Have you ever wondered why the spectacularly lovely burger you see in a fast food commercial actually looks like a sad, dreary shadow of its buffed-up self when it is served to you?

Our friends at Snotr (we just link to 'em, we didn't name 'em) have an answer.

WARNING: Turn down the sound before you press play.  This video is LOUD.

Update: We sample Chef Simmons's new menu

One of this burger lover's saddest days of 2010 was the day that Tesar's Modern Steakhouse closed in the Woodlands.  Tesar's Magic burger had become the thing of local legend; to this day I've been searching for a burger that comes close to that remarkable creation.

But good things have followed for those involved with Tesar's.  Chef Jeromy Robison landed the exec spot at La Colombe d'Or's popular new CINQ restaurant, and has been on everyone's short list of talented young chefs.

The other member of the dynamic duo, Chef Austin Simmons, was recently promoted to Executive Chef at Hubbel & Hudson, the hot gourmet market and bistro in the Woodlands.  Austin and I talked burgers on numerous occasions at Tesar's, and I was excited to see how he'd influence the already excellent burgers at H & H.

So I was pleasantly surprised not only to learn of Chef Austin's promotion, but to be invited to sample some of his new dishes on the winter Hubbell & Hudson menu.  And I was hoping a burger would be one of the offerings.

After rolling out several new dishes (which will be written about soon) a burger appeared.

Wagyu Burger at Hubbell & Hudson

I smiled when I noticed that instead of one of H & H's excellent buns, Chef Austin had selected an English Muffin as the foundation for his burger.  The half-pound patty was hand-formed Wagyu beef, from an American breed of cattle that produces Kobe beef in Japan.  Instead of bacon, crispy prosciutto di Parma was artfully arranged.  Fresh arugula and a unique tomato remoulade were piled atop a sunny-side-up egg.  No ordinary condiments were to be found.  These prime ingredients do not result in a bargain burger - served with the excellent house cut double dip frites, the cost of the burger is $25, not an insubstantial sum.

(I hate to second-guess a chef, but I'm not an egg-on-a-burger guy.  When I mentioned this, the burger was whisked into the kitchen, and reemerged in short order without the egg.)

I bit into the burger, and it was a revelation.  Front and center was the lush, beefy flavor.  The wagyu had been expertly ground; so many times super premium beef doesn't stand up well to grinding, but in this case it had been handled expertly and cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The juicy ooze was in full force; this was a rare case where wagyu beef delivered fully on its promise.

The tang of the tomato chutney was a delicious counterpoint to the swaggeringly rich beefy flavor, and this is coming from someone who typically doesn't like tomatoes on a burger.  The smooth, almost sweet flavor of the cured prosciutto provided balance, and the subtle crunch added textural interest.

This could very well be the best burger I've ever tasted.

Chef Austin is still fine tuning the burger.  He's contemplating a version replacing the egg with one of Hubbell & Hudson's artisan cheeses.

I shudder to think about the difficulty in resisting the result.

Hubbell & Hudson Bistro | 24 Waterway Ave, Suite 125 | The Woodlands, Texas 77380
281-203-5641 | hubbellandhudson.com

Hubbell & Hudson Bistro on Urbanspoon

As a high school student, one of my favorite hamburgers was a Wendy's double.  From the iconic square patty to the much-better-than-McD's toppings, Dave Thomas's chain served the first burger that caught my attention.  But over the years new competitors appeared on the scenes, and Wendy's never really made improvements.  The awesome burger of my youth became one I would only order in an emergency.

But now there's something different.  Wendy's is upping their game.

Called "Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger", it is the first upgrade to Wendy's hamburger offerings in several decades.  From thicker patties to better quality toppings to a new toasted, buttered bun, Wendy's has responded to both the Better Burger competitors like Five Guys and SmashBurger, and to the higher-end burgers rolled out by McDonalds.  The advertising photos look very promising.

Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger - The Promise

I was anxiously anticipating sampling this big deal that Wendy's just released, so I stopped by a local Woodlands-area Wendy's to see whether it lives up to the hype.  I was immediately put off by the rather dated look of the store - other than new signage, this restaurant could be a Wendy's from 1990.  But I'm here for the food, not the atmosphere, so I ordered my benchmark double, and waited for its appearance.

