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(4 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
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BRC Gastropub www.brcgastropub.com 519 Shepherd Drive Houston, TX 77007 (map)
“You should try the burger at BRC”. These are the words a coworker said to me that, unbeknown(st) to her, would change Burger Tyme history forever. She then said something that I did not quite understand, “The bacon jam is sooo good.”. Oh-kay. Well, this particular coworker has been around Burger Tyme for years so I trusted her recommendation and set out to do a little research. BRC is a gastropub which is something I’ve never heard of before. I’ve come to learn that a gastropub is not so much of a bar as it is a place that has a wide variety of food items on the menu along with more extensive bar type offerings. So now that that mystery is unraveled, what does the acronym BRC stand for? The answer became glaringly obvious upon our first visit. From the giant red rooster statue on the corner of Shephard Dr. and Blossom St. to the many photos and paintings of roosters which seems to be the driving theme of the interior decor, BRC obviously stands for Big Red…. Chicken… At least, that is how you should refer to it in polite, social situations.
Another bit of information that came in handy was that BRC has a special on Mondays where the burger and fries are only $6.50. Done. Say no more. I set my Burger Tyme targets, recruited some friends, and waited… Waited for Monday. Monday finally came and to BRC we went. When we arrived and made our way inside, I was surprised by how nice this place was. It was a little more trendy and upscale than I expected. I think the pictures of chickens everywhere gave this place some much needed farm yard humility. We were given our menus and began to peruse.
There is only one burger on the menu. The BRC Pub Burger. That’s it. There is not eight different burgers all marginally different with unexplainable pricing. Just one burger, one price, with the caption “BRC will be happy to try to customize the burger upon your request.”. Well, let’s see, it comes with a 100% White Hereford beef patty ground on-site daily, marinated tomato, aged cheddar, maple bacon, and something called “really nice” sauce. No need for customization here. This sounds amazing! I placed my order for the Pub Burger Special and added a Peanut-Chocolate Chip Cookie milkshake to round out this burger indulgence.
While we waited we fell under the spell of the laid back atmosphere and were in no hurry. This place is designed for enjoying company and conversations. It is dimly lit, comfortable and a little loud. After a reasonable wait my milkshake was brought to the table and yikes. This thing was huge and in what, unfortunately, looked like something a girl at spring break would drink out of. I embarrassingly admitted to the people at the table next to us that it was for my wife. For what it is worth, the milkshake was tasty. It had a nice texture with the peanut-chocolate chip cookie bits slightly blended through the shake. The burgers now made their entrance. On a plate sat an amazing looking burger and a mini fry basket full of fries. Wow! This looked much better than $6.50 burger special I imagined in my head. I picked the burger up and the first thing I noticed was how soft the bun was. It was toasted and molded wonderfully around the contents inside which helped to keep the burger together while I ate. The first bite had it all. The patty was seasoned well, and moist but not juicy. The perfectly melted cheddar cheese added plenty of creaminess to the patty. I am not typically a fan of bacon on burgers however this mapley sweet, thick cut bacon was terrific! The marinated tomato didn’t taste like anything other than a tomato but the flavor was somehow more intense. This was a straightforward, traditional style burger that is perfectly executed! The fries were great too! Hand cut, thin, and twice fried. French fry perfection!
All the words I know can’t express how much I enjoyed this burger. It was so good that I returned the following four Mondays after my initial visit. Each time it remained the same. $6.50, great burger, great fries.I did opt for the canned coke instead of the giant, girl glass milk shake on these subsequent visits. Per the initial recommendation, we ordered the Bacon Cheddar Biscuit appetizer which includes the “Bacon Jam”. It was awesome! Imagine jam… then add bacon. Brilliant!
A few chinks did, however, appear in BRC’s brightly feathered armor. The waiters were usually very nice, but the host, hostesses, and bartender can be less than friendly at times. There is definitely an air at BRC that dining there is your pleasure and not theirs.
For $6.50 this is the best burger deal in Houston on Mondays. On any other night the Pub Burger is $8.50 and fries are additional $3, the cheapest drink other than water is a $2 canned soft drink (no refills), add in tax and tip and you’ve suddenly got a good but pricey burger at a place that is not really happy you are dining there. For now, that is a price I’m willing to pay but only on Mondays.
