Olaf Growald
In the same way we Fort Worthians argue about who has the best barbecue, we’re also quick to start literal and virtual fistfights over another beef-related beef: Who has the best burger? That question has gotten a lot harder to answer lately, thanks to several new contenders. Over the past few years, a dozen or so newcomers, from five-star kitchens to tiny dives to food trucks, have made names for themselves for outstanding burgers. So many new places are doing burgers, in fact, a guide is in order. As a longtime food writer and three-time judge in the Star-Telegram’s Best Burger battles, I nominated myself to take on this assignment. To navigate the terrain, I tried about 20 burgers at places in Fort Worth that have opened recently — recently meaning over the past two to three years. Here, then, are my choices for the nine best new burgers in town:
Burger Made by a Chef
Olaf Growald
The restaurant: Wishbone & Flynt. One of the city’s best new burgers comes from this hip, homey, and all-around badass spot led by Fort Worth chef Stefon Rishel. Nestled in the South Main area, the restaurant offers avant-garde odes to American classics, including a stunning house burger, nicknamed “The Flynt.”
The burger: Wishbone & Flynt was recently featured in our Best New Restaurants issue, and this exquisite burger was one of many reasons why. Rishel says it took him seven years to perfect the burger’s recipe. The patty is a custom blend of short rib, chuck, and brisket, but what makes the patty so good is what it’s seared in: duck fat, giving it a uniquely rich, unforgettable flavor. On top comes the holy trinity of burger veggies — lettuce, tomatoes, and onions — plus pickles and twin slices of sharp white cheddar. Sturdy brioche buns keep everything in place; no need to worry about getting your nice shirt all dirtied up.
Get it with a side of: The burger is served with a side of excellent fries, hand-cut from hefty Kennebec potatoes, and house ketchup, spiked with yellow curry, Sriracha, and lime. Yeah, it’s got some bite.
Info: 334 Bryan Ave., wishboneandflynt.com
Fancy Burger
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The restaurant: Toro Toro. One of several new hotel restaurants to open in Fort Worth over the past couple of years, double-T is located inside downtown’s Worthington Renaissance hotel. Dreamed up by celebrity chef Richard Sandoval, it’s part of a chain of Latin steakhouses where many of the meat-centric dishes are prepared over an open-flame grill. The Fort Worth location is led by newly appointed chef Rafael Villalpando.
The burger: Toro Toro’s lone burger offering, the Toro Toro Burger, is as statuesque as it is delicious. Cooked over an open flame, the prime select beef patty has a lusciously smoky flavor that melds well with the creamy chipotle cranberry cheddar cheese, housemade morita bacon jam, and garlic cream. Crisp, fresh LTO give the burger a nice crunch. A suggestion: add avocado and thank us later.
Get it with a side of: The nicely salted hand-cut house fries come with the burger.
Info: 200 Main St., torotorofortworth.com
Hipster Burger
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The restaurant: Wild Acre Brewing Co. opened last year in a revamped grocery store on the city’s west side. This hipster magnet and spinoff of the Wild Acre Brewery in downtown quickly made a name for itself for level-up bar food, most of it made from scratch, a rarity in any type of restaurant, let alone one that doubles as a brewery. Fort Worth Magazine named it one of Fort Worth’s best new restaurants. Credit the killer food to executive chef Dave Hollister, who cut his teeth at several local pub-plus restaurants, including Gas Monkey Grill and Dagwood’s Grinders & Growlers.
The burger: Six in all, there are burgers here for appetites conservative and adventurous, from a simple hamburger to a double-decker monster, topped with both bacon AND sausage, that should come with a side of last will and testament. The Chef’s Burger is the perfect in-betweener, showing off the skill and thoughtfulness of the chef without going overboard. Cushioned by a toasted and buttered brioche bun, the thick patty is made from Akaushi wagyu, which many consider the holy grail of beef, and it just keeps getting better and better: There’s fresh arugula; Tillamook cheddar; a housemade balsamic onion jam; Nueske smoked bacon; a fried egg; and, perhaps our favorite topping on a burger ever, chicharron-fried jalapenos, which gives the burger a nice crunch, not to mention a blast of heat. Mercy.
