Whataburger

928 S 7th St
Waco, TX 76706

(254) 753-0389


For my birthday, we went on a burger run trying 15 or so LA's finest fast food establishment and white cloth counterparts. So, with Texas being the beef capital of the US, I thought it was only fitting to try their McDonald's alternative.

The location in Waco has a various Dr. Pepper memorabilia on the walls paying homage to the soft drink's origin and museum. There were no remembrances of David Koresh at the location we visited.

 

$3 Whataburger with large cheese (2)
Unfortunately, Whataburger turned out to be Whatashittyburger. If it was part of our burger run, it may have landed second to last. Right above Burger King. There was no flavor to the beef and it was as dry as a hockey puck. However, the service was much better than in LA. I would have expected nothing less from properly raised Texans.

Tacqueria La Paisanita

2505 Inwood Rd
Dallas, TX 75235

(214) 351-3232

Finding quality food open on Thanksgiving was a task in itself. We opted to skip the overpriced generic turkey offerings at several hotels, so Mexican restaurants and diners seemed to be the sole options. I read about Tacqueria La Paisanita in the Dallas Observer, it was award the best tacos al pastor and a quick confirmed they were open on Thanksgiving.

 

We headed out on our way to the Cowboys game and grabbed a taco and a gordita. 

$1 Taco Al Pastor (8)

The taco came garnished with cilantro and onions.  The pork was moderately tender. It came prepared in chunks, rather than sliced that we ubiquitously see in Los Angeles. The highlight, though, was the greasy homemade corn tortilla. I can't remember the last time I had an al pastor taco this good. Well, actually it was week earlier at Tacos Leo in LA.  Nonetheless, this version was a worthy representation. 

$1.95 Barbacao Gordita (7)

We order another item to get us through the game.  The barbacao gordita sounded like the next best item on the menu and it satisfied. A homemade bun layered with cooked down brisket and marinated onions. Simple, good ingredients, and greasy enough to suffice on gameday. After all I had to give a speech later on in the day to rally the troops at halftime.

Wingfield's Breakfast and Burgers

2615 S Beckley Ave
Dallas, TX 75224

(214) 943-5214

  
It was our first day in Texas, we woke up early and raced three miles, loser paid for dinner at Pappas Bros later that night. We got dressed and headed out for our first meal, a light snack at Wingfield's. I first read about Wingfield's on Chowhound. I was frequently mentioned on the Top 10 dishes to try in Dallas. It was awarded Best Burger by the Dallas Observer in 2009 and on their 100 Favorite Dishes, landing at #67.

We had just tried a few burgers back in Los Angeles and we eager to try the Lonestar state's offerings. Wingfield's was in a rougher part of town and we called ahead to get our order started. At 11AM, it took 20 minutes to prepare a bacon cheeseburger.

Once inside, there is limited room, so we got our burger to go and ate it in the car. The patty was huge, but lacked flavor and was substantially overcooked. The bacon matched the patty in size and in flavor. No sweet bacon grizzle flavor was present. The whole thing is a mess and I can see why people suggest bringing your own napkins as none were provided. I think Wingfield's survives on a local following craving their portions, rather than good quality meat.

2010 Texas Thanksgiving Trip

 

My girlfriend is a big Dallas Cowboys fan and wanted to check out a game at Cowboys Stadium. After looking at the game schedule, we zeroed in on the Saints game and decided to spend Thanksgiving weekend in Texas. I know it sounds so ignorant, but I never really thought of Texas as a food destination high on my list. But after a little research and help from my friends at Chowhound, we were very excited about all the options and impressed at how serious Texans took meat.

(Cowboys vs. Saints)                                (The Alamo)       

Our visit started in Dallas on Wednesday and down to Austin on Friday via West and Waco. Then, a couple side trips to Lexington, Luling, San Antonio, Lockhart and Taylor. Before flying out of Austin on Monday night. We had 38 restaurants planned, but were only able to get to 29 due to timing, Thanksgiving closures, and caloric limitations (Please see last pic in Louie Mueller post). We ranked the restaurants on the flight to Dallas based  on our expectations and we ranked them once again after the trip based on or experience. I've included our average scores below.

(Inside the capital)                                     (Fair Park)    

(Tower of the Americas)                        (Swiss Ave.Fair Park)   

We had high expectations with the barbecue and it lived up to the hype. Some of the surprises were Village Bakery, Gourdough's and City Market Barbecue.  Some of the disappoints were Black's Barbecue, Rosario's and a couple taco chains. And avoid Little Czech Bakery at all costs on your drive through West, TX.

 (Mark Cuban's house)                          (Outside the capital)     

(Happy meal McDonald's)                       (Jerry Jones' house)      

I've included lots of pictures and videos as I found Texans haven't succumbed to photographing their food, understandable.

            (Texas countryside)                       (#1 Cowboys Fan, Miss Price)      

Order	Restaurant	Rank Before	Rank After	Diff
1	Wingfield's Breakfast and Burgers	25	26	(2)
2	Stephan Pyles	2	12	(10)
3	Twisted Root Burger Co.	8	9	(1)
4	Pappas Bros.	9	4	5
5	Tacqueria La Paisanita	24	19	5
6	Fuel City Tacos	22	20	2
7	Whataburger	29	29	-
8	Snuffer's	19	15	4
9	Babe's	12	10	2
10	Village Bakery	28	8	20
11	Gerik's Ole Czech	24	16	8
12	Little Czech Bakery	26	28	(2)
13	Fonda San Miguel	9	17	(9)
14	Snow's BBQ	5	11	(6)
15	City Market BBQ	10	1	9
16	Beto's	22	23	(2)
17	Henry's Puffy Taco	21	27	(7)
18	Rosario's	14	24	(11)
19	Franklin BBQ	9	3	6
20	Antonelli's Cheese Shop	21	21	(1)
21	Gourdough's	13	5	8
22	Torchy's Taco	17	25	(8)
23	Tacos El Rico	15	18	(3)
24	La Condesa	13	6	7
25	Texas Pie Company	22	14	8
26	Smitty's Market	2	2	(1)
27	Black's Barbeque	8	22	(15)
28	Kreuz Market	5	7	(3)
29	Louie Mueller Barbeque	9	13	(5)

 

     (Texas countryside)                              (Texas countryside)     

Thanks again to all the Chowhounders that helped plan our trip. We'll be back to check out the state fair and the Red River Rivalry and can't wait to get our hands on some more meat.