The White Division Results

Dallas Best Burger Hunters

The White Division Results

A primer for those just joining us and a reminder for those who’ve been here from the beginning:

We are four pathetic soles with nothing else to do but look for the best burgers in Dallas. We’ve selected 50 burger joints in the Dallas area. Most of them made it to someone’s top ten list of Dallas burgers. A few more came highly recommended by anonymous sources. WE ARE TRYING THEM ALL!!! In the end we will be able to tell you the best burgers you can find in Dallas.

The 50 are divided in five divisions – ten in each division. We eat our way through a division and rank them as we go. The top two in each division go on to the finals. In most cases even the last one in a division is a decent burger but the top two are exceptional.

We covered the Red Division in an earlier blog. Subscribe to our blog to keep up to date. The two burgers moving on to the finals in the Red Division were Luscher’s Red Hots and Rodeo Goat.

So here we go – The White Division results

This may be one of the toughest divisions. White had some really good burgers. The rankings were tough but we were up to it. In reverse order we have:

10. Off-Site Kitchen – Trinity Groves – http://www.oskdallas.com

• Off-Site would come in very favorably in our unofficial “Good Value” Division. We may even have to create an official Good Value Division. You can get a good $5 cheeseburger, a rare find in Dallas. It’s small at 1/4 pound. Good bun, taste was a bit toward Hawaiian bread – a little sweet. We all thought it was a bit too salty. Great selection of “retro” beers (Pearl Light, Schlitz, Old Milwaukee). Fries were a bit soggy. Side note – we are having a lot of backlash for not having Off-Site higher up on the list. Lot’s of Off-Site fans out there. We may have to go back and revisit this one. Funky interior. We’re using this picture because we are of a certain age that appreciates any establishment’s use of the iconic Farrah Fawcett poster.

9. Remedy – 2010 Greenville – http://www.remedydallas.com

• Kobe beef burger but unimpressive – particularly at $14. We came in with high expectations but left disappointed. Will liked the griddled challah bun with a perfect circle of butter on top, Deb was not a fan. We tried the fried house made bologna sandwich as well – not so good. Some of us liked the Jalapeno-Chive Hushpuppies appetizer but they are way too expensive for what you get ($10 for a little bowl of hushpuppies). Get the cream of tomato soup, it comes as one of the available sides and rivals La Madeleine’s.

 

 

8. Haystack Burgers & Barley – 100 S Central Expwy http://www.haystackburgers.com

• The burger patty was just so-so. If we were going to a movie next door at the Alamo Draft House though we might get a burger first at Haystack. The fries and onion rings were above average and the Frito pie is a novel side/appetizer and was very good. Nice selection of local beers two from Oak Highlands, one of our favorite small breweries.

 

 

 

 

 

   7.  Shady’s Burger Joint – 2701 Custer Pkwy, Richardson – shadysburgers.com

• Shady’s has a big board of burgers and we all ordered something different. Comments and rankings though were pretty much the same for all of us. Good burger, not great. Tricia thought the meat was “too chunky and fell apart”. Shady’s is the local haunt for Canyon Creek folks. An exceptional outside patio – one of the best we’ve seen – is reason enough to give it a try. The fried pickles are outstanding, maybe the best Will’s ever had and he considers himself a fried pickle connoisseur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.  Braindead Brewery – Deep Ellum – braindeadbrewing.com

• If the number of ingredients determines the winner the Coma Burger wins it all. This D Magazine Editors’ Choice includes house ground brisket and bacon patty, stout mustard, clarified butter, sweet onion jam, house made beer pickles, shredded lettuce, tomato, smoked cheddar, crisp shallots on a bun with a side of sweet potato chips. Matt was not a fan of Braindead. His #8 ranking brought the overall down significantly. We were there on Wednesday so we tried the Wednesday Burger as well (served only on…Wednesday). OK but did not put us in a “Coma” (get it?) but it did come with a HUGE blazing hot stuffed and fried jalapeno and the best onion rings we’ve ever had (maybe tied with Liberty). Great beer selection including their own brews.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Whiskey Cake – 3601 Dallas Pkwy, Plano – http://www.whiskey-cake.com