What greeted me on the tray was this:

Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger - The Reality
The new Wendy's "masterpiece" was visually unimpressive.  The machine-formed patties were slightly thicker than I remembered, but they were extremely dry and totally ooze free.  My guess is that the patties were cooked a while ago, and had been sitting under a not-too-effective heat lamp.  So much for the "juicy".  And the patties weren't warm enough to melt the cheese.  So much for the "hot".  The vegetables were of higher quality than I remembered, but the bun was impressive in its ordinariness - Wendy's has offered better buns in the past.
And the flavor was... bland.  It was a generic mass-market, fast food burger, with slightly fresher veggies on top.  This is what Wendy's is excited about?
I was completely underwhelmed with Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger.  It was neither hot nor juicy.  It didn't approach the quality of the newest McDonald's offerings, much less that of fast food burgers from What-a-burger or Culver's.  To compare it to Five Guys or SmashBurger would be ludicrous.  
I admire the intentions behind Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger.  But intentions alone do not make a great hamburger, or in this case, even a good one.
Back to the drawing board, Wendy.

The Counter is a left-coast burger chain that specializes in offering the customer a chance to create his own custom-built burger.  While many restaurants will let you customize a burger, the array of options at The Counter is truly staggering - there are 20 different sauces, and a dozen cheese options, for example.  If you like to create your own signature burger, you won't be lacking for options at The Counter.

We were excited to hear that The Counter was opening in the Woodlands, on Market Street.  We received an invitation to the soft opening, and trekked "downtown" to check out what The Counter had brought to the community.
When we pulled up to the new Market Street store (located on the west end of Market Street, across from the Avia Hotel) we weren't surprised to see a lot of folks milling around.  The place was packed with patrons for this invitation-only event.  We overheard the harried hostess turning away those without invitations - they'll be invited back tomorrow, when the store officially opens.
The interior of The Counter is bright and airy.  A bar (!) occupies a prominent position to the left of the room, serving beer and wine.  Local photography decorates the walls, and the total effect certainly fits in to the Woodlands -- it is far less jarring than the faux-50's decor that the late-and-not-lamented Johnny Rockets brought to Market Street.  All in all, a very pleasant setting.
We were seated fairly promptly, and placed our order.  Between the soft opening and the packed house, we didn't expect our food to come out quickly... and we weren't surprised.  But after a bit of a wait, the first to come out was the "Fifty-Fifty", in this case, half sweet potato fries and half parmesan fries.
The parmesan fries were covered with parmesan, rosemary, and garlic aoili.  We didn't think the garlic aoili added to the dish - it tasted like weak mayonaise, and caused the melted cheese to slip off of the fries, leaving only the mayonaise-y flavor.  The sweet potato fries were fine (if generic) and served with a horseradish mayonaise dipping sauce... not the first choice we'd have for sweet potato fries.  Apparently someone at The Counter really likes the flavor of mayonaise.
After a bit more time, the burgers arrived.  I ordered a third-pound (after cooking weight) burger with Gruyere cheese, grilled onions, and their lettuce blend, on an English muffin.  (The late, lamented, Tesar's taught me the magic of the English muffin for the foundation of a burger, so I was pleased to see it offered as an option.)  I had high hopes.

What arrived was... interesting.  First, there were a LOT of onions.  Easily 4x what would have been a generous helping.  After removing the lion's share of the onions, I assembled the burger and bit in.  The overwhelming sensation was odd.  Front and center was the onion flavor, but these weren't any onions I'd tasted before on a burger.  I don't know the variety, but the flavor profile was very different than a typical burger onion.  The consistency was wet and slippery, and they tended to slide out of the bun.  The beefy flavor was completely absent, so to remedy this, I removed even more onions, leaving only one or two slices, which was still enough.  Finally I could taste the beef, and it was very mild and underseasoned, albeit extremely tender.  The gruyere was lost in the mix as well.  Perhaps this was just opening-night jitters, but the grill cook should consider visiting Samba Grille or The Burger Guys to learn how to season a hamburger patty.  Without skilled seasoning, even the best meat won't shine.

I think that The Counter has an excellent concept, but some fine tuning is needed to the product's flavor.  Perhaps the California palate is different from that of a Houstonian, but now I understand why The Counter has been getting mixed reviews.  The burger is simply unlike any other premium burger I've experienced in Houston, and to my taste, not in a good way.

