I think Haystack will soon be an official Burger Babe outing.





The other place I've been hearing about for months is Whiskey Cake.  And they definitely brought their A-game yesterday!  Instead of just putting any old burger out there, Whiskey Cake brought the BBQ Banh Mi - roasted pork, tangy veggies, cilantro, and Asian BBQ, all atop a brisket patty and nestled between a crispy baguette.  I'm pretty sure this was my favorite of the day.  Such a great combination of flavors and textures.  Pure yumminess!  I cannot wait to visit Whiskey Cake and try some of their other creations!





Not sure how we can make Easy Slider a Burger Babes outing since it's a food truck, but it definitely deserves our attention.  They had two offerings, but we chose Sweet & Lowdown.  Goat cheese, strawberry jam, and bacon on an Angus beef patty.  What a savory combination! The goat cheese and strawberry jam was so wonderful and to add in the crispy bacon was a touch of genius.  This one was Kelly's favorite and I don't blame her.  I'd have to say it was close behind the Bahn Mi from Whiskey Cake for me.  I will absolutely be paying more attention to Easy Slider's schedule from here on out.



We also tried Asador and Cook Hall, both are restaurants in hotels, the Renaissance and W, respectively.  I have mixed opinions on Asador.  The ingredients were great, including the grilled mushroom.  You could tell that they didn't use a basic crimini from Tom  Thumb.  It had a very deep, rich flavor to it.  I think they used a chipotle aioli, but I can't recall for sure.  Whatever it was, it was really good, too.  But what got me was the rareness of the meat.  And this girl likes rare meat, but this was a little too rare for me.  So, I'm not sure that this will make the cut for Burger Babes.  And we were both lukewarm on the Cook Hall burgers as well.  They had two choices, so we got one of each.  The BBQ Meatball slider had crispy potato strings, sweet pepper jam, scamorza cheese, and BBQ braised meatballs.  It wasn't bad.  In fact, I really liked the sweet pepper jam.  But not what I look for when I want a burger.  We also tried the Bacon Glazed Short Rib Slider; cheddar cheese, horseradish mustard, arugula, and a sliced tomato.  Again, good, just nothing outstanding.  I think if you're staying in either one of these hotels and you don't want to venture out, either place can give you a good burger.  But then again, if you're visiting Dallas, why not get out and try some of our amazingly fantastic burger joints?

There were only three that were new to us and we didn't try - Max's Wine Dive, Garden Cafe, and Ten Bells Tavern.  Garden Cafe was not really a possibility since it was a vegetarian burger.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that's not how this girl rolls.  Ten Bells Tavern is in Bishop Arts, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually.  And I know that Max's Wine Dive is on my list of Dallas eateries to visit.  I've heard great things about it and their slogan is "Fried chicken and champagne...what the hell not?"

If I had one critique about BurgerFest it would be about the drinks.  Looked all over that place for a Diet Coke, but to no avail.  Luckily, Yellow Bar was there with sweet tea.  

In addition to the burger tents, there were a few vendors as well.  Everything was handmade and there were some very creative people out there with really unique products.

All in all, it was great outing!

Kelly and me with our Sangria Winesicles!