Review #9 -- Bellaire Broiler Burger

Bellaire Broiler Burger ("BBB") was one of the heavyweight favorites going into Burger Quest (along with Christian's, Mel's, Lankford's, and Annie's). Everywhere I looked online from forums to blogs sang the praises of BBB. On Saturday May 8, just less than 24 hours after Lucky Burger, AK and I headed off to investigate the burger quality of BBB.



The building was on the corner of Bellaire and Bissonnet (strangely, parallel streets manage to intersect there). The meager (and that's being polite) appearance of BBB gave us both hope -- if this place was crowded despite looking like it could be condemned, then the food *had* to be good. Thankfully, the sign informed us that BBB has a dining room AND to-go options! Perhaps 50 years ago it was uncommon for a burger place to have both?

Hamburgers at BBB were about $5, and you order at the counter and wait for your number to be called. I doubt the restaurant has been renovated since the 50s, save gray masking tape to cover up the holes in the fabric of the booths. AK was sure to grab a picture of those, which I'd be happy to post when she sends it later.

After about 10 minutes or so, our lucky number was called. The burger looked like pure quality and the fries looked legendary. It's too bad that the decor of the restaurant and lack of windows resulted in a dark, blurry picture:



The patties were about 1/4 pound each and the flavor was fantastic. The burger's flavor was similar to Annie's steakish grilled taste, although it wasn't *quite* as tasty. I would say that BBB is almost like Annie's little brother -- it showed promise, but it's just not quite as good. AK was fairly blown away, but she has yet to have Annie's. I'll share her comparison between the two after we go there in a week or two.

As an aside, the fries weren't quite as good as they looked, and they actually fell a little short compared to Lucky Burger's and Annie's.

Final BBB rating -- 8

(For the record, AK gave BBB an 8.5)

Review #8 -- Two Rows

KC, my trusty Burger Quest friend, had insisted that I go to Two Rows ever since I started Burger Quest over a month ago. She swore behind the Two Rows burger, insisting it was the best in town. After the Lucky Burger disappointment from lunch that Friday, I decided that Two Rows had to be an upgrade compared to my lunch, so KC and I headed that direction that night.



Much to my surprise, Two Rows is a Chili's-esque restaurant on the second story of the Rice Village parking garage multiplex. After seeing how new and generic Two Rows appeared to be, I began to doubt the quality of the burger (although I'm confident other menu items would taste great). KC continued to reassure me that I would be shocked at the taste.



KC was wrong. I wasn't "shocked" at the taste. However, she was right, the burger at Two Rows is indeed quality. For reference, Chili's burger would be a 3 or so, but Two Rows was significantly better. It had a great char-grilled flavor and almost tasted a bit like Annie's. Almost. It was a bit too thick and a good bit too dry. It also had a very "this burger wasn't made at this restaurant, it was frozen and brought in" look and taste. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at the good flavor considering that thicker burgers aren't usually my style. I would definitely go back to Two Rows, I just wouldn't make it a priority. I'd say KC wins this round, but that's mostly because I expected it to be a sub-5 burger when I saw the place.

Final rating -- 7 (really more of a 6.5, but I only give whole numbers)

(For the record, KC gave the burger a 10)

Review #7 -- Lucky Burger

It seems that Burger Quest has been a hit, at least among my circle of friends. I've gotten several requests to participate, but most people seem to just want to go to Christian's or Annie's in light of my positive reviews. KK, a coworker, decided to be more adventuresome -- he wanted to be a part of Burger Quest history by going to a new place instead.

After a 2 week hiatus in new Burger Quests, KK and I traveled to Lucky Burger on Richmond for lunch on Friday May 7 -- my first of 3 new Burger Quests in a 24 hour period. Lucky Burger is 35 years old and has been reviewed very positively on city-data forums and their website (http://www.luckyburger.com/index.php) lists accolades such as being named City Search's best hamburger in 2007. The building itself would be pretty hard to pass up, though I'm not sure why a barrel was used for a burger restaurant:





Before I go forward with the negatives, let's talk about the positives. The lunch special was $7.64, and it included a double hamburger with french fries and a drink. If nothing else, the prices are a steal for aspiring burger questers. KK and I were in a hurry to get back to work, and Lucky Burger did not fail us in that regard...the hamburgers were out in about 5 minutes. The french fries were outstanding, even for a discriminating french fry connoisseur, and the Small size provided plenty of fries to accompany a burger.

Unfortunately, that's about all I can say for the positives of Lucky Burger. The burger itself, like Mytiburger, tasted much like What-a-Burger, only slightly better. The patties were 1/4 pound patties, but they were somewhat chewy and had that What-a-burger flavor we all know here in Texas.



I think the best thing I can say about Lucky Burger's burger is that it wasn't really memorable at all. If you ask me what it tasted like in a week, I don't think I could really tell you -- it really wasn't that good or bad. I would go there again if I were in the neighborhood and hungry, but I don't see any future Lucky Burger cravings sneaking up on me.

Final rating -- 5.

