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Arnold Burger
http://www.arnoldburgers.com/
1611 South Washington Street
Amarillo, TX 79102 (map)–
Burger Tyme Road Trip #6 – Arnold Burger (Amarillo, TX) –
Ahh, the open road. I miss it as I sit here in a darkened conference room, listening to a presentation on something that has nothing to do with anything. I’m thinking back to the very last leg (sniff) of the magical road trip. While my wife and I left Provo, UT and In-N-Out disappeared in our rear view mirror, we could not possibly anticipate the adventures we had before us. We hiked through slot canyons in Goblin Valley State Park, strolled under and around the beautiful rock formations in Arches National Park, mountain biked on the infamous Slick Rock Trail, and spent our frigid evenings camping in Dead Horse Point’s Cowboy Camp. And this was just in Moab, UT. I didn’t find a great burger there but the outdoor possibilities were great. After a few days there and feeling very road weary, we made the long drive to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado to see the ruins of the cliff dwelling Native Americans. From there, being thoroughly wowed and exhausted, we made a bee-line heading back home. Fortunately for us (and slightly by Burger Tyme design) we were passing through Amarillo, TX around lunch time on the last day of this road trip adventure. Amarillo is the home of the Big Texan steak challenge. My wife was not keen on letting me try to conquer 72oz of steak. Fortunately for me, a simple web search turned up an equally massive, and critically acclaimed burger not far from the interstate. Arnold Burger. Our GPS led us to the most unassuming building imaginable. There was no question that we were in the right place based on the big, yellow sign proclaiming we’ve arrived. When we walked in the first thing I noticed was the rather large menu on the wall. To assist in ordering they provided outlines on the wall indicating the different sizes and shapes of burgers you could order. They had every shape you could think of, from hearts to footballs to butterflies and even a Texas shaped burger! The shape that interested me the most, however, was the 24″ circle. Surely this was a pizza… Nope! It’s a burger that you can order!
Hey Arnold!-
The lady behind the counter noticed I was taking pictures of the menu, so I introduced myself as having a burger review site. Her name was Gayla, Gayla Arnold in fact. She was more than happy to tell me about their burgers. We talked about the different burgers I’ve reviewed, the different reviewers who had dropped by to eat their burgers, and many other burger related things. She pulled out a photo album full of news clippings and magazine articles featuring Arnold Burger, including some international articles! The most impressive story, though, was that she declined to appear on the show Man vs Food. I remember the episode in Amarillo. It was actually the first one of the series. “Why!” I asked. Surely this would be a great opportunity to get some national exposure! Her explanation was simple. She said that the producers wanted to have a “party” like atmosphere, with roller girls (featured in the episode), and a lot of ruckus in their restaurant. “That’s not what we’re about”, she said…. Man. I’ve never been so impressed by such pure, burger commitment. We also discussed how the Texas Monthly 50 Best Burgers seemed to be missing many of Texas’ great burgers, including Arnold Burger. She said that Texas Monthly actually sent a reviewer to try the Arnold Burger. The reviewer arrived, ordered about $80 worth of food, tried a little bit, and left. She was not too impressed with the level of attention the reviewer gave to the actual burger. I mentioned that there were some great Houston burgers that were also conspicuously missing, such as Christians Tailgate, Hubcap Burger, and Bellaire Broiler (to be reviewed). We came to the conclusion that the 50 Best burger list must favor places that advertise with Texas Monthly.
Arnold Schwarzaburger-
Well, all pleasantries aside, it was time to order! With Gayla’s assistance I was able to hone down the vast options and ordered the single meat, cheeseburger. With her recommendation I added jalapeno dressing. They had many other tempting options ranging from guacamole to cream cheese to grilled pineapple. I had to resist over embellishing the burger so that I could get a good sense of the burger underneath. My wife couldn’t resist the shaped burgers and ordered a small Texas burger. We rounded out our order with a plate of seasoned curly fries. All of this was surprisingly inexpensive at less than $9. While we waited Gayla brought us a plate of jalapeno potato bites which was a new side item they were working on and now appears to be on the menu. With great anticipation our burgers arrived. They come arranged with the burgers on the bun and the veggies on the side, add as you like. I of course like them all and placed them between the bun and the hand formed, griddle smashed patty. While I had the burger apart, I noticed the nice sear that the patty had on it. These people have obviously been making burgers for a long time and knew how to fry it up perfectly. I took my first bite and the first thing I noticed was the plain bun. It was fresh but really was unremarkable. As I chewed, the high quality of the fresh beef jumped to the forefront. The same goes for the veggies. Everything seemed to be playing second and even third fiddle to the patty, but the subtlety worked well with the fresh, juicy, beefy flavor that is obviously the star here. After a few bites, I was reminded of the addition of jalapeno dressing to my burger, as I noticed a heat building up in the back of my throat. It was a great addition. My wife also enjoyed her Texas burger. Apparently the specialty shaped buns are made in house, which was a great touch. The seasoned curly fries were as good as you could hope for and cooked to a nice crisp. This was important because my wife is picky about her fries.
The Wrap It Up-
This burger was a great end to an awesome road trip! My only regret was that we did not get to see one of those huge burgers… But wait! While we were eating, a family of about ten people walked in. They traveled all the way from Kansas to try, as luck would have it, one of the giant burgers! I watched in amazement as the cook piled on handful after handful of fresh ground beef. It was awesome. Even better, they use a pizza peel to flip the monster on the griddle. Unfortunately we had another 600 miles ahead and could not wait the forty plus minutes it takes to cook. All in all, Arnold burger was a great burger in it purest form. Add on top the plethora of options you can put on the burger and you have a great BURGER TYME!
Well, folks, this is the end of the 2010 Burger Tyme Road trip. We made our way around America, saw some beautiful sites, ate some wonderful burgers, spent 14 nights sleeping on the ground, and we were ready to get home. Until next time.
