I like burgers. You like burgers. We like burgers.

Everyone likes a good hamburger!

But where do we find the BEST hamburger?

That became our Quest – to find the definitive, absolute best burgers in Dallas.

Who are we? What are our qualifications? Why would we undertake such a quest? What is our starting point? What are the rules? What does a quest cost? Very good questions.

WHO ARE WE? – First, and most importantly, we are burger lovers. Your dedicated and tireless critics are Matt & Tricia Gold and Will & Deb Tucker. We represent young and old, native and transplanted Texans, Jews and Christians, thin and …..not so thin, tall and short, male and female.

WHAT ARE OUR QUALIFICATIONS? –  240 collective years of eating burgers and we can sing every word of Buffett’s burger anthem Cheeseburger in Paradise.

WHY WOULD WE UNDERTAKE SUCH A QUEST? Matt is our Burgermeister. He tired of bogus Top Ten Burger lists. Everyone seemed to have one and they were all different. Understandable but those differences make them suspect. Each is really the individual critic’s top ten. If five other critics had Top Ten lists, they were all different. If they hadn’t tried ALL the burger joints then how could one list be the best? It seemed the qualification for creating a top ten list was to try four or five burgers and have friends recommend a few others. With that “extensive” research and a platform on which to print and blog you had the qualifications to create a list. Not good enough for Matt Gold. He knew there had to be, and should be, a DEFINITIVE Top Ten list – one that all burger lovers could turn to when they wanted to treat themselves to a truly memorable culinary experience, a transcendent heavenly meal. A perfectly seared patty on the best bun with exceptional accoutrements. A burger you would remember for years.

WHAT IS OUR STARTING POINT? We figured if a burger made it to one or more of a top ten list it was at least worthy of consideration. There were 42 burger joints on at least one of the lists. Another 8 were added from new restaurants, friend recommendations or personal favorites that didn’t make one of the lists.

WE TRIED THEM ALL!

Then, and only then, would we know the true and indisputable best hamburger in Dallas. And let’s be real folks. Since Dallas has the best of everything we may very well know where to get the best burger in the world!

WHAT ARE THE RULES AND CRITERIA? There is no handbook for quests. The rules evolved but here are the basics:

  • All four critics have to sample the burgers together. We have to be able to compare, discuss and rate them at the same time.
  • Chances are if the establishment advertises on TV it wasn’t going to be on the list – no fast food. Sorry Whataburger fans.
  • If the establishment has a “signature” burger we all order the signature burger.
  • If there are multiple burgers but no signature burger we will ask for the two top sellers, order two of each and split them so that each of us has the opportunity to try them both.
  • We are rating the burger, presentation, sides and overall experience. The burger is paramount though and the key to the rating. We mention the extent of the beer selection since burgers and beer are so closely linked but beer is not a part of the rating system.
  • There is no way we could remember how the second burger compares to the 27th burger so we divided them into divisions – ten burgers in each of five divisions. Two from each division qualify for the finals. To end with an updated final Top Ten we will return and reevaluate the ten finalists.

WHEN WILL WE KNOW THE BEST BURGER IN DALLAS? Quests take a long time. Coordinating schedules for four critics was hard. It took us 22 months. Four of the ones we tried have already closed the doors. On more than one occasion we tried two different places in one evening. And, yes, we were hurting after the second.

DO I REALLY HAVE TO WAIT THAT LONG TO FIND A GOOD BURGER? No. Follow us on our blog, Facebook and Instagram for updates. We knew we should be in social media platforms but we first had to have our kids to teach us how to use them.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE – TELL ME WHERE I CAN GO FOR AN EXCELLENT BURGER. We’ve done the hard work. Check out the TOP TEN and enjoy Dallas Best Burgers.

DALLAS BEST BURGER HUNTERS