Dairy-ette - July 6, 2010

This week's quest for the ultimate burger took us to 9785 Ferguson Road in east Dallas to visit Dairy-ette which has been cooking burgers, fries and shakes since 1956. Dairy-ette is a drive-in with seating for around twenty people inside the restaurant. It is worth going in at least once to see the original soda fountain root beer keg which is filled with root beer made fresh in the restaurant. Our group decided to sit at the bar and we were greeted by a friendly server who asked us what we like to order. I ordered a bacon double cheeseburger with grilled onions and a side of fries. Total price with a jumbo iced tea was just over eleven dollars. Drinks were served and about ten minutes later the following burger was placed in front of me:




The top and bottom bun were lightly toasted and four slices of bacon were placed on the bottom bun and then topped with melted American cheese. The two patties which had been cooked on a flattop were each topped with slices of American cheese and placed on the bottom bun and finally diced grilled onions were placed on the top patty. I was expecting thinner patties similar to Keller's or Jake's but there seemed to be over a half-pound of meat in the two patties. Taking a bite of the burger, the layers of burger, cheese, bacon, onions and bun blended nicely in each bite. The lightly seasoned patties were cooked well done but still stayed fairly juicy. The bacon was cooked crispy but still slightly chewy in each bite which allowed you to get a nice flavor of smoke and pork in each bite of the burger. The bun was a standard plain hamburger bun but it didn't fall apart even with the large amount of toppings placed on it. The grilled onions were sliced and caramelized which added a bit of sweetness and crunch to the burger. Finally the fries are some of the best in Dallas especially if you like never frozen fries. Dairy-ette slices fresh potatoes everyday and the fries come out of the deep fryer with a nice crisp but fluffy inside of each fry.


Overall, Dairy-ette prepared an extremely good burger. The patties were thick and tasty and the gooey melted cheese and bacon added nicely to each bite of the burger. The grilled onions and bun were a nice compliment to overall burger. The next time I go I will probably stick with the single patty cheeseburger so I can leave room for one of their ice cream shakes.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 19, average bun, nicely toasted, held up well to large amount of toppings placed on it


Meat - 21, thick lightly seasoned patties, bacon cooked perfectly, great flavor in each bite


Appearance - 22, great appearance of melted cheese, nicely cooked patties, bacon and grilled onions


Taste - 21, nice flavors in each bite, well seasoned burger with fresh ingredients


Overall - 83


Bonus Picture of Fries: