Simply Burgers’ presentation is anything but simple. Christopher Blay
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Simply Large (and Tasty)
Massive burgers lurk in the heart of Mansfield.
By LAURIE BARKER JAMES
Simply Burgers
1219 E Debbie Ln, Ste 117, Mansfield. 817-453-9911. 11am-9pm Mon-Thu, 11am-9:30pm Fri-Sat. Additional locations in Bedford, Fort Worth, and North Arlington. M/C, Visa. No checks.
It was a plain burger joint with a plain name in a cookie-cutter strip mall in the asphalt wilderness of Mansfield, so expectations were low. And wrong.
Simply Burgers looks like it was originally intended to be a sushi restaurant. The architecture is angular, the hues organic, the dishes and bowls unusually shaped, and lights low-hanging. But in terms of choice and service, Simply Burgers is about as far from a sushi restaurant as you can get. The menu is brief: just nine burgers, four fried and/or grilled sandwiches, a couple of hot dogs, four fried fish treats, and four salads. There are no floats, shakes, or sweets of any kind. You order at the counter. You serve your own drinks. When your order’s ready, it’s run out to you. “Simply,” indeed.
The half-pound burger patties were freshly made, nicely seasoned, and perfectly cooked. The sweet potato fries came right out of the freezer but had a zesty salt-and-pepper seasoning to them. The “fresh-cut Idaho potato fries” had the skin on and lived up to their menu deDELETEion. Whatever Simply Burgers is using for grill seasoning, it also goes on the taters. The end result: fries whose crispy goodness will be devoured at record pace.
Simply Burgers serves a wide range of traditional burger-joint appetizers such as fried okra, mozzarella sticks, and stuffed jalapeños. The only unusual offering is the jalapeño strips: skinless slices battered and deep-fried. Though just barely spicy, they still made for a tasty, light snack.
The blue cheese burger was a six-napkin double-fister of grilled onions, tangy blue cheese, and a mound of beef on a huge, fresh, grilled, buttery bun. (The owner said the buns come from a nearby specialty bakery. They’re exceptional.) A recommendation for the blue-cheeser: add the grilled ’shrooms.
About three-fourths of the way through the standard cheeseburger, an athletic teenager at the table announced that he was full. Really? Yes. In all honesty, even the “kids’ ” quarter-pounder could have satisfied a peckish adult, massive and non-quarter-pound-looking as it was.
To atone for eating too many jalapeño strips, another diner ordered the grilled Cajun chicken breast salad: a hefty serving (no kidding, right?) of mixed greens (not just iceberg) with some daintily carved carrot “roses.” Atop the vegetable bounty was what looked to be a full half of a chicken breast, seasoned with something definitely Cajun and spicy. It was an unexpected treat, especially when combined with in-house-prepared ranch dressing.
The presentation is surprisingly fetching at Simply Burgers, especially for the salad. A single complaint: the burnt-tasting iced tea.
Though there weren’t many diners on a recent lunch visit, a ton of people walked in and carried out. There are four Simply Burgers locations in the area, including one in Bedford on Industrial Boulevard, one in North Arlington on Northeast Green Oaks Road, and one in Fort Worth on Trinity Boulevard. If you’re looking for a good hamburger without a lot of fuss, Simply Burgers will do the trick.
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