(4 votes, average: 5.25 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
The Burger Palace http://www.burgerpalacehouston.com 2800 Sage Road #1100 Houston, TX 77056 (map)
Thanks to a certain “Group Coupon” website, I obtained a coupon to a burger place in Houston that I had not heard of, The Burger Palace. For $7 I could enjoy $15 of all The Burger Palace had to offer. A quick glance at the menu online would show you that $15 is just enough to enjoy a full burger meal (burger, fries, and drink). So on a quiet Friday night, my Burger Wyfe and I made our way to the premier shopping destination in Houston, the Galleria. In the back corner of a strip mall caddy corner to the Galleria itself, The Burger Palace has set up shop. This was about 7:30pm and I expected there to be lots of people enjoying some gourmet burgers before continuing on with there evening, but when we walked in, we found the place rather empty. We were told we could sit any where we like by our polite but melancholy hostess/waitress. We took a seat and began looking over the menu. They proudly serve “100% Akaushi Beef” which is “Rated Higher Than Prime”. Given the average $10 cost for a burger this seemed like a decent deal for kobe style beef. There was a small selection of vastly different burger options including burgers with grilled pineapple, tahini (sesame) sauce, or mushrooms and parmesan cheese. While deciding on what to order I glanced around at the decor, which had a very upscale, modern feel to it. Being that we were the only other couple not already eating, the waitress was patiently waiting for our cue that we were ready to place our order.
I settled in on the “American Classic” which included white cheddar and a secret sauce. Of course, I asked for the addition of a fried egg to round out my favorite burger configuration. My wyfe placed a similar order, minus the egg. She had also found a deal that if you mention Yelp to the waitress, you will get a free milkshake. Feeling obliged to mention this deal we both got complementary chocolate milkshakes. We then opted for an order of the parmesan and rosemary french fries for $5. I was eagerly awaiting the food we ordered and went about watching the burger chef go to work. After waiting for about ten minutes, our shakes arrived. The first sip proved disappointing. The shakes were icy, runny, and the chocolate flavor was very obviously of the Hershey syrup variety. They basically lacked the ice creaminess one looks for in a milkshake. For free, however, I won’t complain.
A few minutes later the burgers and fries made their way to our table. The presentation was interesting. Each burger had a curl of pickle on top and a small spring mix salad on the corner of the plate. It was a nice healthy gesture to suggest I have a salad but it’s Burger Tyme! This burger was a two-hander. I hefted it up and took a bite. The bun was soft but untoasted, a Burger Tyme no-no. The patty was beefy and juicy, as promised, but lacked any notable seasoning. The veggies, which included what they called “butter lettuce”, a slice of tomato and a couple of rings of raw onion, struggled to stand out against the plain flavor of beef . The aged white cheddar needed to be a bit more pungent as there was only slight hint of cheese flavor. The egg did a fine job of adding the buttery, cholesterolly goodness I was hoping for. The parmesan rosemary fries were tasty and crispy but there was no rosemary or parmesan on them. In fact they seemed to be frozen cajun, seasoned fries. For $5 this was a disappointment.
Let’s sum up. 2 burgers X $10 + add egg $2 + 2 milkshakes X Free + Cajun Season… I Mean Rosemary Parmesan Fries $5 – Group Coupon $15 = a burger bargain of $12 for two people. That’s great right? Not so fast. The coupon was not free and had we not known about the free shakes, they would have been $4 each.For the average diner a burger, fries, and shake will easily set you back $20 after tax and tip. Ouch! Price aside, how does The Burger Palace shake out? Not good I’m afraid. The burgers have the pedigree and appearance of a good gourmet burger but are bland and wholly uninspired beyond the description on the menu. The fries cost way too much for not being fresh cut and the milkshakes seem like an afterthought. Everything that The Burger Palace has attempted falls sadly short of what they are trying to acheive. My recommendation for those seeking creative, inspired gourmet burgers in Houston would be to drive the extra eight miles down Westheimer to Burger Guys.
