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Twisted Root Burger Co.

admin — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:04:07 +0000

Twisted Root Burger Co.
560 SMU Blvd. Suite 102
Dallas, TX.
(214) 361-2910
www.twistedrootbugerco.com

Twisted Root Burger

I think their are about three Twisted Root restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area. I recently went to the one by SMU with a friend of mine. If you are a lover of great burgers this is a swell place to go.

Here’s the ordering protocol. You walk in and order a specialty burger or just tell them what kind of meat and toppings you want. One of the cool things about the Twisted Root is they have so many exotic meats beyond their great hamburger meat. They have buffalo, Imu, Ostrich, venison and I think they even have alligator. You’ll have to double check that one though. After you order they give you a goofy name and you go and sit at a table and wait for them to call your order. My name was Roger Rabbit. Isn’t that just too silly. Oh my.

My friend told me that he always gets buffalo when he eats here. He said it has a bit of a sausage flavor too it. I definitely would like to try that some time soon. But I already had my mind made up for my first burger at the Twisted Root. I ordered a 1/2 pd burger (they’re all 1/2 pounders at Twisted Root) topped with Blue Cheese and Bacon. I had no idea what I was in for.

I recently ate the Blue Cheese Bacon Burger at Burger Spot and it was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. I wanted to see how a Blue Cheese and Bacon burger at the Twisted Root would compare. Well the Twisted Root won for sheer size and content. There was a huge dollop of Blue Cheese melted on top of the burger patty. Well mostly melted. There was so much cheese that not all of it melted. Then on top of the mound of cheese they placed about six strips of bacon. Oh my gosh. I could just visualize my cholesterol level spiking into the stratosphere. But I polished off that burger anyway. It was really good. But I still had to declare Burger Spot’s Blue Cheese and Bacon burger the winner. Even with all the huge toppings at Twisted Root, Burger Spot’s was tastier and left me with a bigger smile on my face.

Twisted Root Burger Co

I also got the fries at Twisted Root. They were fine. Nothing to complain about but nothing to write home about either. Overall I was quite satisfied with Twisted Root. I don’t know if I could put that much cheese and bacon in my body again though. I think next time I will try the healthier buffalo meat and see how that tastes. I also really want to try one of the adult milkshakes at Twisted Root. They have really great flavors served with alcohol. The only problem is that they cost almost ten dollars. Oh well, maybe I’ll get one for my birthday.

I highly recommend the Twisted Root by SMU to lovers of good food, and lovers of the burger in particular.Similar Posts:

Bell’s Better Burgers

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:27:06 +0000

Bell’s Better Burgers

2610 South Peachtree Road

Mesquite, TX 75180

(972) 286-0320

I am just going to come right out and say it – I love Bell’s Better Burgers. How’s that for beating around the bush? Bell’s Better Burgers is one of those places that exemplifies the much used proverb: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Not far from the Balch Springs Walmart, nestled between a non-descript auto-mechanic shop and a run of the mill carwash sits the homely little drive-up restaurant known as Bell’s Better Burgers. But inside sizzling on the grill and cooking up in the deep fryer is some really great food. And cooking the food and taking the orders are some really good people.

It was my wife’s idea to try Bell’s Better Burgers. She found a coupon for the place in the Entertainment passport coupon book for the Dallas area. Bell’s was also having a special that day, so she came home with a Texas Burger Combo meal (fries and soft drink) and an extra Texas Burger. We got the Texas Burger Combo for a good deal because it was the daily special and the extra burger for free because of our coupon. The burger was well cooked. If you are one of those people who are into rare burgers or steak tartar this might not be the best place for you. But I loved it. The meat was crispy and tasty, yet still juicy. It had raw diced onions on it which I usually don’t like and end up scraping off, but this burger was so good I didn’t even mind the onions. The Texas Burger also has cheese on it and it tastes great. Pretty sophisticated analysis, huh? It tastes great. Well, it’s true. And you can’t accuse Bell’s Better Burgers of false advertising because their burgers really are better than most burgers in the Dallas area. In fact, I can only think of one burger I’ve had here that was any better. That is the amazingly flavorful Blue Cheese Bacon Burger at the Burger Spot in Plano. That thing is just in a league of its own. But I asked my wife if she liked the Texas Burger from Bell’s better than the Bacon Cheeseburger which she enjoyed at Burger Spot and she didn’t hesitate to say yes. Tasty, enjoyable, and satisfying seems to sum up the Texas Burger from Bell’s Better Burgers.

