Meddlesome Moth - May 20, 2010

This week's burger quest took us to Oak Lawn Avenue in the Design District to try the burger at Meddlesome Moth, Shannon Wynne's newest venture. The kitchen of Meddlesome Moth is headed up by Chad Kelley and the menu focuses on small plates of food designed to go well with over 40 draft beers and 75 bottled beers. We walked in and were promptly seated by the host and were given a dinner and beer menu and the lunch menu. Unfortunately the kitchen was unable to prepare any of the small plates featured at dinner but the lunch menu still had a nice array of salads, entrees, sandwiches and a cheeseburger featuring Burgundy Pastures beef from Grandview, Texas, fresh lettuce and tomato, horseradish pickles, aged cheddar cheese and a side of hand cut fries for $12. I ordered the cheeseburger cooked medium and waited while enjoying the stained glass windows which were previously featured at the Hard Rock Cafe on McKinney Avenue. While waiting I could look into the kitchen where I saw the meat for the burger being weighed and the patty hand formed before being cooked on a flattop. About ten minutes later the following burger was placed on the table:




The thick patty was placed on top of a thin bakery style bottom bun and then topped with a thick slice of cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes and lettuce and a fairly thick top bun. Taking a bite I was surprised at how juicy the patty was. Even though the patty was cooked to a medium well, it was still very juicy and I could taste the freshness of the grass fed beef and the salt and pepper seasoning. The flat top cooking gave the burger a nice crispy outside which I enjoyed. The cheddar cheese added a salty somewhat smoky flavor to each bite and the lettuce was crisp in each bite. The bun was probably my least favorite part of the burger. It had a good flavor but the bottom bun didn't hold up well to the juiciness of the patty and the top bun was slightly too thick. The fries were some of the best hand cut fries that I have had. They were lightly salted and the server then cracked fresh pepper over them. The fries were cooked to a good crisp and weren't soggy like a lot of hand cut fries tend to get after cooking. While I didn't put the horseradish pickles on my burger, they made for a tasty snack in between bites of the burger.


While more expensive than most burgers, overall I thought that Meddlesome Moth created a great burger offering. The service was top notch, the burger was tasty and I would definitely like to return to try some of the small plate offerings and the 115 different beers that are offered to patrons while enjoying a beautiful afternoon on the patio looking towards downtown Dallas.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 18, bun tasted good but was slightly too thick on the top and too thin on the bottom


Meat - 22, fresh grass fed beef, crispy crust, nicely seasoned


Appearance - 21, nice presentation of the burger, fresh ingredients


Taste - 21, great flavor in the beef and cheese, all the parts worked well together


Overall - 82