(3 votes, average: 8.67 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
Burger Guys http://theburgerguys.com/ 12225 Westheimer Rd Houston, Texas 77077 (map)
I am always amazed by how many burger places a city like Houston can support. Add to the list of burger options Burger Guys. This is a Houstonian entry into the every expanding gourmet burger market and we got it blown up by the best facebook ads agency we had. Typically the burgers found in this city are of the no frills variety usually as luxurious as a farm truck license plate. Not so here. The “chef” obviously has a different vision in mind. On an uneventful workday I met my brother in law to try this place out. After a long drive down Westheimer, beyond what a sensible person would still consider to be the city of Houston, we arrived. This place had not been open long but was already receiving a lot of hype. We walked in and were greeted by a very cheerful, if not enthusiastic, counter girl. We were the only people in line and she was more than happy to explain everything about the burgers and the ingredients that went in to them. As she described the menu I began perusing the chalk board version of the menu that listed all of the exotic burgers options that I had to choose from. They all were named for a city that would mentally transport your mind’s tongue to far off cuisines and flavors, many of which you wouldn’t think would go well as a burger.
We were informed that all beef was Texas Akaushi, which is an American breed of the Japanese Kobe, and that all of the mustards, jams, sauces, and ice cream for milkshakes is made in house! The milkshakes had dreamy names like “Cafe Sua Da” or “Summer to Fall” and my personal favorite “Fruit Loops”. Also, the french fries or frites are double fried in duck fat…
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Is any one else getting hungry? AND, if that were not enough, all of the sodas on the fountain used pure cane sugar rather than corn syrup! There was even a $35 burger that had fois gras on it! Not that I am one to enjoy the art of force feeding geese, but man, I could not wait to order!
Typically I like to order the basic cheeseburger so as to have an even playing field to accurately compare the burger with its peers. The closest thing I could find was the burger appropriately names the “Houston”. I also saw on an adjacent chalk board that they had duck eggs. I asked if I could add a fried duck egg, “No problem” was the enthusiastic reply. So I added the frites and a cane sugar soft drink which came to a hefty $15…Ouch!
I hope it is worth it. As the counter girl handed me my cup, she hinted that if I mix the lemonade and Big Red flavors together, it makes “Bubble Gum”. With that advice (it is true BTW) and my order number in hand I headed straight to the soda fountain and proceeded to try every flavor on the fountain while I waited. I love cane sugar soda. Pepsi had the “throwback” drinks for a while and you can also buy Coca-Cola from Mexico which both use real cane sugar. Interestingly, the Root beer brand was Triple XXX which is from Washington state. My wife and I ate burgers at the original Triple XXX while on a trip there (see here). Behind the counter where we were sitting I could see one of the “Bootleggers”, as that was what was written on the back of every employees shirt, meticulously arranging each burger order. It was quite a craft to see. After way too much soda, our own orders were up. My wife’s latest nagging has been for me to get a hobby, so I started looking up the best top drone brands like I did when I was a teenager so I could get into RC planes again.
My own duck egg covered Houston burger was beautiful! I love eggs on my burger and this has to be the physical manifestation of that perfect idea in my head… Look at it!!! Completely over easy. I would, no doubt, need many napkins. As a pleasant surprise the onions were beautifully grilled and the cheese perfectly melted over all of it. The specially made egg buns were beautifully buttered and toasted. No calorie had been spared in this burger. This was not a small burger either.
With both hands I hoisted it up and dug in. Juice! Juice and egg yolk running down my hand, in my beard, and everywhere else. This was one juicy burger. While the egg flavor was prominent, the beef patty quickly stole the show. It was a very clean, beefy flavor. You could really tell the difference in the high quality of the beef. The onions added a nice sweetness, while the cheddar gave a savory, nuttiness to the package. Rounding out the many flavors was the house made mustard. It was much more pungent than the average French’s yellow, but in a good, authentic way. My brother in law ordered a “Featured” burger that had Dublin Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce on it. He seemed equally pleased with his choice.