The fries were good too. They are thick cut. No skinny shoestring fries here. I like them but they were not amazing or anywhere as good as the burger. We also got a Diet Dr. Pepper with our combo. It was fine. I just mention it so you will know that they didn’t serve us up some flat disgusting soda.

If you decide to visit Bell’s Better Burgers, here are how things roll there. First you find the place near the intersection of Lake June and Peach Tree. It’s actually on Peach Tree in between that auto-mechanic shop and the car wash. Then you pull in and get yourself a good spot. Then you look over the menu, which is on two identical white billboards and decide what you want. Next your waitress will come out and take your order. Then you wait in your car while it gets cooked up all hot and yummy for you. Then she brings it out to you and collects the money for your order. Simple enough. Anyway, my wife loved her waitress. She kept talking about how nice and helpful the lady was. The waitress said that the onion rings and milk shakes at Bell’s Better Burgers were good too. So I decided to go back to Bell’s with my boys the other day and get the onion rings and milkshake. Bell’s hadn’t lied about their burgers so I was hopeful. I also wanted to go back because they were out of paper menus when my wife went.

When I arrived I got both good news and bad news. The bad news was that they were out of paper menus again. I am beginning to wonder if they ever really have them. But no, Bell’s wouldn’t lie to me. The good news was that I also had a wonderful waitress and that the onion rings and milkshake really were very good. Since they didn’t have any paper menus on hand I simply copied the menu off the billboard while I waited for my order. I took maybe ten to fifteen minutes, which is a lot for onion rings and a milkshake. But I think it took extra long because somehow or other our waitress got her cell phone stolen by one of their customers. Anyway it was worth the wait.

There are a few cool things about the milkshakes at Bell’s Better Burgers. One is that they are really good, of course. Two is that they have more flavors than most places. They have chocolate, vanilla, pineapple, strawberry, banana, and cherry. The third cool thing about the shakes is that you can combine flavors at no extra charge. I ordered a chocolate-cherry shake. The bummer was I couldn’t taste any cherry in it. So either the waitress didn’t place the order correctly or the chocolate completely canceled out the cherry flavor. Once again, though, I really didn’t care. It was so good I couldn’t be annoyed. My kids loved it too.

The onion rings were also very good. You get nice thick cut onions (but not too thick) fried in a light, golden batter. The onion rings were better than most places I’ve had them at. The only thing I can find fault with about them is that they were not salty enough. On the other hand that might really be a good thing. Personally, I would like to add salt to my taste than get some crazy unknown quantity on me (even if it does taste good). Besides you can always ask Bell’s for some salt or you can salt it at home like we did. MMMM-MMMM Good!

If I’ve got your attention by now, I’ll just run through Bell’s menu for you so you can have an idea of all the tasty possibilities and the reasonable prices they have.

Here are a list of the Better Burgers. The Double Texas Burger is $5.90 (with cheese it’s $6.10), the Texas Burger is $4.20 (with cheese it’s $4.60), the Double Meat Burger is $3.70, a regular burger is $2.35, a small burger is $1.60, and a Chili Cheese Burger is $2.85. I think it would be hard to go wrong with any of these burgers. Although, personally I think chili cheese is always overkill. You always seem to end up tasting more of the chili than you do the burger, which is what you really want to be tasting.

For Sandwiches, Bell’s offers the following: the Steak Sandwich and the Fish Sandwich for $3.35, the Ham Sandwich for $2.75, The Ham and Cheese for $3.05 (you can get a Ham and Cheese combo for $5.10), the BLT for $2.95, Grilled Cheese for $1.90, or the Cheddar Steak Sandwich for $3.60.

