The Big Mike burger at Hurtado Barbecue’s three North Texas locations is a mouthful. Two quarter-pound smoked ground brisket patties mingle with American cheese, garlic-habanero pickles, bibb lettuce, tomato, and sliced red onion. The massive offering also has personal significance for chef-owner Brandon Hurtado, who named it after his best friend’s dad, who passed away from cancer at age 59. To honor Big Mike’s legacy, and his love for the Hurtado burger, a dollar from each sale is donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
hurtadobbq.com

According to bar legend, the colossal half-pound cheeseburgers at this Deep Ellum dive were the brainchild of co-founder Ann Adair, who created the hulking patties to satisfy the voracious appetite of her husband S.L.—not to mention those of the bar’s college-aged clientele. In 1983, Adair’s moved to its current home on Commerce Street, and the burger has, blessedly, stayed the same. A fantastic fusion between the fatty chuck-brisket blend and a mountain of splendidly crunchy shaved iceberg lettuce, jalapeños, and other fresh veg makes for a bar specimen ideally suited to sating even the most ravenous hunger. adairssaloon.com

Perhaps one of the only places in Dallas where you’re just as likely to find a motorcycle as you are a Mercedes, Keller’s Drive-In is a true midcentury relic. Just like in 1950, when it was founded by Jack Keller, a cast of bustling carhops bounce around the lot serving thin-pattied burgers dressed with gobs of mustard and grilled onions. Another delicious anachronism: Keller’s is one of the few places where you can sip a beer in your car (while parked, of course) as you chow down on a No. 8 double meat showered in meaty chili, crunchy raw onions, and a blistering top coating of cheese.

Dallas loves a fancy burger, but at Knife, James Beard Award-nominated chef John Tesar’s swanky steakhouse near Southern Methodist University, the ultra-classic Ozersky is the real hit. Named after the late Esquire food writer Joshua Ozersky, Knife’s most beloved burger is made simply with griddled 44 Farms Black Angus crowned with a slice of American cheese and red onions. It’s a perfect choice for burger purists—although you’d be forgiven if you decided to instead partake in Tesar’s sous vide beef cheek offering dripping with bordelaise sauce and truffle mayo. Like the chef’s colorful personality, the wild swings along the burger spectrum make for a captivating dichotomy. knifedallas.com

At Michael and Tony Neglia’s casual Italian-American joint in Denton, double smash burgers with dijonnaise are as much of a menu mainstay as the meatballs and chicken parm. The brothers regularly introduce red sauce-
inspired spinoffs to their burger blueprint, too, with inventive variations like a mozzarella-stuffed beef patty with a griddled risotto cake, pesto, and vodka sauce. “I don’t do anything authentic,” says Tony, pointing to offerings such as pickles cold-fermented in Dr Pepper and sausage lasagna that also finds its way onto a sesame seed bun alongside smoked provolone and pomodoro sauce. “If I can’t have some fun,” he says, “I don’t think there’s any point in owning a restaurant.” piconedenton.square.site

After two years peddling classic cheeseburgers at pop-ups around Fort Worth, not to mention a scary brush with heat exhaustion inside a broiling food truck, Jonathan Arguello opened his first brick-and-mortar with his brother, Aaron, in the flourishing Near Southside district in fall 2023. The focus: expertly browned smashed patties grilled with caramelized onions that are then stratified with American cheese, snappy Best Maid pickles, and Gustos sauce—a salsa-garlic aioli concoction similar to Thousand Island. Now with six cousins on the payroll and high-powered air conditioning in his new, lusher confines, Jonathan is the only one happier than the customers.
instagram.com/___gustos

Dayne and Ashley Weaver can’t stop winning burger awards, despite the fact that their restaurant in an old Aledo auto garage really specializes in Central Texas-style ’cue. The secret to all that hardware might lie in their burger’s indulgent 65/35 brisket trim blend, or the sesame seed-brioche buns, which are brushed with clarified butter and crushed garlic. And it most definitely has something to do with the Loven burger sauce, originally created to pair with a blooming onion dish that never came to fruition. Add it all up, and you can see why the spareribs and jalapeno-havarti sausages often take a back seat at a place where barbecue takes top billing. daynescraftbarbecue.com

