Dallas Restaurants~Mooyah

A couple of months ago a Mooyah opened near our apartment.  I have never been to one, but Mike had checked the burgers out when we first moves to Texas almost three years ago.  I remember him telling me that the burgers were good, but that I should stay away from their shakes.
The ordering set-up is similar to Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Smashburger. You select your meat, type of bun, and then sauces and veggies.

Burgers cost $4.95 each and you have a choice between a hamburger, veggie, or turkey burger.

I ordered a hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, relish, grilled onions, mushrooms, mustard, and  Mooyah sauce on the side.  Can you believe that all those veggies and sauces are free?  In case you are curious, Mooyah sauce tastes like Thousand Island dressing. Apparently most sauces named after the company taste similar to thousand island dressing with some kind of spice to differentiate it from other restaurants.

I thought that the burger was a bit messy (but what jam-packed burger isn't?), but I really enjoyed it. My favorite part was the toasted bun. It's so difficult to rate and compare burgers when I consume about one burger or less each month. If my memory serves me correctly, I'd say that Mooyah burgers are pretty comparable to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I think Five Guys is still my favorite burger place in Texas, but let's just say that I would not be disappointed if someone wanted to go to Mooyah instead. 

Mike liked the fries. I thought that they were pretty good and very similar to Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

And right next to it, there's a Rita's that is opening soon!  This is a perfect stop between our house and the public library! We'll probably be stopping at Mooyah if we have burger cravings.

Mooyah
7000 Independence Parkway
Plano, TX 75025972-312-8804

Dallas Restaurants~Twisted Root Burgers

Twisted Root has been on our list of restaurants that we wanted to check out ever since we moved to Texas.  The main location is in Deep Ellum, so we never really wanted to drive out of our way just for burgers.  Last year, a Twisted Root opened up a few miles away from my work place, so we finally got around to checking out the burgers there.

Twisted Root has been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and we've heard has been rated as having the best burgers in Dallas.  We ordered just the standard burger to share. I haven't been able to keep down much food (due to heartburn and acid reflux), so I now have to eat smaller portions of food.
We had to order the original burger so that we could fairly compare all the burgers we have tasted in Texas. Mike said that it was a really good dense burger. Dense. I think that's the best way to describe Twisted Root burgers. If you want an extremely meaty heavy burger, this is the place to go.  I don't think there was any filler in this compressed meat patty.

At each table there are Twisted Root sauces that you can add to your burger.  

There's a pickle station with four (I think four) different kind of pickles.  My favorite was the sweet bread and butter pickles.

Root Beer. One of my friends recommended that we try Twisted Root's root beer. It was a bit too earthy-tasting to me. 

I thought that the paper towel dispenser area looked neat. At first glance, you would think that this is some kind of bathroom design. I thought that it was worthy enough for a picture.

I gasped when I saw this. It's probably offensive to many people, but after all, it was posted in a burger restaurant that serves all kinds of meat.  

Mike and I will probably be back to Twisted Root again (maybe when family members come to visit later on this year).  We'd like to try other types of meat (elk, buffalo, venison, etc) and other burgers like the mushroom and swiss. After that, we'll be able to decide if Twisted Root is our favorite burger place in Texas. 

Twisted Root Burgers
7300 Lone Star Drive, Suite C150 (The Shops at Legacy)
Plano, TX
972-312-0011

Texas Restaurant~SmashBurger

Mike and I stopped checking out burger joints in Texas for some reason.  We decided to remedy that and checked out Smashburger in Addison last month. Some of our friends feel that Smashburger is better than Five Guys Burger and Fries but I wanted to compare the two places on my own.

Onion Strings.  Yum!  They were super think and light.

Mike ordered a burger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and blue cheese dressing. Just like Five Guys, the burgers are made to order and you can choose to top your burger with unlimited sauces and toppings.

I ordered a small smashburger with grilled onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. 

Mike and I also shared a side of Sweet Potato Smashfries. These are tossed with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. These fries had the right ratio of crispy crust and potato meat. The rosemary and garlic was a nice touch, but I would be fine without it.
So what was the verdict?  Mike thought that Five Guys Burger and Fries slightly beat out Smashburger, but it is difficult to compare when the burgers are not served side by side.
Flavor-wise, Five Guys might have the edge, but the last time I ate a burger and fries there, my bun and my fries were a bit soggy.  I felt that if you take the price into consideration, I might choose Smashburger.  I can order a side of fries and a small smashburger for the same price as a Five Guys burger. 

Smashburger
Multiple Locations

In-N-Out

Back in May of this year, In-N-Out opened in Texas.  Mike and I finally checked out one of the restaurants in Allen, TX. We had been meaning to check out In-N-Out for a while, but every time we happend to drive past the In-N-Out the parking lot looked so crowded that we decided to put off our visit.
It's difficult to compare burgers from restaurants because you are relying on your memory of the burger. The last time I ate a burger from In-N-Out was in June 2011 when I was in Las Vegas. I did not eat a "fresh" burger because someone had picked it up and I ate it about 20 minutes after it was made. 

Man In-N-Out is one of the most efficient fast food places I have ever been to.  They quickly churn out order after order and the line keeps moving. The only way that they could improve their efficiency would be to install TV monitors with order numbers instead of having a worker shout out order numbers on the speaker.  I saw this at a Rosa's Cafe the other night and I think they might have the slight edge in speed over In-N-Out.

Mike ordered the "Animal Style" burger-includes extra sauce and toppings. I just had a plain cheeseburger (I rather eat a hamburger sans cheese, but I was saving us seats and Mike ordered me one with cheese).  We were hungry, and those burgers tasted good. The fries were okay (I prefer twice-fried fries), but I overheard a kid shout, "These are the best fries," so everyone has their own preference on fry type. 

Neapolatin Shake

Meh. Mike and I were not a fan of the fan of the shakes.  Sorry Jay, I know that you really like them. I think so far, our favorite fast food shakes are from Chick-fil-A.

So here's our verdict on In-N-Out, for the price of a burger (<$2) it's a great deal. The burgers are tasty and have a fresh taste to them, if given a choice between McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, and In-N-Out, I'd choose In-N-Out. 
If I throw "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" into the mix, I might choose Five Guys.  Five Guys burgers set you back about $6 each (that's like 3-4 In-N-Out burgers), but I think I'd give Five Guys my vote because I like that you can add a lot more toppings to your burger (sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, etc) AND I think the fries are better at Five Guys. 
Mike says that it would be a toss-up between the restaurants because price becomes a factor. If he wanted a good cheap burger, he'd go to In-N-Out. If price wasn't factored in to the decision, he'd choose Five Guys for the win on flavor.

Burgers~Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Continuing on with my burger reviews, Mike and I tried out "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" and really enjoyed the burgers here.  Since moving to Texas, I think Mike has eaten here at least five times, and we do not eat out much. 

One of Five Guys Burgers and Fries signatures is the free peanuts offered while you wait for your food. 

Yummy fries. There's just something about hot homemade fries that makes me smile.

I thought that these burgers were scrumptious and according to the Burger Bracket on Slashfood, Five Guys beat out other burger chains as having the best burger.  Although if you check out the original "burger bracket" put on by Burger Business, another burger restaurants takes the coveted first place. 

Burgers are made to order at Five Guys Burgers and Fries and you can choose to add most basic toppings for free.  Some of the choices are fried onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce,  and a bunch of different sauces. 

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
13350 Dallas Parkway, Suite 975
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 239-8470
It's a franchise, so they are located all over the US.

Stay tuned for our next burger adventure...we'll be making our way to Twisted Root burger which we've heard nothing but great reviews.