DFW.com Burger of the Week: Bennett’s Grocery & Deli in Burleson
After spotlighting high-end burgers for the first few entries in our DFW.com burger quest, we decided to go in the opposite direction for this week's pick and focus on the simple pleasures of a thin-patty burger at Bennett's Grocery & Deli.
Located on a winding, busy back road on the east side of Burleson, Bennett's has been in business nearly 50 years. Tommy Bennett's parents opened the first incarnation, a country store, in 1970, then built a larger building across the street with gas pumps and a grill. After his parents passed away, Tommy took over the business full-time; his daughter Carolyn runs the grill.
Breakfast is served daily, along with rotating lunch specials of the home-cooking kind, such as chicken-fried steak, and housemade desserts. Burgers are the main draw: Starting around 11 a.m., locals line up at the counter to order, then wait in window-seat booths for their burgers to arrive, the hum of the highway, the revving of rigs and the snap-crackle-pop of the flat top in the background.
The burger: Burgers are inexpensive; all are under $10. Patties range between one-third pound and a quarter pound, and are served in singles or doubles. You can have them topped with American cheese, bacon or chili. We opted for a single bacon cheeseburger, which cost $5.09.
The patty: Cooking thin patties any way but well done is difficult, so we knew the patty would be short on juice. But we loved its charred edges, hearty, smoky flavor and simple salt and pepper seasoning.
The bun: Tossed on the grill, the white Mrs Baird’s buns had nice toasty edges that keep the contents from tumbling out.
The toppings: Basic but good: Crispy iceberg lettuce, juicy slices of tomatoes and crinkle pickles, crunchy twirls of onions. We asked for mayo and got a healthy schmear of it. The slice of American cheese was still oozing onto the patty upon our first bite. Two strips of bacon were soft and salty.
The sides: Go for the plump onion rings, cooked "extra crispy;" their edges will be nicely browned.
The verdict: Those who dig Greasy Bend in Fort Worth and Burger Bar in Cleburne should add this to their rotations. It's what you want from a good, old-school, frills-free burger.
Bennett's Grocery & Deli, 1465 E. Renfro St., Burleson. 817-295-8831. Open until 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; closed Sunday. Burgers are half-priced 5-8 p.m. Mondays.
This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 10:58 PM with the headline "DFW.com Burger of the Week: Bennett’s Grocery & Deli in Burleson."