Get it with a side of: Funkytown Slaw, a mix of red cabbage, green cabbage, jalapeños, and green and red bell peppers. It’s got a little bite to it.
Info: 6473 Camp Bowie Blvd., wildacrebrewing.com
Pitmaster Burger Part 1
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The place: Brix Barbecue. As we’ve noted before, mobile kitchen Brix Barbecue is one of Fort Worth’s best spots for craft ’cue. Initially through a series of pop-up events and now at his own outdoor spot in the South Main area, young pitmaster Trevor Sales has proven himself to be an expert pitmaster, smoking brisket, ribs and his own homemade sausage with all the skill and care of a grizzled old vet. Last year, he threw a burger into his menu mix, and business hasn’t been the same.
The burger: People line up in droves for Brix’s excellent Le Brix Burger, a smash burger whose beef is flattened, or “smashed,” on a grill, resulting in thin, seared patties with crisp edges — a style of cooking that brings new meaning to the phrase, “burnt ends.” The burger is super simple, consisting of two thin patties, layers of melted American cheese, and a zesty green sauce, called Dank Sauce, that drips sexily from the buns. No LTO here, just meat, cheese, and sauce.
Get it with a side of: Hand-cut fries, so good and greasy, the brown bag they’re served in will be soaked in a matter of seconds — the way it should be.
Info: 218 Bryan Ave., brixbarbecue.com
Pitmaster Burger Part 2
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The place: Dayne’s Craft Barbecue. Husband-and-wife duo Dayne and Ashley Weaver have played an integral role in the formation and continued success of Fort Worth’s craft barbecue scene. In June, Fort Worth Magazine named Dayne’s the city’s best barbecue. Earlier this year, the couple started doing burgers as a way to utilize the beef left over from trimming briskets. Those burgers, maybe the absolute best in the city, have found an audience of their own.
The burger: If I were to rank these burgers, Dayne’s OG Burger would be my No. 1 favorite. I’ve had their burger a few times now, and it’s been consistently stellar. The beef is all-natural prime black Angus brisket, which is ground fresh in-house. Like Brix’s, they’re in the style of a smash burger. “We love the crust that develops, and it helps them cook really fast,” says Ashley. They’re topped with yellow and white American cheese, red onions, and what they call “Thomas’ tangy burger sauce.” Buns are toasted on a flat-top with butter, giving them a crisp, buttery flavor. I could eat this burger every day and still be OK with the fact that eventually it would kill me.
Get it with a side of: Creamed corn topped with crema, cotija cheese crumbles, and crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Info: 2735 W. Fifth St., at Lola’s Saloon, daynescraftbarbecue.com
Not Your Everyday Burger
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The restaurant: Jimmy’s Big Burger. Longtime burger buffs will recall, with fondness, the name Jimmy’s Big Burger, a well-regarded chain. Three years ago, husband-and-wife duo Vir and Alpa Zala purchased the Jimmy’s outpost on the border of Lake Worth and Fort Worth. They kept the name but made the menu their own, beefing it up with a number of straightforward and adventurous burgers, the most delicious of which may very well be their Cajun burger.
The burger: The Zalas’ take on a surf and turf burger begins with the turf: a half-pound of USDA beef, the patties for which, like all of Jimmy’s burgers, are hand-formed daily. Next comes the surf: a half-dozen or so fried butterfly shrimp with the tails, of course, taken off. The lettuce, tomato, and yellow onion are all organic, and the lettuce is of the sweet baby variety — a nice change of pace from the usual iceberg. Bringing everything together is a zesty Cajun sauce, whose creamy texture gives way to a slight and welcome bite.
Get it with a side of: A different kind of burger demands a different kind of side. Go with the nicely seasoned, crinkle-cut sweet potato fries.