• The OMG – “Onions, Mushrooms and Goodness” did not quite make me yell “OMG” but it was VERY good. Brisket burger, big onion ring, roasted crimini mushrooms, muenster cheese, grain mustard, red chile mayo, lettuce, tomato on a challah bun. Once again, Deb did not like the challah bun. Tricia thought they pile too much on one burger and gave it an unflattering #8. Matt thought too many ingredients but must have liked it more – #5. Lots of ingredients but they came together beautifully – except for the mustard. All of us were surprised they added whole grain mustard. It overpowers the rest of the burger. The waiter said it was there to add some zing but all of us thought it was a poor addition. Will would leave it out the next time he goes. Without the mustard this might have been his #1 in the White Division but we rank based on how a place serves their burger. If we started adding and deleting items it would no longer be the establishment’s burger. Cost is on the high side – $13.50. Chips came with the burger and were excellent. Beer and rye whiskey flights were a fun compliment to the meal. First rye whiskey flight I’ve ever seen.

4. LUCK Dallas – Trinity Groves – http://www.luckdallas.com

• Local Urban Craft Kitchen. Offering up a half pound patty, LTO, house made pickles on a brioche bun. Optional cheese will cost you another buck. Very good. Would have been third or fourth in the Red Division (did we mention that overall the Red Division – with the exception of Luscher’s and Rodeo Goat – is not as strong as the White Division. Cool communal outside dining on picnic tables. Excellent patty cooked just as ordered. Good, fresh bun. Crisp vegies. Side note – try the pastrami sandwich and the Red Chile Pozole. Best tap beer selections by far.

3. Snuffer’s – Multiple locations – http://www.snuffers.com

• This is a killer for Matt. Snuffer’s “is and always will be my favorite burger”. That it came in third just about did him in. We all agree Snuffer’s is iconic in Dallas. Matt had it ranked #1, Deb #2 and Tricia #3. Will, though, had it all the way down at #6. What’s the first thing you think of when you think Snuffer’s? The loaded cheese fries. We all love, love, love the cheese fries. Matt (the whole thing), Deb & Tricia (both love the poppy seed bun) obviously love the burger as well. Why then would Will rank it so low? Because we aren’t ranking burgers by side items. We mention them but they don’t count in the rankings. We’re ranking burgers and while the Snuffer’s burger alone is delicious it doesn’t hold up to others in the White Division. If we ranked by the overall experience and sides Snuffer’s would have easily made the top two.
  

  

2. Boulevardier – Bishop Arts – dallasboulevardier.com

•          Boulevardier is a “French-inspired, neighborhood-friendly bistro”. It was a challenge to all of us to pronounce Boulevardier. Who’d a thunk they’d have a burger? I’m betting we were the first ever patrons to order just four burgers. They only have one burger and they do it well – they better at $16.00 but it comes with excellent fries. Very tender patty (I wonder how they keep it together as they grill it), house bacon, gruyer cheese, carmelized onions, Nathan’s pickles, pain au lait bun. Great presentation (yes there is a small presentation consideration in the rankings). We hear the rest of the menu is just as good. BTW – our waiter was outstanding!

1. Liberty Burger – Multiple locations – givemelibertyburger.com

• We’ve all been to Liberty Burger many times and liked their burgers. Those visits were before starting the burger battle and truly evaluating Liberty against the competition. We all started with a certain prejudice against Liberty due to it being a multiple location restaurant. To date the best burgers had been single stand-alone joints. We stand corrected. The Mushroom Queso Burger is outstanding. Juicy, perfectly cooked (medium rare), tasty mushrooms and the best queso oozing out the side. The stuffed jalapeno was forgettable (see Braindead above). The Nooner should be named the Breakfast Burger. It has a diner breakfast special thrown on top of a burger (sorry about the photo – we’re not really photographers). Sweet potato fries are good but the side that really stars are the onion rings. The Liberty version uses sweet onions cut monster thick with a peppery crust fried to perfection. Mmmmmm!