It's a lovely sunny, albeit cold-ish day here in North Texas. I started my day by having a rewarding conversation with a new contact and was in high spirits. Next, I met up with PinTrish at Starbucks for our weekly check-in. Small chat with the Barista garnered me a 25% off my triple espresso con panna and berry coffee cake. SCORE! If he calls me sweetie again next week, I might have a "Coffee Husband". At 11:30, we left to meet up with the burger crew.
Scro's selection this week was Del's Charcoal Burgers off Beltline in Richardson. Visit their website for a charming video about the restaurant; I didn't watch it in advance or look at any reviews as I wanted to make up my own mind, but it is a good reflection of the place.
Here's me basically sitting on PinTrish's lap to get a double selfie.
Breet and Scro arrived first. After hugs and pleasantries, we went inside to order - the place was packed. Not a lot of seating, but that's always a good indication that the food is going to be good.
I went for a simple cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, with a side of fries and a Coke. The wait was about ten minutes so I weaved through the crowd to use the Ladies. Quite comically, the women's restroom has Marilyn Monroe on the outside and the Gent's displays James Dean. There's a lot of 50's and early 60's era "stuff" on the walls. Likely has been there since the grand opening 60 years ago.
The bathroom was clean, small, and had a hook for your purse. Nice liquid hand soap and ample paper towels. It's not the Ritz, but much better than I expected. And the light came on automatically, which is one less germy thing to touch.
This "art" had me confused. I think it looks like two dudes, a la Brokeback Mountain, enjoying a sunny afternoon with their horses. Maybe it actually is a female gazing down at her man, but she wasn't very attractively painted.
I left the lavatory and meandered back to the counter to wait on my order. Seems like it took a while, but we are talking about open flame, charcoal burgers. There was one guy on the grill, one on side orders and one at the register. I think the owner was walking around doing "manager" things and another support staff on the ketchup, napkins, general fulfillment. That's all this tiny place needed. It was lovely out so we opted for a table in the sun.
Lala, Mama Love and Totes McCoates arrived.
It's good to see their smiling, happy faces each week. A little bit of catch up on work-type things, but we tried to keep the conversation on other topics. At one point, a discussion on breastfeeding turned rather gross and poor Lala needed to rinse her ears out with soap.
Well, that's what happens when you have lunch with THIS GUY!
You're welcome Ladies.
Food was ready and we got down to business.
It's a big burger.
The fries are perfectly in-between crunchy and soft. The cheese is actually grated cheddar placed on top of the burger after it's off the grill. It got a little melty, but not the way I'm used to.
PinTrish opted for onion rings. Scro got sweet potato fries and Breet, Texan that he is, ordered the tots. The tots were the bomb-digity. We debated the merits of at-home versus away tots for a short while. Yes, these are the lunch conversations of our lives.
Chomp, chomp, chomp. Then I took a fun in the sun selfie.
It didn't come out so well.
Verdict from Breet?
Ambiance – 8 (Americana and Texas kitsch with a 50's vibe. Note: the seating is old and you think you're going to break chairs and swings. Sit with caution.)
Burger – 7.5 (Grated cheese was a little weird. They mix onion in with the meat. Cooked on the medium well side.)
Cleanliness – 9
Drinks – 8.5 (I didn't have a root beer, but they do have a nice selection of non-alcoholic beverages.)
Location – 5 (They can't help it, but it's on the corner in old downtown Richardson. Parking can be an issue.)
Misc. – 7 (All walks of life congregate here. Feels a little like a hofbrauhaus. That's a good thing.)
Restroom – 8 (Suprisingly clean and cute. Questionable man-snuggle artwork.)
Sides – 7.5 (Great variety. Quite tasty.)
Staff – 8.5 (No-nonsense and efficient with a smile on their face. You need to get your own napkins and tableware, and you need to bus yourself. Not fancy, not needed.)
Bonus points – 10 (Two words: Fried Twinkies.)
TOTAL SCORE: 79
of a possible 100.
I think Del's Charcoal Burgers have the highest score so far. That said, I was a little rough on Haystack's since it was the first tour stop; might need to adjust their score.
I didn't finish, but the price was right (about $7) and the companionship made it a perfect outing.
See you on the flip side!
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