At Midway Point, patrons have a choice of two burgers - 1/4 pound for $5.25 or 3/4 pound for $6.25. Cheese, grilled onions, bacon, jalapenos are all $0.50 extra a piece. We all ordered 3/4 pound burgers and were told that they take 25 minutes to cook even though the menu says 20 minutes. I ordered a 3/4 pound cheddar burger with bacon and grilled onions with mayonnaise and no pickles lettuce or tomato. All burgers are served with a choice of Home Fries, Cottage Fries or Curly Q Fries. I ordered the cottage fries per the suggestion of our server. Since the burgers were going to take 25 minutes, we ordered an appetizer of onion rings to share.
Five minutes later, the onion rings arrived piping hot fresh out of the fryer. The thick slices onions were coated with a tempura batter which gave a good crunch and a good sweet onion taste with every bite.
Very close to the 25 minutes promised by our server, the burgers arrived at our table all cut in half wrapped in paper with the fries on the side. The first things I noticed were that my burger was served with lettuce tomato and pickle and it was very well done. I didn't specify a temperature but I wasn't expecting well done but should have known with a 25 minute wait to cook the burgers.
Picture of the burger:
I wasn't overwhelmed with flavor with the first bite of the burger. The vegetables and mayonnaise were placed on the bottom bun and four slices of bacon and grilled purple onions were placed on top of the patty and then a single slice of American cheese was placed on top of the bacon. The first bite was underwhelming - it was another very dry somewhat tasteless patty which was probably a combination of being cooked well done and cutting the burger in half. The bun was also a little too thin to hold a burger of that size.
Overall the burger was an average burger. The grilled onions, bacon and bun tasted really good but when I go back, I will definitely ask for the burger to be cooked medium or medium rare. Also I would like cheddar cheese or a few more slices of American cheese. Finally the fries were good but not great. They were hand cut but inconsistent. Some were thin and crispy while others were thicker and flabby. The fries were also not seasoned at all.
Ratings (Scale 1-25):
Bun - 17, good flavor somewhat sweet but far too small to hold a 3/4 pound burger
Meat - 14, dry flavorless patty cooked too long, bacon was the saving grace to the meat
Appearance - 18, toppings were fresh, bacon was plentiful, nice large burger but would have been better not cut in half
Taste - 16, crispy bacon, tasty grilled onions, burger and fries needed more seasoning
Overall - 65
Bonus pic of burger cooked medium unfortunately not ordered by me:
While I'm not typically accused of being on the ball, I did notice we weren't asked how we wanted our burger cooked (a first since starting our journey a few weeks back) and had the uncommon foresight to request medium rare...which came out medium. Having previously tried the thick-cut and cottage fries (chips), I ordered the curly fries, which were very good-crispy, battered and seasoned. On this trip I think I ended up with the best order. I say this mostly to justify being the only one of our party of four who didn't take half his burger home...bunch of pansies. Again-knowing how and what to order often has a great impact on the experience and, while mine was better than Rob's, I'd probably still be in the 68-75 range on the Midway Point. I'd also change the tv's to sports and leave the financial news and stock tickers to the wine bars.
ReplyDeleteMedium Rare (Nick)
The "Point" restaurants serve my favorite burger in Dallas. Of course, one has to know the idiosyncrasies. Specify how you want the burger cooked. Medium rare works very will with the 3/4 pounder. I'm a burger purist. Order the 3/4 pounder medium rare with mustard, no cheese lettuce, onion, pickle & tomato and you'll be in burger heaven! The cottage fries are the way to go but you can manage them as well. Specify to your server if you want them regular or crispy. Regular tend to be a little greasy but hey, you didn't come here for rabbit food! I actually like both the regular and crispy. I find when I don't specify one way or the other I usually get a nice combination of both. BTW, Midway Point has WiFi.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how "expert" this particular reviewer is, but I have no doubt that this is my favorite burger in all of DFW. I stop at every opportunity. I don't request temperature myself at the Point and have always had them cooked perfectly... too rare and you have a mess when the bun falls apart (I have seen others do so). I've never had it come out overcooked or well done either... they're perfect for the thickness. I've literally had hundreds of them over the years and the consistency is one of the reasons I go back.
ReplyDeleteI also ask for "no pickle or tomato" and don't remember ever getting it wrong. Cheddar cheese is a better choice due to it's thickness. Ask for crispy cottage fries and they will gladly comply.
I'd recommend this "reviewer" go back and try again. Ask for "rare" or whatever they think best and they will become a fan as well. And it's not just the NW one either, try one of the others, always just as consistent. You won't find a better 3/4lb hamburger anywhere.