Me and my big mouth.
For nearly 30 years, I’ve covered baseball at The Dallas Morning News, but have moonlighted as a wannabe foodie. Foodie sounds a little pretentious. I like food. Good food, not fancy food. Doesn’t have to be pretty, just tasty. Even applied for the food critic’s job once. The response: “Stick to sports.” Heard that a time or two.
Still never stopped me from wanting to contribute to the food team. Our yearly preseason collab with Sarah Blaskovich on the foods of Globe Life Field is always a highlight. Especially given the seasons that have often followed.
So, I opened my big mouth again and suggested we compile monthly “hot lists” of burgers in and around Dallas worth a trip. Whether it’s smashburgers, the de facto burger style of the decade, or big, juicy patties, there are a ton of categories for burger-meisters to enjoy. Affordable burgers. Steakhouse burgers. Dive bar burgers. Kid-friendly burger spots (where adults don’t have to worry about fishing the kids out of a ball pit). Places with veggie burgers (I know, right?).
Restaurant News
Over the course of the year, I’ll sample as many burgers (most often the closest a restaurant has to a basic cheeseburger) as I can stuff in my mouth. I’ll take your suggestions on places to try. We’ll seek your input on what makes a burger or a spot special. And, of course: Fries. We can’t leave fries out. So, we hope you’ll follow along, share a burger rec or two, and help us compile our lists.
First up, the baseline: My five favorite burgers from two-plus decades of gorging on ground beef around North Texas:
The burger at Goodwin’s on Greenville Avenue is a standout for staff writer Evan Grant.
Evan Grant
The burger: The GW Burger ($21) sets a Black Angus patty on top of charred onions and horseradish pickles. It’s finished with “American Cheese spread,” some dijonaise and sits on a pillowy brioche bun. Fries are included in the price.
The experience: We’d like to say the concoction chef Jeff Bekavac calls “American cheese spread,” is what makes this burger great, but the melty mess (meant only in the most complimentary way) is merely the gateway drug to the rest of the burger. It’s not a smash concept, like Bekavac and partner Austin Rogers serve at Alamo Club down the street, but a perfectly proportioned 8 oz. patty of freshly ground brisket, short rib and chuck, full of juice and flavor. So many unique elements of the burger stand out in every bite. Bekavac takes his burger cues from New York’s legendary Minetta Tavern, and he’s created a burger worthy of entry into Dallas’ Pantheon of Beef. If you are more inclined toward a smash patty, there is also a patty melt au poivre ($23) at Goodwins, but only at lunch.
The sides: The fries are on the skinnier side of the fry scale. Bright and easy to plow through. You can sub them for a simple salad, but c’mon? Really?
Pro tip: Make it an upscale backyard cookout by ordering the Lil’ Rippers, Chicago dog sliders topped with a sport pepper, a jalapeno mustard relish and some caramelized onions.
2905 Greenville Ave., Dallas.
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Neighborhood Services
The burger: The Bacon Cheeseburger ($23) is freshly ground Angus chuck, Tillamook cheddar (a nod to chef Nick Badovinus’ Pacific Northwestern background), carm o (“Badonvinese” for caramelized onions), iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickles, and secret sauce. The burger is served with salted russet frites. These are not just ordinary fries. More on that in a moment.
The experience: Full disclaimer — I’ve had a chef crush on Badovinus and the original NHS since it opened in 2008. We got engaged there, had our rehearsal dinner there and have celebrated numerous family occasions there. So the back corner booth feels like home. But that’s not to take away from the food, which feels like paradise.
The burger is a work of art and presented as such. It’s already cut in half, with the sides facing out to show you the alluring slightly red (if you ordered medium) inside of the patty, along with the external char. The patty has a subtle, sweet smokiness, reminiscent of coffee-rubbed beef. It’s sublime. Yeah, it’s the most expensive burger on this list, but it’s worth every penny.
The burger at Neighborhood Services is cut in half before its served alongside russet fries.
Evan Grant
The sides: Ah, the fries. Might be our favorite in town, a beautiful deeper hue, not golden and not quite brown. But they suggest a rich crispiness without being dry. Whether with the burger or the steak frites, the table is going to be digging into the sizable portion you are presented.
Pro tip: Ask for a side of voodoo sauce, which offers hints of peppercorns, bourbon and butter. Perfect for these fries.
And while proteins are at the top of the new food pyramid, we can always use a good veggie. NHS’ crispy asparagus with a crispy lemon dill sauce and shaved parm are lightly breaded on the outside while retaining a bright, flavorful green inside. Order them for an app and feel like you’ve gotten your veggie allotment, too.
5027 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas, among three other North Texas locations.
