Second Floor, Liberty Burger & Rodeo Goat
Three more excellent burgers. Sadly one of them did not make the top ten. Find out which one when DALLAS BEST BURGER HUNTERS publish our TOP TEN DALLAS BURGERS next week. Be sure to tell all your friends to join us for the big reveal on our blog at dallasbestburgerhunters.com and Instagram at dallas_best_burger_hunters.
SECOND FLOOR
This was just about perfection. The patty was exceptional – house ground beef mixed with a bit of prime rib cooked on a flame grill for a nice char on the outside with a medium rare middle. We really don’t know how to describe a patty that holds together but isn’t “tough”. The patty alone would be burger heaven. An out of body burger experience! They’ve upped their game from our first visit. They now serve two better burgers than the House Burger that got them to the finals. The Texan (pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, crispy shallots, bacon jam on a brioche bun) and The Artisan (brie cheese, “melted mushrooms”, tomato jam on brioche bun). It’s so nice when a burger purveyor takes pride in their burger and attends to each element to create a burger experience for the diner. Not cheap at $16. Great service and a HUGE whiskey selection. Sleek looking place. Second Floor is hidden away in the Galleria on the SECOND FLOOR over the hotel.
LIBERTY BURGER
Liberty is more accessible (multiple locations) and more reasonably priced than the very best of our Top Ten. It can be on your burger rotation over and over. You’ll always get a good burger and you can get it six different ways + tuna, veggie, lamb and turkey. The Baby Bella with killer Queso blanco, sautéed baby bella mushrooms, Big O Ring, basil garlic aioli is outstanding. The Chillerno boasts flame roasted poblano pepper and chipotle BBQ sauce. Heck, try them all, they’re all excellent. Liberty onion rings are arguably the best in town (Katy Trail Ice House being their competition). Sweet onions cut monster wide with a peppery crust fried to perfection.
Rodeo Goat Icehouse
Rodeo Goat might be the finest contribution Fort Worth has made to Dallas since, oh I don’t know…EVER.
What we have here folks is a true burger joint. With the exception of some sides and a couple of salads all they have is burgers. And they have a LOT of burgers. Fifteen beef plus salmon, ground chicken and veggie burgers. All burgers are hand ground and formed on site. We prefer pretty standard add-ons to our burgers but they top off a few selections with combinations of some surprising stuff – candied bacon, capers, blackberry compote, shaved cucumber, grilled peaches and more. They always feature the Battle of the Burger pitting two special burgers against each other. On our first visit we tried perennial winner Chupacabra (the winner stays and competes against a new challenger). Legend has it that the Chupacabra won so many times they had to retire it. Fortunately they bring it back into competition from time to time. If it’s there when you visit you gotta get it.
You can’t go wrong with their basic D.C.C. Cheeseburger. The patties are cooked perfectly and placed on toasted buns. Once you’ve been there several times step out and give the Sugar Burger a shot – candied bacon, grilled peaches, caramelized onions, arugula (yech!) and jalapeno jam. We didn’t but it sounds intriguing. Let us know what you think about it. The “Brad Sham” – applewood smoked bacon, beef steak tomato, jalapenos, shredded lettuce, fried onion, cheddar cheese, pickle chutney and house made BBQ sauce is excellent.
Dallas Best Burger Hunters 