Crystal Wise
Long before we came along and long after we’re gone, burgers have been and will be this city’s unofficial official dish. What changes, of course, is where to find the best.
For the past several months, it’s been in somewhat unlikely places — under-the-radar food trucks, restaurants, and pop-ups run by people who have more passion than experience, more creativity than money. Gusto’s, Burgers N’ More, and a couple barbecue trucks/soon-to-be-brick-and-mortars, Brix BBQ and Dayne’s Craft BBQ, help make up this group of burger-makers who are putting fantastic burgers, priced reasonably and created imaginatively.
This group also includes Big Kat Burger, a truck run by three pals who’ve been in the burger business for about three years. For adventurous eaters, their menu includes a burger swiped with peanut butter, another stuffed with an entire grilled cheese sandwich. Traditionalists can get theirs topped with mushrooms, bacon, American cheese, and fresh lettuce, tomato and onions.
The patties are expertly cooked on a flat-top grill, giving them a smoky, cookout flavor.
“That’s the flavor we’re going for — the burgers we grew up eating at cookouts and barbecues,” says co-owner Mike Sugg, who studied liberal arts, accounting, and business before entering The Culinary School of Fort Worth. “Some of our toppings are kinda crazy, but the burgers themselves are very old school — big, juicy burgers with fresh vegetables. They’re not complicated.”
Crystal Wise
Most of Big Kat’s burgers are in the $12-$13 range, although a few specialty burgers are a few bucks more. “The price of beef just keeps going up and up, but we’ve been good about keeping our prices reasonable,” Sugg says. “Plus, you get your money’s worth. Our burgers aren’t small, by any means.”
Big Kat has already won kudos from the Fort Worth Weekly for their excellent burgers and sides, which include hand-cut fries and beer-battered onion rings and jalapenos, and they’re past participants in the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival. The next logical step would be a brick-and-mortar. To that, Sugg says, “Maybe.”
“It’s something we’ve thought about, but right now, we’re happy just doing the truck, keeping things simple,” he says.
200 Bryan Ave., bigkatburgers.com