In 2021, Gigi Howell teamed up with an old family friend, Bourke Harvey, to resuscitate the Fort Worth neighborhood of Westland. Their agenda included restoring Margie’s Italian Gardens, a local relic from the 1950s where Howell’s parents had first met, along with another personal endeavor: a joint burger effort named after Howell’s grandfather, J.D. Jimeson. Operating out of a shipping container kitchen, chef Levi Gardner cranks out more than 500 burgers daily—each christened after Howell’s family members, like the Preston’s Pico & Pig, layered with bacon, salsa-and-garlic cream cheese, and 6 ounces of Heartbrand wagyu on a jalapeño-cheddar sourdough bun. jdshamburgers.com

Once a grocery store repurposing steak trimmings into burgers from its in-house butcher shop, Kincaid’s has grown into a burger empire with five locations across Fort Worth. Run by the grandsons of O.R. Gentry, the shop’s original head butcher, they now rely upon rich 8-ounce chuck patties seasoned only with sea salt. For Jonathan and Christian Gentry, even black pepper would distract from the Black Angus cradled in a Mrs. Baird’s bun bedecked with Best Maid dill chips, brisk LTO, and American cheese. For those wanting to think outside the bun, the decadent Cowtown Deluxe marries their unembellished burger patty with homemade pimento cheese and grilled jalapeños. kincaidshamburgers.com

This TikTok-fueled mother-and-son success story started when Cecilia Ramirez went to a corner store to buy a lottery ticket and noticed a restaurant in the back. After the former occupant left, she brought on her son, Adan Pacheco, who has an uncanny gift for producing crackly-crusted smash burgers and carne asada fries. The Ceci’s smash burger is a marvel, with a blissful contrast of textures and flavors from the snappy lettuce, sour pickles, thinly shaved onions, and a copycat version of In-N-Out Burger’s animal sauce saturating the whole taste explosion. Turns out, nobody could put this family business in a corner store for long. In May, Pacheco moved to Four Corners Brewing Co., near downtown Dallas, where El Chingón IPA drafts happen to pair wonderfully with this pitch-perfect rendition of a classic. facebook.com

Just standing in the parking lot of this Paris burger joint is enough to trigger your olfactory senses as the perfume of charred beef permeates the air. Burgerland has long been a must-stop for generations of Parisians who line up at lunch for mustard-slathered, griddle-seared patties served with thick-cut, double-fried fries that are perennially voted the best in town. As you wait in line inside its divey interior, be sure to check out “The Wall,” a collection of hundreds of signatures from burger en-
thusiasts hailing from all over the world. Legend has it that a pre-headlining Garth Brooks dined here in the early ’80s—perhaps you’ll find his signature scattered among the litany of names. burgerlandparis.com

It’s not just some quaint name; this Plano spot is dominated by a real-deal butcher’s case full of steaks and other well-marbled cuts. Look closely and you’ll notice it’s not your garden-variety bovine either. Inspired by the 1993 Super Bowl between the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, owner Jeff Sparks threw in some buffalo meat as a rallying cry to his favorite football team. “My dad thought it would be funny to grind up a buffalo to support the Cowboys,” says his son Josh, who joined the business after graduating high school in 2011. Almost three decades later, that lean and mean buffalo epiphany, served on a brioche bun, remains the shop’s top seller. yeolebutchershop.com

For Michelle Minto and Justin Bock, the move from Connecticut to West Texas in 2021 was a seamless one. They fell in love with the tiny community and its industrious attitude immediately. The only thing missing was a place to feed their kid after soccer practice. Hoping to fill the void, they opened this hyper-local burger spot that specializes in grass-fed beef from Far West Texas Cattle Co., cheddar from Dublin’s Veldhuizen Cheese, and house-baked sourdough buns. Every full moon, they create an original special that could gorge half a Little League squad, such as an Oktoberfest iteration bursting with raw fermented sauerkraut, Dijon, and bratwurst. facebook.com

Started as an offshoot of the popular West Texas chain Hidalgo’s Restaurant, this San Angelo spinoff was conceived as a way to better showcase the restaurant’s beloved burger program. Over two decades since its inception, Tex-Mex staples like fajitas and hard-shell tacos have infiltrated the menu. But make no mistake—you are here for the highly customizable, hedonistic burgers that have an all-but-the-kitchen-sink attitude. After all, why not throw a cheese enchilada, a halved avocado, and some split jalapeños on top of a fully loaded bacon cheeseburger? Say hello to one of the most memorable burger experiences you’ll ever have. facebook.com

Meat Your Maker

Did a little Lone Star town sire America’s favorite sandwich?