Info: 6334 Lake Worth Blvd., Lake Worth, jimmysbigburgerlakeworth.com
Dive Burger
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The restaurant: Burgers N Beyond. Area foodies know good burgers — and good food in general, for that matter — can often be found in dives. Case in point: Burgers N Beyond, opened last year next door to a dicey gas station and convenience store called Mr. T Food Store, found across the street from John Peter Smith hospital. We’ll be the first ones to tell you, it doesn’t look like much from the outside, except for a police report waiting to get written. But inside, owners Ali Taher and Miada Khalaf are rekindling the sights, sounds, and smells of our youth with their excellent charbroiled burgers.
The burger: Charbroiling burgers is practically a lost art in Fort Worth. That’s one reason why Taher chooses that cooking method over straightforward grilling. “I wanted to do something different,” he says. “Burgers on a charbroiler smell so good. I know it reminds a lot of people of burgers they grew up on.” The burgers taste like they smell, like smoke, like camping out, like the Fourth of July. The Big BNB burger, piled with two Angus patties, two slices of American cheese, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a special tangy sauce, is the way to go here. It’s also only one of two ways to go; the other is a single-patty burger. If Burgers N Beyond’s popularity continues to grow, Taher says he’ll expand the menu. “We’re such a small operation right now,” he says. “But we’re hoping to grow and expand.”
Get it with a side of: Crinkle-cut fries dusted with paprika-infused seasoning.
Info: 1704 Galveston Ave., burgersnbeyondtexas.com
Knife and Fork Burger
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The restaurant: Rufus Bar & Grill. When he introduced a no-frills, straightforward burger at his west side barbecue joint Billy’s Oak Acres BBQ, owner Billy Woodrich soon had a hit on his hands. His burgers, expertly cooked on a flat-top, became just as popular as his ’cue. Thankfully, when he opened Rufus’ last year in a strip mall off Bryant Irvin, after closing Billy’s Oak Acres a few weeks prior, his burgers came with him. As a matter of fact, he upped his number of burgers to six, including a behemoth topped with brisket.
The burger: Yes, you can still get the plain ol’ cheeseburger that put Woodrich on the local burger map. But you can’t beat his brisket burger for spectacle and flavor. The USDA beef, two patties strong, works wonders with planks of smoked brisket, slightly sweet ’cue sauce and, the burger’s crown, a thick, crunchy onion ring. The patty’s seasoning is simple but effective. “There’s no fairy dust, no unicorn milk, just salt and pepper,” Woodrich says. Your choice of cheese — you want it with American, of course — will sexily ooze from the toasted Mrs. Baird’s buns. Keep the accompanying knife and fork handy; you’re gonna need ‘em.
Get it with a side of: Available sides include pickled okra, mac and cheese, and pinto beans, but each burger comes with a side of solid hand-cut fries.
Info: 4608 Bryant Irvin Road, rufusbarandgrill.com
Hidden Gem Burger
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The restaurant: Wizards Burgers. This is truly one of Fort Worth’s hidden treasures, a place not many know about but absolutely should. Owners Rolin Korman and Amy Nanaeto got started in Dallas with another burger joint, then last year moved to this strip mall space in far south Fort Worth, where they serve gourmet burgers topped with the likes of sautéed spinach, chorizo, and hot pepper jelly. Fans of Rodeo Goat, you’re gonna dig it.
The burger: This is the hard part here, deciding which burger to get. There’s nearly a dozen to choose from, and they all sound mouth-wateringly good. For our money, the mushroom burger is the perfect mushroom burger. Served open face, with the LTO on one side, the 80/20 patty, melted Swiss and mushrooms on the other, it’s a fragrant beauty, with a patty still sizzling and smoking when it hits your table. All of the burger’s components are grade A, but the mushrooms, sautéed in garlic, butter, lemon juice, and white wine, steal the show.
Get it with a side of: All burgers come with a side and drink. You can get fries, sure, but other sides beckon: lobster mac and cheese, fried zucchini, fried pickles. Go for the onion rings, no doubt the crunchiest, biggest you’ll ever have. Wash everything down with a slice of housemade red velvet, German chocolate or strawberry cake, made fresh by Amy’s mom.
Info: 3951 Sycamore School Road, 817-367-9224
