it's cold, i need fatty foods.
I was hungry. It was over the holidays so there was no work. Thus the idea to go for the second burger in a week was born.
T and I had been to Langford’s after the Race for the Cure last year but only for breakfast. I’m not sure about all the history of this place (that in and of itself is likely an entire blog) but it’s been a staple in the west of downtown neighborhood for quite some time. They don’t take anything other than cash and they don’t stay open past 3pm, because… they simple don’t have to. The plastic table cloths change with the seasons, seeing as it was Christmas we were treated to a variety of snowmen, snowflakes and various holiday themes. Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives has made an appearance here and they proudly display their poster signed by Guy himself. Furthermore, don’t expect them to actually have ‘Groceries’ here, unless they are the type your grandpa would refer to (as in, ‘woman, I’m hungry, feed me my groceries’). All that being said, their burger is one that is consistently on various ‘Best Burgers’ lists so I knew I was in for at least a ‘Good’ one.
Seating is hard to come by, but since it was a little chilly we were able to grab a table outside on the patio. They have a good selection of standard burgers on their menu: The Grim with Mac&Cheese, Bacon, fried egg and jalapenos, or the South of the Border with cheese, pico, avocado and cilantro dressing. They also seem to have various burgers ‘specials’, like today they had a Wasabi burger (less details are on the Specials board, so I never found out what that entailed). In trying to keep some version of consistency I didn’t want to get to far off the beaten path, so decided to go with a Firehouse, which is their Old Fashion with the addition of habenero sauce. The waitress asked if I’d had the sauce before, and since I hadn’t she suggested getting the sauce on the side ‘just in case’. I’m not afraid of really hot things, but agreed.
While we waited, the table next to us, which appeared to be filled with U of H students attempted a ‘burger challenge' of their own. They all ordered the Firehouse with the sauce on the burger and then started a timer to see who could finish it fastest. The winner clocked in around 3 minutes, but then proceeded to whine about how he didn’t enjoy it…and then the heat caught up to him. Amusing way to pass the time while we waited…
Ours finally arrived. I’ll give them that it’s a dive, the burgers are served in plastic baskets, and the condiments are kept in cardboard six pack holders on the table, but from the start I was impressed with the size of the burger. Their patties aren’t super thick, but they fill the bun. As for the bun, it’s not anything special, just the usual sesame seed white bread bun. However, in this case, it simply functions as a blank slate for guts of the burger. The patty is perfectly peppered, which provides a great spicy flavor to the meat. I was really impressed by the actual flavor that they coax out of something as simple as ground beef, no fancy additives needed. The veggies are crisp/crunchy without making you feel like there’s a salad on top of your burger. As I added the habenero sauce to the burger, I was really happy for the good quality of the lettuce and tomato, they helped cut the burn of the sauce. Speaking of that sauce, it’s amazing as a French fry topping as well! It’s super hot and smoky, layered over a mustard base and simply a great addition to whatever you put it on and I don’t even like mustard!
I won’t spend much time on the fries, they are good but for a fry snob such as myself, they weren’t impressive. They were your usual ‘restaurant style’ fry, not to thick, not to thin, cooked well and salted correctly it’s just that they didn’t shine next to the burger.
I can’t say enough about how good the meat is here at Langford’s, and since meat is the guts of the burger, it stands to reason this is one of the best in town. As for any sides, overall I’d say it’s just a much better idea to save your calories and just scarf your entire burger. Why save something that good for later?
STARS: 4.8
Lankford Grocery & Market
88 Dennis Street
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 522-9555
T and I had been to Langford’s after the Race for the Cure last year but only for breakfast. I’m not sure about all the history of this place (that in and of itself is likely an entire blog) but it’s been a staple in the west of downtown neighborhood for quite some time. They don’t take anything other than cash and they don’t stay open past 3pm, because… they simple don’t have to. The plastic table cloths change with the seasons, seeing as it was Christmas we were treated to a variety of snowmen, snowflakes and various holiday themes. Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives has made an appearance here and they proudly display their poster signed by Guy himself. Furthermore, don’t expect them to actually have ‘Groceries’ here, unless they are the type your grandpa would refer to (as in, ‘woman, I’m hungry, feed me my groceries’). All that being said, their burger is one that is consistently on various ‘Best Burgers’ lists so I knew I was in for at least a ‘Good’ one.
Seating is hard to come by, but since it was a little chilly we were able to grab a table outside on the patio. They have a good selection of standard burgers on their menu: The Grim with Mac&Cheese, Bacon, fried egg and jalapenos, or the South of the Border with cheese, pico, avocado and cilantro dressing. They also seem to have various burgers ‘specials’, like today they had a Wasabi burger (less details are on the Specials board, so I never found out what that entailed). In trying to keep some version of consistency I didn’t want to get to far off the beaten path, so decided to go with a Firehouse, which is their Old Fashion with the addition of habenero sauce. The waitress asked if I’d had the sauce before, and since I hadn’t she suggested getting the sauce on the side ‘just in case’. I’m not afraid of really hot things, but agreed.
While we waited, the table next to us, which appeared to be filled with U of H students attempted a ‘burger challenge' of their own. They all ordered the Firehouse with the sauce on the burger and then started a timer to see who could finish it fastest. The winner clocked in around 3 minutes, but then proceeded to whine about how he didn’t enjoy it…and then the heat caught up to him. Amusing way to pass the time while we waited…
Ours finally arrived. I’ll give them that it’s a dive, the burgers are served in plastic baskets, and the condiments are kept in cardboard six pack holders on the table, but from the start I was impressed with the size of the burger. Their patties aren’t super thick, but they fill the bun. As for the bun, it’s not anything special, just the usual sesame seed white bread bun. However, in this case, it simply functions as a blank slate for guts of the burger. The patty is perfectly peppered, which provides a great spicy flavor to the meat. I was really impressed by the actual flavor that they coax out of something as simple as ground beef, no fancy additives needed. The veggies are crisp/crunchy without making you feel like there’s a salad on top of your burger. As I added the habenero sauce to the burger, I was really happy for the good quality of the lettuce and tomato, they helped cut the burn of the sauce. Speaking of that sauce, it’s amazing as a French fry topping as well! It’s super hot and smoky, layered over a mustard base and simply a great addition to whatever you put it on and I don’t even like mustard!
I won’t spend much time on the fries, they are good but for a fry snob such as myself, they weren’t impressive. They were your usual ‘restaurant style’ fry, not to thick, not to thin, cooked well and salted correctly it’s just that they didn’t shine next to the burger.
I can’t say enough about how good the meat is here at Langford’s, and since meat is the guts of the burger, it stands to reason this is one of the best in town. As for any sides, overall I’d say it’s just a much better idea to save your calories and just scarf your entire burger. Why save something that good for later?
STARS: 4.8
Lankford Grocery & Market
88 Dennis Street
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 522-9555
