Lili's Bistro Top 10 Ranker

Visited: Saturday March 27, 2010

1310 W Magnolia Ave

Fort Worth. TX 76104

817.877.0700

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We love stories of places like Lili's (short for Liliana, the place's 6 years old namesake.) Vance Martin has done a terrific job bringing gourmet flair to the cheeseburger.

This place, located on Magnolia Ave next to the Fairmount neighborhood, is probably our favorite for atmosphere. It is an old building with exposed brick and vaulted ceiling. Down side is that it is tiny and you will most likely have to wait. The upside is that the wait is worth it.

If you are a cheeseburger "purest," this place may not be for you. It is a bistro and has that feel and the food (as you can see) is served with a chef's flair. The burgers are flavored well and cooked medium (the way it should be.) You get your choice of sourdough or jalapeno bread for the bun. The fries are waffle-style and we even tried them with some Gorgonzola cheese sprinkled across the top for added flavor. (add $1.50)

The burger is served on a real plate (not a basket) and is a 1/2 lb portion. Service was okay, but not at the same level as the food. Diet Coke is in a can. (Big pet peeve of mine since the flavor is not the same as fountain and they charge you more for it.)

Lili's is the first place where Burger Saturday found itself squarely in the face of the debate of - do we need "categories" of burgers to judge? In other words, the grease-juiced burger of Pop's or Kincaid's is very different than the gourmet style of burger we had here. Perhaps as this journey continues, we will have to break the Top 10 Rank into 2 parts - pure and gourmet. But for now, we will keep moving forward. After all, its not like we are as different as McDonald's in comparison.

Stats:

Locations: 1

Date Est: 2007

SCORE:

Burger: 4 pickles

Sides: 4 pickles

Menu: 4 pickles

Atmosphere: 5 pickle

Service: 3 pickle

Price: $9 cheeseburger

Jake's

Visited: Saturday March 6, 2010



6333 Camp Bowie Blvd
Fort Worth. TX 76116
817.737.5253
Hours: Mon - Thurs 11am - 10pm

Fri - Sat 11am - 11pm
Sun - 11am - 10pm

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This place is from Dallas, but we will not hold that against them. Part Hooters, part sports bar, the burgers are definitely worth checking out. We have scouted and eaten at both Fort Worth locations, but this review is about the West side one. The inside is cool since it was actually built by Tim Love as Deuce, his second concept in Fort Worth, that served as the victory party place for his win on Iron Chef, but soon after closed its doors. the remodel Jake's put into the space makes it electic, but not in the good "been here for many years" way. Its more of a tried to fit our burger joint into this fine dining place. Imagine having your III Forks salad from Silver Fox inside McDonalds.

Its a mixture of sports bar and fine dining with a fireplace and water feature on a an enclosed outdoor patio. There is even a cool band stage at the back for a fun evening of music with your burger. And LOTS of TVs for great viewing. they definately did this right.

The sign on the outside says award-winning burgers and there are plenty of Dallas awards for thier meatery. However, we will start by saying this is not a Top 10 ranker for us. Remember, we do the basic cheeseburger for an burgers to burgers comparison and in this arena - Jake's falls short. They do, however, have an exetnsive bruger menu and even a fun "burger of the month" program with specialties like the Fritos Chili Pie burger. (very Texas state Fair of them.) So, we woudl give them props for this and one day when we right the best specialty burger blog, we expect these guys to be up there. But that is someday.

Using fresh ground beef, this place is part of the "stackables" family of burger attempts. The patties are 1/4lb each and like most thin patties, the juice factor is not great. The #3 Cheeseburger is 2 patties, double American cheese and is garnished with onion, lettuce, tomato, pickle and mustard. Served in a basket with tissue paper, the burger itself comes blanketed in a foil wrapper.

The temperature was good, bu the flavor of the meat on its own - our true test of award winning - leaves much to be desired. Like many places, they seem to rely on their toppings for thier story more than their beef.

The bun here is unique. It is toasted and has more seeds than stars. It makes for a unique flavor. The fries are machine sliced, skin on potatoes. The poriton is solid, but in the 6 times we have been there, most times the temperature of the fries is less than desriable.

All in all, this is a solid place, but the burger falls just short of being award-winning in our book. But do try the fried pickles while you are there. They are a good. Stats:


Locations: 6


Date Est: 1985




SCORE: (1 - 7)

Burger: 4 pickles

Sides: 4 pickles

Menu: 5 pickles

Atmosphere: 4 pickle

Service: 4 pickle

Price: $9 cheeseburger (with fries)

Boomerjacks Grill

Visited: Saturday February 27, 2010


2600 West 7th Street
Fort Worth. TX 76107
817.810.2666
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Stats:


Locations: 1


Date Est: 2008







SCORE:  (1 - 5) 


Burger: 3 pickles


Sides: 2 pickles


Menu: 3 pickles


Atmosphere: 3 pickles


Service: 3 pickles


Price: $8 cheeseburger

Chubby's Top 10 Ranker

Visited: Saturday February 13, 2010

7618 Camp Bowie West
Fort Worth, Texas 76116
817.560.5515
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Chubby's Burger Shack is the brain child of Craig Chapman and Scott Hooten. they wanted to create the best burger joint in Fort Worth. And they made a great start. Making it into our Top 10 List, Chubby's freshness pays off. The atmosphere is more what you expect in a place out in the "hunting" parts of Texas where you get your burger after you spent the day on your lease. There are plenty of deer heads and other "trophies" on the wall along with some good ol boy NASCAR and Pabst Blue Ribbon (still around) signs. There is a good size patio outside and they get some local live music every now and then. So, I guess you could say there is some character.