Mirroring the McDonald’s sign and its proclamation of “billions served,” owner Sam Stavinoha likes to tout the 10,000-plus burgers he’s grilled up since taking over this highly curated general store in 2018. Not bad for a town with roughly 400 people. A Friday-only special, Stavinoha’s burger epiphany is simply a means to an end—
“community-building that isn’t boring.” Using ghee to cook his variety of burgers on a well-seasoned Big John griddle, he creates crowd-pleasing combinations like The Sam with an over-medium egg and charred jalapeño toreados complementing West Texas-raised beef. frenchcogrocer.com

Located near First Monday Trade Days, the world’s largest flea market, this Canton eatery has been a must-stop for hungry thrifters traveling along Interstate 20 for four decades. That’s because the only thing more diverse than the shopping mecca’s 450 acres of vintage treasures is Dairy Palace’s extensive menu of proteins sandwiched between sturdy wheat buns. Bison, venison, elk, wild boar, and even Spam—nothing is off-limits. For one of the most unique burgers in Texas, try the duck burger made with thin slices of pastrami-style duck breast drizzled with sweet plum sauce. dairypalace.com

This East Texas smokehouse doesn’t have to fake its vintage vibe, as it’s been a Nacogdoches staple since owners Billy and Catherine Huddleston opened the first location in 1977. Although it relocated to slightly newer digs in the mid-’90s, two things remain a constant: the charming wood-paneled dining room and the Huddleston family’s top secret burger recipe. A juicy brisket blend, the beefy exemplar is further enhanced with hefty portions of grilled mushrooms, bacon, cheddar, and sour cream. “It’s the classic, drip-to-your-elbows type of burger,” says Macy Smith, Huddleston’s granddaughter and current manager. butcherboysnac.com

This Longview-born chain has developed a devoted following across Northeast Texas for burgers ground fresh every day. Griddled into substantial half-pound patties with just the right amount of sear, they’re often imbued with Tex-Mex influences like a bright tomatillo verde sauce, avocado, and pickled jalapeños. If you go bun-less and spin your burger into a wrap or one of the restaurant’s many salads, don’t skip the condiment bar where you’ll find tiny ramekins waiting to be filled with garlicky, spicy pinto beans situated among the more typical burger toppings. jucyshamburgers.com

It’s not uncommon to find tourists disembarking from cruise ships eager to dive into this Galveston seaport spot’s much-touted burger topped with pork tamales sourced from nearby Pennie’s Tex-Mex Takeout. Resembling the Mexico City-style tamal torta called a guajolote, Hubcap Grill’s burger also employs ingredients like queso fresco, cilantro, avocado, pickled jalapeño, and a modified mole sauce spiked with cinnamon, chocolate, and crushed pistachio. “Many of our customers are looking for an authentic Texas experience,” says co-owner Frank Caruso. “And the tamale burger? It’s always described as a taste of Texas in a single bite.” hubcapgrill.com

As the influencer behind @HoustonEatz and the son of the owners of Dhanani Group, a large fast food conglomerate, Abbas Dhanani knows a little something about branding and burgers. Seizing upon the smash patty craze of 2021, he launched a series of prominent pop-ups that segued into his first restaurant the following year. Modeled after a New York bodega—complete with faux boxes of cereal, canned goods, and “H-Town” laundry detergent—diners still queue up during peak hours for melty, paper-thin halal patties garnished with grilled onions, house-made pickles, and pink Bodega sauce—a mayo-ketchup amalgam. Considering Dhanani’s background, it’s no great surprise the burger has become a social media star and one of the most influential smash successes in the state. burgerbodega.com