And now the fries (frites)… Oh the frites (fries), double fried in duck fat, tasted like no fries I have ever had. They were perfectly crisp on the outside while moist on the inside. But the duck fat lends a much more complex flavor to the fries than the usual vegetable oils. It would almost seem a shame to dip them in ordinary ketchup… Well, luckily there are house made fry sauces, two of which you get to choose with your order! Based on the counter girls recommendations we chose the Tabasco Mash Ketchup and the Tarragon Caper Aioli. Both were good but not exactly right with the fries. Maybe just a little sea salt and malt vinegar would have set them off right.
How do I feel about gourmet burgers? Rarely worth it. Many places are starting to charge an unapologetic $10 or more for a burger, fries, and a drink (I’m talking to you Five Guys). This to me is INSANE! If you want to get maximum dollar out of the average burger lover, we expect you to put forth maximum EFFORT. Burger Guys is a perfect example of this effort. Without a doubt, a lot of work, time, planning, and thought goes in to each burger. Not to mention the painstaking attention to every detail while assembling the burger! As I left, I had no problem with the price I paid. These guys, Burger Guys, are doing some exciting and uniquethings to the burger experience and I LOVED it. I will definitely return but would only hesitate to come here more often because of the price. That being said I love what they are doing here. Great job Guys!
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
The Hill http://www.thehillrestaurant.com/ 758 West Main Street Bellville, TX 77418 (map)
Texas hill country. People love it! There is not much other than ranches, bed and breakfasts, antique shopping, and more ranches. The dramatic green hills and valleys play a stark contrast to the unending flatness of most of Texas. While passing through after a weekend of camping in La Grange, I was heading back to Houston through the back roads of this remarkably beautiful part of this state when I came across a Burger Tyme dream! In the small town of Bellville, TX across from the Boot and Saddle Repair is The Hill, an authentic, old fashioned burger joint. Not some new chain made up to look old, this was the genuine article. Being that we were on our way back from camping and had spent the previous 24 hours eating poorly cooked and poorly seasoned campfire food, it was rather easy to convince the ten other people I was camping with to stop for a hill country Burger Tyme. We all filed in to the small entry area to place our order. The menu was surprisingly vast. There was more than 20 burger variations ranging from the traditional single, double, and triple cheeseburgers, to chili burgers, to patty melts. They even had the traditional shake and malt options. It did not take long to come to an ordering conclusion.
I settled in on the Hill cheeseburger with added grilled onions a side of TATER TOTS (of course) and a chocolate shake. Once you place your order they hand you the little ticket stub with your number on it. While people were working feverishly behind the counter filling orders I went to find a seat. The seating area was decorated with what is most likely authentic 1950’s memorabilia. This place was pretty busy for 2pm on a Saturday, so I opted to sit outside. The wait was a brief 5-10 minutes ant the weather was nice so I didn’t mind. My order was brought out and I have to say, the sight left much to be desired. The $4 burger didn’t look bad but the patty was small-ish, perhaps a 1/4lb. The $2.10 tater tots had maybe a total of eight. The $3 milkshake was small, and had visible ice bits of ice in it. Never the less, I was very hungry and hopeful that the flavors would win me over. As I bit in to the burger, I found it to be just as my eyes said it would be. The patty was too thin to be juicy and too small to add any real flavor to the burger. The veggies were equally average, shredded ice-burg and a thin slice of tomato. The grilled onions were plentiful though. The best aspect of the burger was the bun. Not that it was any more than the average store bought white bun, but it perfectly buttered and toasted. It gave a nice chewy crunch to the burger.The tots were nothing special but the fact that there were so few was disappointing. The milkshake was by far the most disappointing. For the price and the number of years this place has been making milkshakes I expected at the very least there would not be ice in the milkshake. Sadly, there was.
Well, I had hoped to have stumbled upon one of burgerdoms undiscovered secrets. What I found was a classic burger joint, surviving the decades deep in Texas hill country. They obviously have been successful doing there version of burgers for some time. I will chalk up my experience as an exception rather than the rule at The Hill. If I did have one suggestion however: Allow milkshakes to be added to combos! A burger, fries, and tots combo is only $5.45 but since you cannot add it My meal was purchased a la carte totaling $9! That is ridiculous for this type of burger place. If you hang your hat on making classic burgers you cannot charge gourmet prices. All in all, in the unlikely event of me ever being in Bellville, TX again I would not hesitate to get a burger here, however, this might be slightly influenced by the fact that I would have no other choice.