The burgers are 1/2lb and larger round than thick. The buns are over sized as well. The burgers are served open faced in a basket. This is because besides the main items like cheese, bacon, etc. you add your own fixins. In a throw back to the Burger Chef days, there is a fixins bar with, we kid you not, a jug titled "heavy duty mayonnaise." Nice. (MBH loves him some mayo.)

The temperature was good. It was made fresh to order. The meat was seasoned, but not as well as others, like say Pop's. The buns are toasted, which as you know is important. There are several side choices, but we went with the traditional fries. These were hand-cut and seasoned great - lots of peppery flavor. There are several choices of specialty burgers including the Chubby Challenge which is a 3lb burger that, if you can finish it, will be names after you!

We have tried this place a few times and each time the service is slow and not anything to write home about. But its what you can expect from high school kids waiting on tables. So, although the service is suspect, you will like this burger. There are plenty of options and crushed ice from the fountain. And be sure and ring the bell when you leave to let the chef know you approve.

Stats:



Locations: 1 
Date Est: 2009


SCORE: (1-5)

Burger: 4 pickles


Sides: 3 pickles


Menu: 4 pickles


Character: 3 pickle


Service: 2 pickles


                                                 Price: $8 cheeseburger (with fries)

Love Shack Top 10 Ranker

Visited: Saturday February 6, 2010


817 Matisse Suite 455 (So7 @ Trinity Park)
Fort Worth. TX 76107
817.348.9655
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Tim Love (owner of The Lonesome Dove Bistro, our favorite Fort Worth restaraunt) has opened Love Shack So7 in the So7 development in Fort Worth's Seventh St. corridor. The inside dining area is 1,500 square feet; outside, the size nearly doubles to include a live music stage and lounge area. This is a fun outdoor space and is very family friendly. Burger has great flavor. Definitely little greasy, but that is good. Buns are toasted, which we like, and portion was 1/3rd pound. Dirty Love Burger (our favorite) comes with cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato, a fried quail egg and the special "love'' sauce. Options for mushrooms, bacon and jalapenos and other fun stuff.

In addition to menu faves like the Dirty Love Burger and special root beer blends, Love will add a lobster roll (be still, Downeasters) the Love Bird (a grilled chicken sandwich) and a fish burger on a whole wheat bun.




Burgers are served in basket (unwrapped) with fries or onion rings. Appearance was good and temperature was great. The sides at this place are also a big plus. Handmade shakes make a great pairing.


Stats:

Locations: 2
Date Est: 2009

SCORE:


Burger: 5 pickles
Sides:4 pickles
Menu: 4 pickles
Atmosphere: 4 pickles (So7)
Service: 3 pickles
Price: $7 cheeseburger

Snookie's

Visited: Saturday January 23, 2010


2755 S Hulen Street
Fort Worth. TX 76109
817.207.0788
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So when you go to a sports bar for food, you get sports bar food - and Snookie's was no different. A one time "Best of" winner, it appears its been a long time ago. The interior is full of LCD TVs and a full bar with drink specials. But this is about burgers.

The basic cheeseburger was good, but not great. The temperature was good, but the juice factor was average. We feel you need a lot of napkins when you eat a burger, but you can get by with one on this one. The basic burger comes with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and mustard. Served basket style, it started of right. The presentation was okay.

The bun was toasted and had good flavor - at least it didn't look or taste like a "wrapper" bun. (meaning it could be, but it did not seem like it.) The fries are hand-cut skin on (which you will find at most burger joints.) But they were overcooked and bland.

The service was average especially considering that they were only two other tables in the place when we were there. And the best test, we had dinner later. If we get knocked out, usually we can only do an ice cream or something for dinner because we are still full. We were not full from this.

Every now and then we come across a place that should deliver (won awards on other people's top 10 lists) but we finish the meal saying "I don't get it." And this time, we don't get it. Sorry.

Stats:

Locations: 3

Date Est: 1990

SCORE: (1 - 5)

Burger: 3 pickles

Sides: 3 pickles

Menu: 3 pickles

Character: 3 pickle

Service: 3 pickle

                                                 Price: $8 cheeseburger

Charleston's

Visited: Saturday January 16, 2010




3020 S Hulen street
Fort Worth. TX 76109
817.735-8900
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Okay, so maybe you would not think to pick this place for Burger Saturday, but the truth be told, the first places we visited were the "top 10 burgers" as ranked by Urban Spoon. Love the Urban Spoon ap on my phone, but when it comes to this level of ranking, it does struggle a bit. But I digress.




Charleston's is a chain restaurant (privately owned) based in Oklahoma City. If you have been to a Houston's restaurant, you have been to a Charleston's - they look identical inside.


The burger was average at best. It was good, but nothing to get excited about and certainly nothing to vault it onto any Top 10 list. It was served on a plate with fries. Fries were also very normal. the bun was not fresh or toasted - which is important to us.

Lesson learned today - if they have carpeting get out!


Stats:


Locations: 15


Date Est: 1987




SCORE:

Burger: 3 pickles


Sides: 3 pickles


Menu: 2 pickles


Atmosphere: 2 pickle


Service: 3 pickle


Price: $7 cheeseburger

Dutch's Top 10 Ranker

Visited: Saturday January 9, 2010


3009 University Drive
Fort Worth. TX 76109
817.927.5522
Map
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The name Dutch’s was chosen to combine plenty of Fort Worth and TCU heritage for the new college café; The restaurant namesake is Leo “Dutch” Meyer, a TCU grad who became the most successful football coach in Horned Frog history.

Stats:


Locations: 1


Date Est: 2007





SCORE:

Burger: 4 pickles


Sides: 3 pickles


Menu: 3 pickles


Atmosphere: 3 pickle


Service: 3 pickle


Price: $7 cheeseburger