(For the record, KK also gave it a 5)

Review #6 -- Annie's Hamburgers

Fast forward a week from the Mytiburger debacle. That Friday night I was in a heated discussion regarding my poor view of Lankford's with a friend at a bar. As a Lankford's apologist, she simply could not fathom my average review of their burger. After she questioned my burger tastes, she told me that I could salvage her respect with a positive review of Annie's Hamburgers. I agreed to make Annie's my next burger quest stop.

KC was the Burger PIC (partner-in-crime) for the Annie's adventure the next day. I somehow forgot to take a picture of the outside, but it was pretty plain -- nothing more than a single unit in an tiny ancient strip mall. The wooden tables were too uneven to lean on and the decor just felt like there was a ton of wood everywhere. Here's a picture of the menu:



I ordered a double meat burger plain. Each of the patties was about 1/4 pound thick. Each of the patties also tasted like heaven. I could seriously eat those things without the bun, or ketchup, or anything really. The grilled steakish flavor of the meat reminded me of something that I couldn't put my finger on -- until later that week when I had Fogo De Chao again. That's when I realized that the burger at Annie's strongly resembles the flavor of the top sirloin cut at Fogo.



Initially I gave the burger an 8. However, after I started craving it a week later, I realized this was no ordinary burger. No -- it was an In-N-Out fighter. Certainly it wasn't as good as In-N-Out, but it's a much more formidable contender than Christian's was. Christian's was a solid, fresh, smooth burger. Annie's was a flavorful masterpiece despite not having the fresh, smooth taste of Christian's. In light of Annie's (and I've now been more than once), I've revised my Christian's review to an 8. Annie's is the true 9 of Burger Quest thus far. It looks like the Lankford's friend was right -- about Annie's at least. It almost makes me think I should give Lankford's another spin. Almost.

Final Rating -- 9.

(KC gave Annie's a 7, for comparison)

Review #5 -- Mytiburger

Sundays are a tough day to go on burger quests. So many of the top destinations for potentially heavenly burgers are closed or at least have limited hours. However, one Sunday in April KC wanted a break from studying, so she texted and a burger quest was born.

After a quick forum search, we decided that Mytiburger would be the choice, so I called Mytiburger to make sure they were open. The owner, Kathy, answered and informed me that they were indeed open. I then asked Kathy if she made the best burger in town -- her answer was a resounding instantaneous "YES!" Perhaps Kathy meant that a burger she made at home was the best in Houston, because Mytiburger certainly wasn't.

Here is the front of Mytiburger:





The burgers were pretty cheap. I don't remember the exact prices, I just remember it being in line with what I was paying everywhere else. The employees were incredibly friendly. The strangest thing about Mytiburger, however (aside from the 60s decor), was the obsession with Coca-Cola products. The walls were adorned with classic coke cans, bottles, advertisements, pictures, just about everything you could think of...there was even a gigantic stuffed Coca-Cola polar bear in one corner. I thought of trying to order a Pepsi for amusement, but then realized that tourists to the Mytiburger world (such as myself) probably do that routinely.

The burger itself reminded me of a slightly better version of What-a-burger. It seemed to be a 1/4 pound patty and had that distinct What-a-burger flavor, if just a bit fresher. The fries were quality. Needless to say, I was relatively unimpressed with the burger. Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of the burger, but at least you aren't missing much.

Final rating -- 5.

(For the record, KC also gave it a 5)

Review #4 -- Lankford's Grocery

After Christian's Tailgate turned out to be a massive success, I optimistically moved on to the next heavy hitter. Lankford's Grocery has been featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives show. I haven't seen the episode, but I was told that the hosts gave it rave reviews. Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled to make my way over there. They even have a website on which they claim to be the home of Houston's best burger: http://lankfordgrocery.com.

Lankford's is only open Monday - Saturday 7 AM to 3 PM, and they only take cash. It's also not in the best area of town, and you'd better like the idea of street parking on abnormally narrow streets with huge ditches if you visit. It's also not a haven for fountain drink lovers -- you pay your $2 and get a can of coke and a glass of ice to pour it over. Sure, those things are negatives, but an awesome burger can make up for a lot. Unfortunately, Lankford's didn't have much awesomeness to spare. Here's a picture I "borrowed" from their website:



As best I can tell, Lankford's was an old grocery store that was converted to a restaurant eons ago. You sit down and there is a waiter that gives you table service. I ordered just a normal size hamburger, which the waitress told me was 10 ounces. Let me say that again, rephrased: Lankford's normal burger is ALMOST 3/4 of a pound!

I expected an overly thick burger, but instead it was just enormous in circumference. Here's a picture:



Lankford's was a decent burger. Maybe I would have been happier with it had I not had such unreasonably high expectations. Unfortunately, I did have those, and Lankford's didn't come close to meeting them. I did somehow manage to make it through half of the burger, which was surprising considering that the burger was a bit dry, almost completely flavorless, and just overall very average. I wish I could say the french fries made up for it, but the fries laid mostly uneaten when my meal was done -- anyone who knows my love for french fries should know what that means.

Lankford's Grocery final rating -- 5.