If you are gonna stop by for a burger here, you better do it during a normal lunch or dinner time hours. I have called up there at 1:45 pm on Saturday to order a burger and been told by 'Bucket' that she's turned off the grill because it was slow today and I would have to wait until dinner.
That's the type of place she runs. If the local teenagers get a little unruly, she is quick to usher them out the door or get them back in line. Her boisterous voice carries over the jukebox playing in the corner, warning those who get a little rambunctious to tone it down a notch.
My first venture there was with my friend Chris. He and I stopped by for lunch. No need to vocalize what he wanted, Bucket knew his order and was waiting on mine. I followed his lead and ordered up the Jr Burger Combo. Although it has been a while back, it seems like the cost was about $4 for the 1/4 lb burger, fries and a drink. I think they might have gone up on the price a little bit now, but it is still well within reason.
Even though the Jr burger is the smaller bun and patty, I left feeling satisfied with the portion. It was so good, in fact, I was back in there the next day ordering up another combo for dinner.
I stumbled upon my favorite burger there sometime later, the Captain's Mate. It was at the insistence of my friend David Bryan. He and the family stopped by BnB one Saturday evening and he tried one and it was 'ggoooooooodddd'. When David talks about food like that, it has to be tried.
The worst part for me, however, was they weren't open on Sunday and I wouldn't be back in Graham for another week. That was a long week thinking about that burger. Like a dog who goes looking for a bone he buried, I navigated right to BnB the next Saturday and ordered up a burger.
The Captain's Mate (or, my choice, the smaller Mini Captain's Mate) is a half-pound burger with swiss cheese and shaved ham on top. It's my choice of 'drug' when I need a burger fix at the BnB.
For all of the burgers served at BnB, the patty starts off being hand formed every day by the staff. And, the final product shows the attention to detail. The patty is slightly thick and it comes out cooked perfectly on the flat top grill. They get just a bit of crust on the meat, indicative of a nice, hot, seasoned grill.
The burgers are always made fresh to order and the combo meal is well in line with your budget. In fact, I have told Bucket on more than one occasion she could raise the price a bit and not hurt herself. My comments were purely selfish. I would rather pay a few cents more and know they will be around for the long haul than save a few pennies and watch them go out of business because they can't pay the bills.
There are several great things on the menu at BnB besides the Captain's Mate. I have found the patty melt to be a nice alternative to the typical burger. It is served on Texas Toast and is a nice change of pace to the normal burger bun.
One more thing I can't rave about enough are the onion rings. This is another recommendation from David. The rings look to be hand battered and made on-site. The final product looks more like an 'onion loaf' when they arrive at your table. They look like they are sort of piled into the deep fryer on top of each other. Hanging on for dear life in the hot boiling grease, these tender, battered onions cling to each other as if vowing they will all go down together. The result is an 'onion ring clump' that borders on spectacular. Toss on a little 'hot salt' they have on each table while they are still moist from the grease and you have some kicked-up rings that are worth raving about.
Burgers and Billards can be found at 1222 Hwy 16 South, Graham, TX. Their phone number is 940-521-0113. They are tucked in off the road a bit, right next to the What-A-Burger, so you have to look kinda close to see them.
As for the Texas Burger Stop's rating, here goes:
- Patty Size and Style: hand formed, medium thick patty
- Cooking style: grilled on a flat top
- Char: good char throughout the patty
- Bun: grilled bun
- Vegetables: fresh veggies
- Napkins needs: one napkin should do
- Special attributes: Stop in for a few games of pool after a good burger
- Ownership: locally owned, non chain
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