(1 votes, average: 6.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
Mel’s Country Cafe http://www.melscountrycafe.com/ 24814 Stanolind Road Tomball, TX 77375– (map)
Deep in the heart of Tomball lies a secret. A secret that only those willing to make the trek past the little, white church and over the railroad tracks can know. My first week at my new job after the great American Burger Tyme road trip, the group I was joining, coincidentally, was planning a summer “Burger Tour”. This would involve us all meeting for lunch at a burger place close to work. Once they learned about Burger Tyme, they asked for my input as to which burger places to include. They already had the usual suspects, Five Guys, Becks Prime, etc. I wanted to contribute a little bit of unknown potential to the mix. After some light googling I came across many positive reviews for Mel’s Country Cafe, in Tomball, TX (Just outside of northwest Houston). It was highly praised by the venerable Texas Burger Guy, so I proudly tossed it in the mix for the Tour. Well, the schedule for the tour was put together and Mel’s was set as one of the last places to visit. I decided to do some preliminary scouting prior to the rest of the ‘Tourists’. A friend and I, who started at this new job together, arranged to meet an old co-worker at Mel’s for lunch. It wasn’t until 11:15, when I pulled up a map to get to Mel’s that it hit me just how far Mel’s is. From anything. This only increased my anticipation. If it was so highly praised yet so hard for the average diner to get to, it must be AMAZING! So, we set out. We traveled through neighborhoods, past baseball fields, beyond pastures, around a church, and over railroad tracks. We arrived at 11:45 and this place was packed. Fortunately there was still a table right by the front door. We took our seat and began perusing the menu. I know that we came for burgers but this place had so much home-cookin-goodness that it was a tough choice. The burger options were plentiful and there was even the “Mega Mel” challenge which was a monstrous burger. If you completed the challenge you got a shirt and your name on the wall.
This is a traditional, sit down type of restaurant, so our waiter gave us a few minutes to think about our orders. The consensus was burgers. I have to confess that this first trip I made to Mel’s, I was seduced by the chicken fried steak and fried okra while everyone else ordered burgers. Never fear Burger Tyme nation, my second and third (yes third) trips to Mel’s yielded a burger order. Each time I opted for the 1/3 lb cheesburger, with everything on it, added grilled onions. For the side I ordered tater tots. A few people that I’ve eaten with ordered the Mel burger. While not as big as the Mega Mel, it was still a full 1lb burger with 1/2 lb of bacon (see photo on the right). The wait for the burgers is as long as expected given the large numbers of people there each time that I’ve eaten here. Once the burgers arrived we were all at the peak of hunger due to the many delicious aromas wafting around the dining room. These were hefty burgers. Even the 1/3 lb required a two handed approach. I dug in. The beefy patty was in the forefront with everything else playing a supporting role, as they should. These were hand formed patties and the cheese was perfectly melted but there was very little juice to speak of. The bun was plain, store bought type, but nicely toasted. The veggies were a mix of really nice tomato slices and below average shredded iceberg lettuce. The grilled onions were not as flavorful as I hoped. While I can’t say that there was any one aspect of this burger that was spectacular, they all seemed to work together to create a great overall burger flavor. As a side note, the tater tots were great, but here is a Burger Tyme top tip… Order the fried okra for a side. I was so excited that it was an option. I love fried okra!
What can I say. I like the food at Mel’s. The burgers were great on two occasions, and just okay on a third. Granted, we did have 12 people at our table on the third trip, all ordering burgers. The cook may have been a bit overwhelmed by the vast differences from our orders. Overall, something about Mel’s seems magical. Perhaps it’s the long drive that takes you progressively farther away from a life that moves to0 fast. Perhaps its the friendly service that hearkens back to a time and place when people where friendly, even to strangers. Perhaps it was food reminiscent of what your mom used to cook for you when you were too young to appreciate it. I don’t know. All I know is Mel’s has very good burgers for when you want a burger. And for those times you want something else? They probably have something for that too.