Their are five Baskets options available at Bell’s. The Steak Basket and the Catfish Basket costs $5.85, the Steak Finger Basket and the Chicken Strips Basket go for $5.60, and the Shrimp Basket costs $6.95. Oh you can also get a child’s basket for $3.50 if you have any little ones along for the ride.

There are plenty of extras you can order to go along with your burger or sandwich or whatever. These sides are French Fries for $1.40, Onion Rings for $2.10, a Hot Dog for $1.30, a Corny Dog for $1.60, nine chicken nuggets for $2.85, a Pizza Pocket for $2.30, a slice of Apple Pie for $1.05, Fried Pickles for $2.10 or Ice Cream for $0.95.

Bell’s has more than just burgers, sandwiches and fries. This is Texas, so of course they have some Mexican food on the menu. You can get three tacos for $2.25, a Mexican Combo for $5.05, a Taco Salad for $4.60, a single taco for $1.05, Nachos for $2.60, Chili Pie for $3.35, a Burrito for $1.95, or three stuffed peppers for $2.10.

For drinks you can get Coke, Dr. Pepper. The only diet drink they offered was diet Dr. Pepper. Any of these cost $1.25. Of course, you can also get one of Bell’s tasty chocolate, vanilla, pineapple, strawberry, banana, or cherry milk-shakes. Or any mix of flavors you want. A medium milk-shake costs $2.45 and a large one costs $3.65. There is no small size, just in case you were wondering.

Bell’s Better Burgers is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a lover of great burgers. The place has been around a long time. People who’ve been eating there since they were kids are still loyal to it. If you live a little out of the way, the burgers are worth the drive. So get out there and support a worthy, privately owned business. I highly recommend it.Similar Posts:

Goff’s Hamburgers

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:03:46 +0000

Lately, I am all about the coupons. Ok, maybe I’ve always been about the coupons, but I just got my new 2010/2011 Dallas area edition of the Entertainment passbook, and can hardly wait to try out some new places. I had success with my last burger place (Bells Better Burgers on Peach Tree) and decided to try another with a friend.

We went to Goff’s Hamburgers for lunch. Goff’s is in a nice shopping center in the Southwest corner of Preston and LBJ. The restaurant had a casual, comfortable atmosphere. It also had ample seating and TV’s to entertain us while we ate. We both ordered pretty basic burgers with pretty basic fixings. And we also both got ourselves an order of onion rings.

We had no trouble using our coupon, and our food was ready pretty quickly. For some reason, though, they thought one of us ordered French fries. But they soon replaced the fries with onion rings. The big fat onion rings smelled and looked delicious. Some of them also tasted delicious, but most of them were too tough or not sweet enough. My friend ate only a couple of hers.

And the burgers were burgers. Not very big, not very juicy; just burgers. I had ordered cheese with mine and was surprised to see a generous mound of thickly shredded cheddar cheese on top. I appreciated the fact that the cheese was real, but not even half of it had melted. That, along with the other condiments, had cooled my burger down to an unappetizing temperature.

The fries (they let us keep them)were thick cut and they were good. My friend’s son certainly enjoyed his. But he barely touched his chicken tenders, which looked rather dry, as if they had sat in the fryer too long. “Tender” was not an accurate description. Although for some reason I don’t think “Chicken Toughs” would sell as well.

If you’re looking for “just a notch above MacDonald’s,” then Goff’s is the place for you. Otherwise, I’d try my luck elsewhere (like Bell’s Better Burgers on the other side of town).Similar Posts:

McDonalds Restaurant in Balch Springs

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:37:39 +0000

McDonald’s Restaurant
3535 Elam Rd.
Balch Springs, TX. 75180
(972) 286-9056

My three boys treated me to lunch the other day. It was getting close to lunch. I was about to whip up some peanut butter sandwiches when my sons asked if we could go out to eat at a restaurant. I told them that was fine if they were willing to pay for it.

You find out really quick how serious your kids are about something when their own money is involved. Well, on this particular day my boys were quite willing to pay. All three broke into their piggy-banks and dug out their treasure from birthdays past, tooth-fairy payments, chores and whatever other occasion their grandmother has found to spoil them.

