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On the day that our beloved Texas Rangers would clinch the American League West title, TBB went to the Cuevo Club behind home plate for pre-game festivities.
Long before Nolan Ryan & Co mpany acquired the team, Cuevo Club acquired bragging rights as servers of Nolan Ryan Beef on their burgers. We love Nolan Ryan, and he probably has some pretty good beef, but it just doesn’t translate well into mass-produced burgers.
The overall theme is “dry.” The burger is very dense with almost no juice or slop. It had good flavor, but the texture was like, well, Spam. The bun did not help matters. It was also fairly dry, and if it were not for similar tastings of this product, I would say the bun was stale. Pretty sure that’s not the case, but the perception remains.
The picture says it all. Two strip of bacon and a thick slice of cheddar complete the burger, with lettuce, tomato, and onion on the side. There’s a dill pickle spear on the plate along with a handful of once-frozen french fries.
On balance, this was pretty disappointing. A local burger chain called Chapp’s uses Nolan Ryan beef with much greater success. I speculate that the burgers are precooked and pass through a microwave when an order is placed.
Cow Coefficient: 3 (Based on 8 ounces of mediocrity)
Grease Factor: 2 (Based on complete absence of juice. For reference, I would rate a rice cake as “1”)
Veggie Verdict: 3 (No real problems, but the quantity is limited, and I have a personal bias against the assemble-yourself approach to burgers)
Value: The cheeseburger with fries is $10.50. This is actually a pretty good value, considering that you are eating in a place that gets $4.50 for a Coke and $5.00 for a hot dog.
Contact info: In Arlington at the corner of Randol Mill Road and Ballpark Way. The Club is accessed from the first level behind home plate. Note that you’ll need a ticket from one of the premium seats for access, although I suspect that any ticket accompanied by a bit of cash for the doorman will do the job.
I found this one entirely by accident while waiting to go to the Meyerson Symphony Center. It’s at the corner of Routh Street and Flora in the Dallas Arts District. Went in and was seated at the bar because the place was packed. (It’s not very big anyway.)
I tried the “Magic Burger” and fries.
The Magic Burger – aged cheddar, apple wood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles on a toasted English muffin.
My expectations were really low, but was I ever surprised. The burger was juicy (translation – it was greasy!) hot, and wonderful. It had the usual veggies, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and pickle on the side. I didn’t get a picture, but the burger came on an english muffin with the meat “hanging out over the edges of the bun.” (get the 8 oz option.) I ordered mine medium well and it came out medium rare – but it was wonderful anyway. The meat was juicy and had a great taste – no “funky” seasonings. The veggies were fresh and in the righ proportions. The fries were another surprise. They were presented in a vertical cup-like vessel and they were wonderful. Fries were really hot and actually salted! My most reliable comment – “I will go back for another burger.” They have other things on the menu that looked and sounded good/great, but I’ll go back for the burger. The place was truly kinda “highfalutin” but the burger was down home in the best sense of the words. As I stated MUCH better than I expected.
Using my partner’s value scales:
Cow Coefficient: 8.5 (Based on great flavor)
Slop Factor: 8 (Based on the volume of juice/grease) I prefer to call it the grease factor.
Veggie Verdict: 5 (they were fresh and the quantity was right given the size of the burger)
Value: The burger with fries was about $8. Seems a decent value. And, as I mentioned, I consumed the burger at the bar and just watched all the artsy people come and go in The Commissary.
Contact info:
The Commissary – Dallas
1722 Routh Street Suite 102
Dallas, TX 75201
214.643.6557
This burger ranks up there with the famous “Kincaid’s Burger” in Fort Worth – the original version – not the version you get today – although today’s version is good, just not like the original.
 Yes, I appreciate the risks of getting a burger at a wing restaurant, but when you are stuck in a hotel, options are limited. As regular readers will soon learn, many of my trips involve dog shows and competitions, so I have to accommodate the beasts.
I was very pleased with this burger. I picked American cheese from the options of American, Cheddar, Swiss, and Pepper Jack. It comes with shredded lettuce, tomato, and red onion. The kicker is a choice of more than a dozen wing sauces, and I chose the hottest, called “Blazin.” It’s pretty stout—much hotter than Hooter’s Three Mile Island version.
The beef appeared to be hand formed and had noticeable grill marks. It was not dry, but I wouldn’t call it juicy. On balance, it was just right given the high slop factor caused by the abundance of wing sauce. The burger had a good texture, and you felt you were biting into a substantial piece of cow. The cheese was a single slice, well melted onto the beef. The bun was neutral. It did not add to the burger, but it did not—unlike many others—detract.
The burger comes with fries, and they were decent. Similar to McDonald’s fries, actually. They were very hot, and this no doubt helped. I expect these would have been underwhelming if they had cooled a bit.
Cow Coefficient: 7 (Based on great texture and actual grilled flavor)
Slop Factor: 8 (Based on the volume of wing sauce; this was a multi-napkin endevour)
Veggie Verdict: 5 (they were fresh and the quantity was right given the size of the burger)
Value: The cheeseburger with fries is $7.79. Seems a decent value. I got mine to go, and I think they snuck an additional $0.50 onto the bill for this. I would ordinarily be annoyed by this, and think it should have been disclosed. Even so, the bag had more then enough ketchuip, mustard, and mayo enclosed, along with a half-inch stack of napkins. Those napkins were appreciated.
Contact info: 7604 I-35 North, Austin, Texas 78752
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mpany acquired the team, Cuevo Club acquired bragging rights as servers of Nolan Ryan Beef on their burgers. We love Nolan Ryan, and he probably has some pretty good beef, but it just doesn’t translate well into mass-produced burgers.
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