Rodeo Goat
The burger: The Royale with cheese ($12.49) is straight forward: American cheese, chopped onions, mustard, spiked ketchup and Jalapeno bacon.
The experience: The Goat features the most innovative slate of burgers in town, 14 different options plus two rotating burgers that go head-to-head in a Burger Battle (disclaimer: occasionally, the Evan Grant Burger, which includes a bacon and smoked gouda stuffed patty, “French fry potato salad,” and a slice of brisket on top, makes an appearance). But, for us, the Royale with cheese is the standard for a neighborhood burger joint. It ain’t fancy, it’s just good. Not a smash patty, but a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat (7 ounces before cooking). Uh, oh, a song may be breaking out. If you’ve gone, say, 70 days without one, this is the kind of sensuous treat you need to break the fast. The jalapeno bacon and spiked ketchup add a kick of spice. The mustard gives it a bit of tang. We’re especially fond of the chopped onions for proper onion-per-bite allocation without getting a huge ring or string.
Evan Grant delivered food as he “worked a shift” during an afternoon Rangers game at Rodeo Goat in the Design District on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Dallas. Portions of the sales went to charity World Central Kitchen.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The sides: Foodie site Tasting Table, leaning heavily on “Reddit acclaim,” proclaimed Rodeo Goat’s fries as definitively the best in the state. They are superb, but perhaps a more fitting award would be an overall Tuber Trophy.
The cheese fries, which can be served “surprise” style to include a helping heaping of brisket chili, are spectacular.
The Steaming Pile (tater tots topped with goat cheese, chives, bacon, a sunny side egg and a hint of truffle oil) will cure a hangover on their own. We are always fans of sweet potato fries.
The Goat Chips, seasoned with a bit of sugar, cayenne and paprika, are the best homemade potato chips we’ve had. We’ve been known to order Goat Chips while we wait for the burger, and then eat fries with the burger. Two potato courses are better than one.
Pro tip: There’s a great list of beers here, but we like to save room, if possible, to have one of the incredibly decadent and thick, handspun Blue Bell milkshakes for a dessert. Then we go home and sleep for three hours.
1926 Market Center Blvd., Dallas, among nine other local locations.
Burger Schmurger 
A photo wall remain as a part of the interior of Burger Schmurger, a new burger joint in East Dallas, on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
The burger: The Schmurger ($10) is the “OG that started it all,” according to the menu. A patty, on a bed of grilled onions with “Schmurger dills” and “Schmurger sauce” (hey, they are proud of the name) all covered by a perfectly melted slice of cheese.
The experience: Schmurger began as a backyard pandemic hobby for Dave Culwell, then became a pop-up around town and at parties before eventually moving into an East Dallas brick and mortar spot – with an enlarged menu – in early 2025. The place has an eclectic feel with some velvet couches forming weirdly elegant banquettes for a very informal spot. But that’s the beauty of Schmurger. It’s not fancy, but it feels it.
The first bite I ever had at a party is still etched into my mind: A lacy patty with crispy edges that was so many things all at once. It hit so many senses. The slight crackle of the patty. The sight of the creaminess of the cheese, the seasoning and the sauce, not as tart as Thousand Island and not as bland as mayo along with a final sweet finish from those caramelized onions.
There are other enticing burgers on the menu with their own fans. The Maverick ($12) – with smoked bacon jam, American and Provolone and an inverted bun – is particularly popular. But the OG needs to be the gateway.
The sides: The fries are hand-punched in beef tallow and are perfectly fine and the onion strings are described as “addictive,” but seemed a little too wispy to us.
Pro tip: One of the great advances in science of the 21st century is the progress in frying mozzarella and the Schmurger folks could earn a Nobel Prize in Mozz. They stand out as an appetizer. We’d occasionally be willing to forgo fries for these.
718 N Buckner Blvd., Dallas.
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Wingfield’s Breakfast and Burgers
The burger: Cheeseburger ($7.30), comes with iceberg lettuce, tomato and red onion and a choice of mustard or mayo.
The experience: Look closely because the red rusted sign is as easy to miss as Wingfield’s itself. It is neither a drive-in nor a drive-thru. It’s a walk-in. You walk in, you order at the counter and you go back to your car to wait. It’s worth the 10-minute wait. The burger is old school. It’s not a smashburger or a piece of art. It’s just great. It’s a half pound of expertly-seasoned meat that will leave your tongue tasting a little bit of salt afterward and your lips licking off a hint of grease. And for the rest of the day, it will leave you with warm insides and fond memories of the experience.
The sides: The crinkle fries are hot, crisp on the outside, fluffy inside and liberally-sprinkled with season salt. They are pretty close to perfection.
Pro tip: You can order ahead of time and pick up to expedite things. But why? The wait in the parking lot is part of the experience.
2615 S Beckley Ave., Dallas.