We collected the necessary funds and headed out to eat. Where to? Where all children like to go to eat – Mickey D’s. I had to be sure to keep the cost of our order low since we were dining on the kids’ dime. That meant no happy meals. Sorry kids, no Shrek 4 toys this time.

I ordered a McDouble from the dollar menu for each of them and I ordered the double cheeseburger value meal (Super-sized!) so we could all share the large fries and drink. The burgers were fine. The fries were hot and fresh.

I know that’s not always the case. It really stinks when you’re expecting to get some crispy, piping-hot fries fresh out of the grease and you get these limp, barely warm look-alikes that have been sitting out too long.

I don’t know why, but I love ketchup from the pump in those little white paper containers. Is it really better than ketchup squeezed from the packet? I think so. I let my sons take turns choosing our beverage every time we got a refill. We started out with Strawberry Fanta, I think.

Then we got some Sprite. And finally we ended with a bright orange concoction with a cool name like orange lava or something. After we finished our meal we had to find some way to get rid of all that sugar-energy. And what better way than to let the kids run wild on the McDonald’s playground equipment.

This is a bittersweet experience for me. I love to watch my boys have fun, but I cringe at the shrill cries of delight which constantly emanate from the play area.

Oh well, it’s all part of the McDonald’s experience. I also think it is funny how my kids seem to make a new friend every time they enter one of these fast food playgrounds. Maybe there is some social bonding agent used in the manufacturing of all those playground tunnels, slides, etc.

Perhaps the United Nations should hold negotiations inside a giant playground. Just a thought. Well, I had a great time with my kids and no one found a finger in their burger or got scalded by coffee so, yeah, I’m lovin’ it.Similar Posts:

Chilis Restaurant in Mesquite Texas

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:48:18 +0000

Town East – Chili’s
3909 Pavilion Court
Mesquite, TX. 75150-6519
www.chilis.com

My mom was in town recently to visit the grandkids, which allowed my wife and I to go out for dinner together. Just the two of us. No kids. Ahhh! When I was a kid I never dreamed that one of life’s great enjoyments could include a nice quiet meal and relaxed conversation.

This turned out to be a wonderful date, but there were a few speed-bumps along the way. First of all, we couldn’t decide where to eat. We had just eaten out the night before and had lots of great burgers and steaks off the grill the night before that, so my wife didn’t want anything too heavy.

That canceled out our first idea of eating at some Chinese place with a good buffet. My wife wanted to wanted to avoid the temptation of grazing too long at the big spread. So we decided to go to Chili’s.

But we had a little trouble finding how to get to this particular Chili’s. You can’t get to it off of Highway 635 or the service road. You have to take the Town East exit and turn in like you’re going to the Genghis Mongolian Grill restaurant.

Then just keep making your way straight back. When we turned in to park, we discovered that literally half of Chili’s parking lot had been ripped up for repairs, so it took awhile to find a spot.

The final speed-bump in our dining experience was the fact that there was a group of high school students from the Mesquite school district who were celebrating their graduation at Chili’s that night. Fortunately, they were too young to drink, or we might have been in real trouble. Still they were a little bit rowdy and noisy.

The worst part was that one of them really enjoyed whistling. I am not a fan of whistling. Still, after life with three young boys, these high school grads were just background noise to me.

Also, I wasn’t responsible for them, so I didn’t need to worry about putting them in time-out. That said, I found the rest of our dining experience quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Our server was great. She was just the kind of waitress I like. Some waitresses get you your order and disappear for vast stretches of time. You can’t get any refills or ask them for what you need. Others pester you about your meal every five seconds.

This one was friendly and attentive and got us what we wanted when we wanted it. I started my drink order with a boring Coke Zero but quickly switched to the tasty Strawberry Lemonade. I think next time I will try the Blackberry Lemonade.

I might have been tempted to go for a margarita but apparently Chili’s doesn’t serve any frozen margaritas, only the regular kind.

We started our meal with the Triple Dipper Appetizer. With the Triple Dipper you can choose your three favorite out of these seven options – Big Mouth Bites (the trendy mini-burger done up gourmet-style), Boneless Buffalo Wings, Southwestern Egg rolls, Chicken Crispers, Wings over Buffalo, Crispy Onion String and Jalapeno Stack, and Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip.

All of these options come with different dipping sauces, depending on what you order. My wife chose the Southwestern Egg rolls (crispy flour tortillas stuffed with chicken, black beans, corn, jalapeno jack cheese, red peppers and spinach and served with avocado-ranch dressing) Chicken Crispers (crispy chicken strips served with honey mustard sauce), and the Crispy Onion String and Jalapeno Stack.

My wife was a little disappointed with the Southwestern Egg Rolls but I thought they were tasty enough. The Chicken Crispers were pretty basic. Nothing out of the ordinary to me, but my wife and others rave about them. The Crispy Onion String and Jalapeno Stack was good. I was surprised that the jalapenos were not hot and spicy. That will be a plus for some of you and a minus for others.

For my entrée, I ordered one of Chili’s Custom Combinations. With the Custom Combination, you choose your favorite two of the following seven options -Fried Shrimp, Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Monterrey Chicken, Margarita Grilled Chicken, Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Herbs, Spicy Garlic and Lime Grilled Shrimp, and for a $1.25 extra, you can get the Classic Sirloin.

All of the Custom Combinations come with seasonal veggies and loaded mashed potatoes, but you can switch these out with Chili’s other sides.

There other sides include: mashed potatoes with black pepper gravy, home-style fries, spicy cole slaw, black beans, rice, sweet corn on the cob, and cinnamon apples. I swapped the sweet corn on the cob for the seasonal veggies.

There is a lot of pepper on their corn on the cob, but I found it quite tasty. The loaded mashed potatoes were awesome. Lots of flavor and fixings. For my Custom Combination, I ordered the Monterrey Chicken and the Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs.

The Monterrey Chicken is a chicken breast topped with BBQ sauce, cheese, and applewood smoked bacon. It’s really tasty. You have three options in the way your ribs are prepared.

There’s Chili’s classic BBQ sauce, the Memphis dry rub which is great, and the new sweet and tangy Shiner Bock BBQ sauce. I decided to try my ribs with the Shiner Bock BBQ sauce and I’m glad I did.

It was very good and the ribs were tender and delicious.
Next time I visit Chili’s, I might order the Shiner Bock BBQ Burger. The burger is topped with the Shiner Bock BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, and crispy onion strings.

But there are lots of other great burgers there that I’m eager to taste. Chili’s has eleven burger options, but these are the ones that I am most interested in – the Ground Peppercorn Burger (the burger is crusted with black pepper and spices, and topped with crispy onion strings, and bleu cheese dressing), the Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Burger (topped with applewood smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, tortilla strips, red onion, mayo, jalapenos, and jalapeno ranch-dressing), and the Southern Smokehouse Bacon Burger (topped with maple bacon, smoked cheddar, crispy onion strings, and ancho-chile BBQ sauce.

My wife ordered the Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Herbs. She thought it was so-so. Not great. We’re a little spoiled, though. When we visit my parents in Wisconsin, my Dad goes out on his boat and catches lots of big salmon from Lake Michigan and cooks them up fresh on the grill. So we’re used to really great salmon.

This was much dryer, as you might guess. Also, the rice had an unfamiliar (to her palate, anyway) herb that she didn’t care for much either, but grew on her when she ate the leftovers later.

We didn’t get dessert that night but I’m very interested in trying one of Chili’s Molten Chocolate cakes. Their other desserts include chocolate chip paradise pie (a chewy bar of chocolate chips, walnuts, and coconut, topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and caramel), White Chocolate Molten Cake, Brownie Sundae, Chocolate Chip Cookie Molten Cake (warm chocolate chip cookie cake filled with milk chocolate filling, topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy chocolate shell), cheesecake with strawberry sauce, and a frosty chocolate shake.

One particularly fun option is Chili’s Sweet Shots. You can simply order your favorite item (Key Lime Pie, Red Velvet Cake, Warm Cinnamon Roll, Warm Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie.) or you choose any three and create your own sampler plate.

Whatever your dinner plans are, you could do a lot worse than Chili’s. I’m glad we went. I just hope they have the parking lot completed next time we go back.Similar Posts: