Maple and Motor Burgers & Beer - October 7, 2009

Yesterday's burger quest took us to corner of Motor and Maple near downtown Dallas to try the cuisine of Maple and Motor Burgers & Beer. This small restaurant has only been open a few weeks and has a menu of burgers, baloney sandwiches, brisket sandwiches and chicken sandwiches. Sides include tots, fries and onion rings. The restaurant is currently applying for its liquor license so for the time being, patrons are given two glasses of beer. When you step inside the restaurant, you see the cooks grilling up burgers behind the cash register and a jukebox is in the far corner. There is also a three seat bar next to the cash register. All burgers are cooked with a hand formed 8 oz patty and you have a choice of American, cheddar or pepper jack cheese. I placed my order for a bacon cheddar burger with grilled onions and mayo, tator tots and ice tea. A beer would have been welcome but too much work had to be done in the afternoon. I was given my number and a glass to fill at the self serve drink station. Choices of drinks included RC Cola, root beer, sweet tea, unsweet tea and Jolly Rancher tea. The Jolly Rancher tea reminded me of the watermelon tea from Twisted Root. It was slightly sweet and sour and hinted of a Green Apple Jolly Rancher. We sat down at our table and listened to George Jones serenading us from the jukebox and about five minutes later our number was called and burgers and sides were brought to the table:




The burger look wonderful in the white paper lined basket but I noticed that my burger included lettuce and tomato even though I asked that they be taken off. The bun was toasted and the top bun was slightly flattened. The grilled purple onions were chunky but were nicely caramelized. Mayo was put on both the top and bottom bun. Taking my first bite, I got a good combination of fresh patty that was well seasoned along with the smoky flavor of the bacon and the sweetness of the onions. The cheddar cheese really didn't add much to the burger. Maybe a sharper cheddar would have worked better. I noticed when refilling my tea that the buns were Rainbo burger buns so nothing special but they worked well holding the burger together. One thing that we noticed among the table was the inconsistency among the patties. My patty was cooked slightly above medium while other patties were well done including one that was a step above well done. I know part of the problem was that they dropped eleven patties at one time. The side items were probably the only real disappointment - all were perfectly fried but theyseemed to be from a restaurant supply company. The sides weren't bad but they didn't add anything to the burgers especially the onion rings which tasted frozen.


Overall I thought this was one of the best burgers that we have tried so far. The bacon was smoky and the patty was juicy and well seasoned. With a little time to work out the kinks, I think Maple and Motor Burgers & Beer will put out a great burger.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 18, nicely toasted, held up well to the juicy patty, mayo lettuce and tomato


Meat - 22, well seasoned juicy patty, crispy smoky bacon


Appearance - 21, nicely melted cheese, fresh ingredients, well placed ingredients


Taste - 20, slightly overcooked patty but over fresh well seasoned taste


Overall - 81


Bonus Pics of Burger with Grilled Jalapeno's and Sides: