The Yellow Division – First Three

Thought we’d give you a teaser of the Yellow Division and the results to date. Maybe you could try one or more of the Yellow Division and get back to us with your thoughts.

So far these six from the Red, White and Blue Divisions plus probable wild cards will go on to the finals:

• Red 1 – Luscher’s Red Hots in Deep Ellum
• Red 2 – Rodeo Goat in the Design District
• White 1 – Liberty Burger with multiple locations
• White 2 – Boulevardier in Bishop Arts
• Blue 1 – The Grape on Lower Greenville
• Blue 2 – The Porch on Henderson
• Probable Wild Card – Snuffers with multiple locations
• Probable Wild Card – Wingfield’s on Beckley

NOW FOR THE YELLOW DIVISION

Yellow looks to be a very competitive division. We’ve already tried and liked Goodfriend and Stackhouse. We know Kenny’s and Maple & Motor are good and others in the group may be as well. It’ll be tough to pick a couple of finalists out of Yellow. In alphabetic order these establishments are in the Yellow Division:

• Blues Burgers
• Dairy-Ette
• Dugg Burger
• Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burgers House
• Kenny’s Burgers
• Lakewood Landing
• Maple & Motor
• Rapscallion
• Record Grill
• Stackhouse

We’ve already been to Dugg Burger, Stackhouse and Goodfriend. Here’s what we thought about them in order of our visit. We won’t know division rankings until we’ve eaten our way through the whole division.

Dugg Burger – 2 locations, we tried Plano location – http://www.duggburger.com

There’s a place for Dugg Burger. Unfortunately it won’t be in our final Top Ten. They have a novel concept that will appeal to some – particularly families with children. Dugg Burger excavates a hollow in the bun and fills it with your choice of toppings while the burger is on the grill.  Doesn’t make it taste better but it’s kind of fun. They take the hollowed out bread and use it to make bread pudding. The toppings are good and you can get any or all of them. Caramelized and fried onions, grilled jalapenos, mushrooms and bacon. The patty though is small and has little taste. Kiddos will have fun writing on the brick wall with chalk while you wait.

Stackhouse Burgers -2917 Gaston Ave – www.stackhouseburgers.com

Stackhouse is another example of why Burger Hunters love our jobs. We get to try excellent out of the way places – Burger Bueno, Boulevardier and now Stackhouse. Awesome! It’s going to be difficult to keep Stackhouse out of the top 2 in the Yellow Division. They do everything right. Texas grown beef is great and cooked just the way we ordered. You can taste a slight hint of butter in the bun. Iceberg lettuce was crisp, the tomato firm with exceptional pickles (not those exotic ones). This is just a good ole American cheeseburger so ordered good ole American cheese on it (cheese is an extra buck). When given a choice I’m beginning to get American cheese now on all my burgers. It’s very melty and good and doesn’t overpower the burger itself. Fries were outstanding – very crispy and salted just right. String onion rings are well above average. Small selection of local beers on tap. Desserts looked wonderful but we too full to try any of them.  Downstairs is laid back and rustic – no frills. Be sure to check out the upstairs patio. Way cool with covered seating area and a fireplace + standing heaters for those chilly days. Killer view of downtown. Stackhouse offers a great package of burger, beer, sides and venue.  Didn’t like their pricing model but some might actually consider it a good thing. The basic burger with LTO is $6.95 but add-ons all cost extra. Cheese is $1, mushrooms $1, bacon $1.50, etc. So a bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms is $9.45, still within the range of the really good burgers we’ve tried so maybe it’s not so bad. If I’d wanted A-1 Sauce it’s another fifty cents. Personally I don’t like that pricing model but those who only want the basic burger might look at it as not having to pay for extras built into the cost at all inclusive joints.

Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House – 1154 Peavy – goodfrienddallas.com

Goodfriend Alamo Burger

Matt, Tricia and Deb gave Goodfriend a higher grade than Will. They talked about it giving Stackhouse a run. Ultimately we all agreed that, in the clubhouse after the first three, Stackhouse is the leader. Will thought it wasn’t quite as good as it’s reputation. Ordered medium rare and got it medium well which negatively impacts taste. Lot’s of burger choices. We tried the P.L.O.T. (Pickles. Lettuce. Onion. Tomato.) and the Alamo (“Remember it”) burgers. The Alamo was starred on the menu as their most popular – Brisket, avocado, jalapenos, queso and tortilla strips. A burger worthy of its’ name. Big slices of avocado. Watch out for the fresh jalapenos. We like ’em but they aren’t grilled so light you up. Have a beer ready. You’ll probably want to knock off most of the tortillas. Not really sure what they add or why they’re on there. Waffle fries (regular and sweet potato) were very good. One of the few times any of us had crispy waffle fries. Huge selection of beers. Good feel place. Goodfriend is aptly named. You feel like it’s a bigger version of Cheers. The wrap around bar is huge and was packed the night we visited.