2011, The Roundup writing staff, tired of reading the pedestrian D Magazine yearly burger reviews, decided to turn their ardent journalism skills toward finding the number one hamburger in the greater Dallas area. As has become the norm with The Roundup staff, our writers exhaustively researched their project, tirelessly pouring over hamburgers from the four corners of the Metroplex to find the top burger.
The burger search committee consisted of five highly-discerning and decidedly carnivorous sandwich judges: Davis Bittner ’13; Grant VanKirk ’13; Will Wood ’13; Jeffery Bartlett ’12; and Clark Durham ’12. These reviewers hit the streets, traversing congested North Texas roads in search of the tastiest hamburger in town.
Writers were asked to honestly judge their favorite Dallas burger using a grading rubric with four categories: burger patty, condiments and fries, bread/bun, and serving size. Additionally, our reviewers assigned bonus points for “X-Factor(s)” of the burger.
Restaurants
Mooyah Burger (reviewed by Davis Bittner)
Twisted Root Burger (reviewed by Grant VanKirk)
Burger House (reviewed by Will Wood)
Snuffer’s Restaurant & Bar (reviewed by Jeff Bartlett)
Maple & Motor Burgers and Beer (reviewed by Clark Durham)
Judge Reviews
Burger Patty:
8 – Maple & Motor.
Durham: The thick, tender meat explodes with flavor in your mouth. Its healthy ration of grease, which keeps the burger juicy and fully flavored, does not overpower the burger or make it oily. Its medium-rare preparation ensures that every bite is savory.
8 – Burger House
Wood: The beef is flawless, cut thin and kept simple. The beef slices are thin enough that you can enjoy the flavor, but thick enough that you aren’t hungry later. Burger House is famous for the spice that they apply to their fries as well as to their burgers. It tastes great as long as you put something else on the burger with it. Sometimes they add too much seasoning, which results in a very salty burger. This burger has no grease whatsoever; it’s not dry though, a perfect balance, cooked well, crispy along the edges but juicy in the middle.
8 – Mooyah Burger
Bittner: The quality was excellent but there was nothing extra special about the patty itself.
7 – Snuffer’s
Bartlett – Burger was very well spiced. Wholesome and tasty all the way through. This is a very juicy burger, and the burger has a propensity to fall apart with a big bite.
7 – Twisted Root
VanKirk: The patty was a little overcooked but very thick and wide. It had a little bit of grease so it was not very dry, which was good.
Condiments
10 – Mooyah Burger
Bittner: Lettuce and pickles are crisp, and they don’t kill their burger with mustard. They let you build your own and add whatever you like, ranging from their special Mooyah sauce to sautéed mushrooms, for no extra cost.
9 – Snuffer’s
Bartlett – Chopped lettuce with oil provides a nice balance to the saltier burger. It comes with the goods: onions, tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos. Specialty burgers are exceptional (pizza burger, cheese fries burger, BBQ burger).
8 – Burger House
Wood: There is the option of lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, etc, but there really isn’t any need to put them on the burger. The only signature the burger has is their seasoning, which is a very salty seasoning that can compliment or overload the burger. I prefer having the burger with cheese, and sometimes cheese and bacon. The Burger House fries are outstanding, a great addition to the meal and honestly the reason why I keep going back to the restaurant.
7 – Maple & Motor
Durham: The small helping of lettuce and onion makes sure that the burger does not lose its distinct meat flavor. The signature burger lacks a distinctive sauce to compliment the beef. Burger is incredible with sliced jalapenos, a solid but not overbearing kick. Home recipe tater tots are the perfect complement to this burger.
5 – Twisted Root
VanKirk: My burger came with bacon, cheese, and fried onions, and I added ketchup and mayonnaise. The onions were very soggy and didn’t taste very good. The bacon was extremely crispy and dry. The fries were very good, with a delicious spicy seasoning. They went well with the burger.
Bread/Bun
8 – Snuffer’s
Bartlett: Poppy seed burger tastes crisp and flakey on the outside, but fluffy and soft on the inside. Only problem is that the bottom gets soggy very easily and falls apart.
7 – Mooyah Burger
Bittner: The simple bun really complimented the burger. Nothing extra special about the bun, it tasted fine and held up to a huge burger.
6 – Twisted Root
VanKirk: The bun was a little bit too soggy and didn’t hold up the burger as well as it should. Other than that, it was delicious bread, and really held in the mayonnaise and ketchup well.
6 – Maple & Motor
Durham: The bun is soft and flavorful, but is ultimately overrun by the rest of the burger. Beef grease makes the small buns soggy and fragile, ready to disintegrate in your hand and leave you with a broken burger. The bun’s premium bread quality can’t be ignored though.
6 – Burger House
Wood: The bun is a little lackluster, it’s really nothing special, but it gets the job done. There really aren’t greases in the burger so the bun is more or less completely dry. This bun holds the burger up well, it is roughly the same diameter of the patty itself, which gives the overall burger an aesthetically pleasing look. The bun was a typical white bread bun, nothing special. The bun was lightly toasted, but not terribly noticeable.
Serving
10 – Snuffer’s
Bartlett: Very well proportioned in terms of a large patty, a good balance of vegetables. Enough bun to satisfy but not enough to distract from the patty. One half-pound is well satisfying and enough to fill up.
9 – Burger House
Wood: The double cheeseburger satisfies, and with the addition of outlandishly large portions of fries, you can’t leave this establishment hungry. The portions on the burger were excellent, everything was in a balance. The burger and the bun are roughly the same size, so the burger was very consistent. I never had a bite of just bread or just patty.
9 – Mooyah Burger
Bittner: The burger was very filling and consistent.
9 – Twisted Root
VanKirk: The burger is very large, I had trouble finishing. The cheese is in good proportion, though too many fried onions were on it. Bacon was added in the right proportion as well. The burger was very consistent throughout, besides the typical crunch of the outside bun and patty.
7 – Maple & Motor
Durham: You’re hard pressed to find a better burger deal in Dallas, with the signature beef burger running $4.75. The burger is well proportioned and doesn’t overwhelm the eater. Condiments and add-ons, though, are a little costly, and lure the eater into a high tab.
