Beck's Prime - July 24, 2012

It has been a crazy few months and the Quest for the Ultimate Burger was unfortunately put on the back burner for a while. Also after trying eighty burgers in the D/FW area, we needed a small break to allow some new places to open and get recharged to get back on the quest. This week's burger quest took our group to the recently opened Beck's Prime. The location at the northwest corner of Preston and Forest is the 13th location of Beck's Prime to open and the first in the Dallas area. The restaurant is a fast casual restaurant with a menu featuring mesquite grilled burgers, sandwiches, grilled meat plates, salads and steaks. The Dallas location has taken over a former Jack in the Box and they did a good job of adding a patio as well making the inside warm and inviting with the open dining room and hardwood flooring. When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted the General Manager who told us about the freshness of the meat and the philosophy of the restaurant. He then pointed to the menu above the cashiers and encouraged us to try the burger. I had a variety of burgers to choose from but decided on a bacon cheddar burger with grilled onions, a regular sized fry and a large iced tea which cost $17.16. One of the expeditors gave me my drink along with a buzzer to let me know when my burger would be ready. After a short wait, the buzzer went off and the following burger and fries was delivered to my table:





The first thing that I noticed was the abundance of juices that was dripping off the burger and the smell of the hickory wood smoke from the patty. The sesame seed bun was lightly toasted and both sides of the bun were slathered with mayonnaise. The bottom bun was topped with cheddar cheese, the patty and then another thick slice of cheddar cheese. Lightly grilled onion rings were placed on the top slice of cheese and then two small crispy slices of bacon topped the grilled onions. Taking my first bite, I enjoyed the combination of fresh beef and cheddar cheese. The cheddar wasn't overpowering but it was nicely melted and added a nice texture and flavor to the medium cooked patty. The patty was lightly seasoned so that the flavor of the beef was the primary focus in each bite. I was a little disappointed that the flavor of the bacon and grilled onions didn't really stand out in this burger. Both were good on their own; however, I would have liked another slice of bacon and for the onions to have been caramelized slightly more. Finally I thought that the thick hand cut fries were cooked very well. They were served crispy and unseasoned but with the salt and pepper grinders on the table, it was easy to add a little salt and pepper to them.

Overall, I thought that Beck's Prime served a really good but expensive burger. It will be sticker shock to some when they go through the drive-thru but the product is definitely a step above most drive-thru burger places. The meat is fresh ground every morning and cooking over mesquite gives the burger a great flavor profile. I will be visiting to try the sandwich offerings and possibly even the sixteen ounce grilled ribeye steak.

Ratings (1-25:)

Bun - 20, lightly toasted, good flavor, held up to very juicy burger

Meat - 20, fresh beef patty, cooked well, lightly seasoned, bacon was average

Appearance - 21, very good looking combination of beef cheese and bun, fresh ingredients

Taste - 20, very good showing from a new restaurant, good flavors, enjoyable burger

Overall - 81