But if you've been searching for the burger of your dreams, and you've yet to come close, give The Counter a try.  I have no doubt that they'll surprise you.  Whether it's in a good way depends on you.

The Counter | Market Street | The Woodlands, Texas 77380 | 281-231-2147

The Counter on Urbanspoon

We're always skeptical when a successful restaurant group branches out into a new type of restaurant.  Too often we've seen incredibly successful organizations stumble when they try to translate their successful formula to an entirely different cuisine.

So we greeted the news of Coal Burger with a good deal of skepticism.  This small restaurant chain (the Woodlands location is their third store, and their first outside of Arizona) is owned by the same group as Grimaldi's Pizza, the iconic Brooklyn pizza joint that has branched out into locations all over the nation (and not coincidentally, right next door to Coal Burger.)  Would success in the pizza field translate into the highly competitive burger arena?

Half-pound Coal Burger, with cheese and bacon

We aren't sure.  But we love a good burger, and have a great deal of respect for the Grimaldi's organization, so we visited Coal Burger today, on its opening day, to see just what they are all about.  It was a rainy Tuesday, so we headed down to Waterway Square in the Woodlands, and managed to snag a nearby parking spot.  We zipped through a building to avoid the rain, and came out across the street from the Coal Burger location.  There is no sign, but it is located on the back side of the same building that houses Grimaldi's.

Coal Burger in the Woodlands.  That's the entrance at the right

We crossed the street and entered the bright, airy restaurant.  We saw plenty of green-shirted staff members being trained on opening day.  Everyone was bright and friendly, and we learned quite a bit about the philosophy behind Coal Burger before we even ordered.

Coal Burger isn't an ordinary burger joint.  There is a great focus on sustainable, high quality, healthy ingredients.  The organization is green, but it's not pushed in the customer's face as a self-conscious selling point.  We noticed that the disposable drink containers were compostable, the ingredients are from responsible sources like Niman Ranch, and little touches like LED light fixtures point to a thoughtful focus on the environment.  We applaud this approach.

Orders are placed at the counter, so we walked up and gave them ours.

The woman at the counter was very friendly, and in short order we were headed to the table to await our Coal Burgers.  On the way we grabbed a soda - no Coca-Cola or Pepsi products here, but rather a selection of Boylan sodas, all sweetened with real cane sugar.  So we had to skip our beloved Dr Pepper, and instead chose Boylan Ginger Ale.  A sip confirmed that real ginger is a prominent ingredient in this beverage.

After a short wait, the burger appeared, wrapped neatly in paper.  Ours was a half-pound of all-natural Niman Ranch Beef, hand-formed into two patties, topped with American cheese, beautiful thick-cut bacon, shredded lettuce, and crisp sliced pickles.  Only the bun seemed pedestrian, but we later learned that a Brioche bun is available upon request.

A half-pound burger at Coal Burger

Biting into this tall, narrow burger was delightful.  The first sensation was the crispness of the sliced pickles, which was quickly followed by a rich, charry, beefy burst of flavor.  Following the Grimaldi's tradition, the burger patties are grilled in a coal-fired oven.

Coal Burger's coal-fired oven

This magical device imparts a delightful char to the high quality beef.  And it does so quickly, leaving a nice juicy ooze and a pinkish center to contrast to the dark brown exterior char.

The American cheese we selected was thickly sliced and high quality.  The bacon had a slightly sweet, smoky bite.  The result was a superb rendition of a backyard burger, typically grilled over charcoal.  But this one was grilled over real coal, and the result was how one would dream a backyard burger would taste - no home cooked burger we've sampled has sported such an aggressive char and rich, complex flavor.

We realize that it's unfair to judge a restaurant on its opening day, but we were very impressed by the burger at Coal Burger.  We were also happy to talk with Darien, the manager, and to see that he and his staff are very interested in feedback and focused on making the Coal Burger experience a good one.

We'll be back.  Soon.

UPDATE: We learn the secret behind Coal Burger

Coal Burger | 20 Waterway Ave | The Woodlands, TX 77380 | 281-292-6385
coalburger.com

Coal Burger on Urbanspoon

The man had more cool in his pinky than four dozen hipsters have in their entire bodies ...

(Via @LettersOfNote)

OK, I feel better.  It's not just me.

Hubbell & Hudson's Bleu Cheese Burger

A new report released by food industry consultants Technomic revealed that Americans are eating more burgers, and better ones.  Nearly half of the Americans surveyed now eat burgers at least once a week.

(I think that they're all in line at Hubcap Grill when I stop by.)  That's up from 38% in 2009.

Another encouraging trend - consumers are willing to spend more for better burgers.  Taste and convenience were ranked ahead of price when choosing which burger to enjoy.  This bodes well for Houston's wide variety of better burger joints, from burger boutiques like Burger Guys to local success story / superlative burger chain Beck's Prime.

A fact that surprises some but doesn't surprise us: 99% of Americans surveyed say that they eat some kind of burger, even if only occasionally.

Source: Huffington Post.

When we visited Jax Burgers shortly after they opened last summer, we enjoyed the restaurant and its signature burger, but felt that it just missed the mark. The hamburger patty was a bit bland and unseasoned.  But we generally liked the place, and on a sunny late June afternoon we decided to visit again.

The restaurant was just as we remembered it - sparklingly clean and full of the aroma of grilled beef.  The Jax logo was prominently displayed all over the restaurant, and two flat-screen TVs were displaying a couple of different sporting events.

It was time to check and see how the burger had fared after Jax settled in.  We ordered at the counter, and our burger promptly arrived.  We bit in, and had a surprise...

A very pleasant surprise.

We're happy to report that the previous problem we had with the burger has been addressed, and addressed well.  The beef patty is still a half-pound of never frozen beef, but it's now sporting a lively seasoning of black pepper and just the right amount of salt.  The bite of the pepper is front and center, and it plays a nice counterpoint to the rich flavor of the high fat content beef.  There's a new swagger, and a bold, beefy flavor that is worthy of the lovingly hand-formed patty.  The difference is like night and day.

The patty was griddled to a nice medium - hints of pink were still present in the center.  The thickish slice of good quality American cheese was nicely melted, and the eggy bun also spent some quality time on the flat top, and the result was a gloriously oozy burger.  Veggies were fresh, but not terribly crisp.

Interestingly, the burger arrived upside-down - something we can't recall ever seeing before.

We're glad to find that the staff at Jax have improved this burger, and we welcome Jax into the upper echelon of Houston burger joints.

Keep up the good work, guys!

JAX Burgers, Fries, & Shakes on Urbanspoon

We were thrilled to hear that Five Guys was opening up close to the Woodlands, and visited this store on 1488 near 2978 the day after it opened.  We drove out 1488, and saw the store on the left, just before 2978.

Parking was plentiful, but other burger lovers had gotten there before us, so we had a short, five-minute wait until we got to the counter.

What we got was the prototypical Five Guys experience: A very good burger, friendly service, and a sparkling clean location. Unlike some other "better burger" places, Five Guys hasn't forgotten that value is part of the equation - the burger was around $5.
The burger is exactly what we've come to expect from Five Guys. Two medium-thickness hand-formed patties of never frozen beef, a slice of nice quality American cheese, fresh veggies, and a fresh, soft bun. The beef is cooked well done, but still retains a good bit of ooze. This isn't an upscale steakhouse burger, but rather a very good fast-food burger. If you enjoy the genre, you will enjoy Five Guys.

Our only beef? The orders of fries are just too big. Even a small is way too much for one person. So we just skip the fries, which is a shame because they're pretty darned good.

Bottom line: Go. If you like burgers, you won't be disappointed.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries | 6619 FM 1488 | Magnolia, Texas 77354 | 832-934-2660

Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Urbanspoon

Behold the bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys on Washington Avenue.

I'd not been to Five Guys in too long, and I'm glad I returned.  This burger was very good:  Two nicely thick patties, cooked medium well but still oozing. Hand-sliced American cheese.  Thick cut bacon, slightly chewy. Mild grilled onions. Fresh lettuce.

For $6, this is an excellent value.  But is it the best $6 burger in town?  I'd rank Smashburger slightly ahead.  Burger lovers, what are your thoughts?

Five Guys Burgers And Fries on Urbanspoon

Copyright 2023 Nurick + Associates