What began as a small grocer in Houston’s Fourth Ward in 1937 has evolved into one of Space City’s greatest burger purveyors. Here, generously seasoned half-pound patties can be dressed as simply or as extravagantly as you like. For instance, the fiery Grim Reaper that begins with a cayenne-butter-basted beef patty and gets progressively more over the top: jalapeños, bacon, a runny fried egg, a healthy swipe of habanero mustard, and even a scoop of mac and cheese. lankfordsburgers.com

This taqueria and agave-spirit specialist is only closed for about six hours a day, and it’s the kind of place where you’re never shocked to see someone sipping a cocktail or cold beer early in the morning (the next morning). But they’ve become known for their recession-proof burgers made with quarter-pound patties that are as thin as a couple of bar coasters—yet with more fat than the Houston Texans offensive line. Added to this is an orange “burger sauce,” house-made hot pickles, and American cheese spread over every inch of a squishy bun hanging on for dear life. cantinabarba.com

Using a recipe derived from siopao, a Filipino bun similar to Chinese bao, cousins Don and Michael Jante make their own pillowy bread with a touch of pineapple juice to emulate the taste of King’s Hawaiian rolls. But that’s just one of the gourmet touches that sets apart this rare Filipino burger spot in Houston’s Energy Corridor. For example, the additions of longganisa sausage and banana-ketchup aioli on a breakfast burger riff, or the pecan-smoked pork butt taking center stage on the wagyu Puet burger—a dish so popular it spurred the Jantes’ rise from food truck darlings to brick-and-mortar destination. flipnpatties.com

The perfectly latticed, double-stacked, cheese-grippin’ smash burger patties hit harder than the bass in UGK’s “Top Drop Down.” Who knew the Trill OG, Bun B, could produce a burger as well as he can a record? The Port Arthur-raised hip-hop hero has become a cultural icon in Houston, and his restaurant feels like a party, with friends and strangers seated side by side at school bus yellow picnic tables. Hip-hop bounces through the speakers as diners dig in to certified Angus beef zipped with tart-sweet Trill sauce, pickles, and caramelized onions. Wanna represent? There’s a merch table to the side selling Trill’s “Houston Made” swag. trill-burgers.com

You’ve successfully navigated the speed traps that seem to perpetually bookend this gas station and Czech bakery. Reward yourself with a culinary curveball at this Houston-to-Austin rite of passage. Instead of a kolache or klobásnek at the 112-year-old icon, you’re after one of the flattop burgers that taste like someone’s dad used to make on summer Saturdays. Forged with a thick, coarsely ground patty, it comes dressed with classic American picnic condiments. Fries aren’t on the menu, so grab a bag of chips or jerky from the endless aisles and jump back in your dining room on wheels. hruskas-bakery.com

Chef Diego Ramos likes to call his burger “the simplest yet most complicated dish” he serves. The former because he eschews any condiments in favor of a charred tomato, grilled onions, and a slice of American cheese. But the latter …well, “complicated” would be an understatement. To procure his beef, Ramos picks up a steer from his family farm in Edcouch, drives it himself to a specialized butcher in Poth, and has it dry-aged for 28 days. Afterwards, he grinds the whole animal down into a burger so bold, the chef says, “the beef flavor slaps you in the face up and down.” facebook.com

Growing up in Torreón, Mexico, chef Fermín Núñez says there was one constant on burgers grilled in garages and at backyard get-togethers: FUD ham. How the cured swine became such an integral part of the area’s burger construction is a mystery—though the chef speculates it could be a case of a name being lost in translation. Whether or not the “ham” part of “hamburger” was taken a bit too literally, he honors the tradition at Bar Toti, where he utilizes it as a salty bedrock between wagyu patties that are then schmeared with chipotle mayo and and a finely diced escabeche that took months to develop. bartoti.com

Borrowing from his experiences with the type of late-night burger stands found across the border, chef Luis “Beto” Robledo took a different approach to the smashed medium. At his East Austin trailer, portions are intentionally modest to encourage experimentation. And with options like his Sincronizada—where a 2-ounce patty is paired with a butterflied hot dog and a slice of ham—or the Campechana with chorizo and chimichurri mayo, you’ll want to keep sampling across the menu. It’s no wonder Robledo chose a name for his restaurant that translates to “how many burgers?” The exorbitant answer might surprise you. cuantashamburguesas.com

Raised in El Paso, owner Mo Pittle became infatuated with the melding of Mexican cuisine and his own Jewish background. At his luchador-themed restaurant in Austin, he somehow pulls off that delicate amalgam with adornments like latkes and pastrami next to other menu iterations dripping with chile con queso. Even his signature cooking technique is inspired by the Mexican restaurants of his hometown. Often scrimping on salt for economic reasons, chefs there would sear meat on the plancha sans a lot of traditional seasoning in favor of chopped onion and peppers pressed into the patty. jewboyburgers.com

The weathered wood-paneled walls and vintage beer neons at this Austin watering hole evoke the kind of bar where your dad might have pulled up a stool. The only contemporary concession here is the smash burger seasoned with a secret burger salt that was commissioned by the now-defunct Crazy Ricky’s Dawg House food trailer in Austin. As essential as the 73/27 chuck blend is the food grade paper shrouding the burger. The P. Terry’s-style presentation has a purpose: the wrapping method steams the bun and further melts the cheese, helping to redistribute the juices. Plus, dinnerware would just seem out of place. “A burger on a plate just ain’t right,” owner Aaron Bush says. instagram.com

The 19th-century building that’s home to Old Pal once housed a probation office. Fitting for a countrified bar that feels like the kind of place where you could spend an entire day drinking whiskey and listening to Hank Williams records before making a little trouble. The icehouse-inspired concept may only be three years old, but it looks like it’s been sitting on the Lockhart square for decades. The smash burger is a bit more modern, with chili sauce and a dash of Tabasco kicking up a “boom boom” sauce that layers two paper-thin patties that taste like they are made up entirely of the crispy bits you want to snag off the edge of the flattop for a snack while cooking.
oldpalbartx.com

With items like kimchi and miso-glazed carrots on the menu, it’s obvious this Austin standout is not your granddaddy’s barbecue joint. And pitmaster Evan LeRoy certainly doesn’t make his granddad’s burger. Calling on an all-star team of Texas beef purveyors, LeRoy bonds together akaushi brisket from HeartBrand Beef in Flatonia and clod from Cameron’s 44 Farms. That tantalizing tandem forms a thick patty with an almost 2-to-1 meat-to-fat ratio that leads to explosive juiciness. Smoked and then seared to order, there’s a pleasant whiff of post oak flavor that’s amplified by a twangy, earthy spread of a mayo-beet barbecue sauce. Don’t tell granddad. leroyandlewisbbq.com

For almost eight years, chef Christopher Cullum channeled his love of Oklahoma-style onion burgers into a business he operated out of a 1977 Land Yacht Airstream trailer. But his burger appreciation transcends any one approach. So, in 2022, when he opened a Parisian-leaning brunch bistro just down the street from his childhood home, he adapted to the concept. In place of that smash-happy medium, he hand-forms 8 ounces of Peeler Farms wagyu and layers it with gooey Gruyere, crisp house-cured bacon, and an optional drizzling of a robust French demi-glace. cullumsattaboy.com

Pitmaster Ernest Servantes says of his Seguin menu, “I’m not interested in a guitar solo; I want a whole symphony.” That’s especially true of his play on an Oklahoma fried onion burger, which entails searing a ridiculously decadent 60/40 brisket trim patty with a little dry curing rub over a bed of razor-thin red onion. The crispy-edged result, combined with molten American cheese, and a riff on Raising Canes’ signature sauce, hits every zesty, ambrosial note in this palate-pleasing sonata. burntbeanco.com

Wimberley’s come a long way since its days as a sleepy little hamlet where the Burger Barn was one of the few dining options in town. Hildee’s moved into town this spring from a spot about 2 miles down the road, and while the menu and digs may be fancier, the burger hasn’t changed. And that’s a good thing. Chef Ryan Hildebrand proved his burger bona fides with FM Kitchen & Bar in Houston before heading to the Hill Country, where good neighbors made good friends. To wit, Abby Jane Bakeshop in Dripping Springs provides soft but sturdy buns for a perfect bread-to-meat ratio balanced by prime beef, locally sourced LTO, bacon jam, and a nutty layer of cheddar cheese. hildees.com