First Look: Stackhouse Burger

by Monica Rachel

Oh how I wish I could keep this place a secret. My husband Kevin and I are afraid that last night was the only time we’ll be able to get a table at Stackhouse Burger on the awesome second floor patio and see the view of Dallas. Yes – it is THAT good.

You’ve seen the menu I’m sure, so I don’t need to tell you about that. When we walked in around 8ish on their first day of soft opening, they were serving the full menu but had run out of Mac and Cheese.   

What I was pleasantly surprised by were the drink options. They have about 8-10 different options each of white and red wines and several craft beers. I am so happy to find a place that I can go on a casual night and not be forced to choose between cheap wine or beer. I had a Cline Cashmere for $8 a glass.          

We started out with the Chips and Dip with added blue cheese crumbles. Oh my! They melted blue cheese on a basket of house-made potato chips. They reminded us of the blue cheese potato chips at Jasper’s, but because they were topped with just the melted cheese instead of a sauce, they were much less messy and still incredibly tasty. The two small cups of house-made French onion dip were thick and rich and a perfect accompaniment.

Kevin had a burger. He was asked if he wanted it “pink or done”, and he got his “pink”. The girls at the register were unsure what kind of meat was used (other than “really tasty beef”) but Randy Kienast, one of the owners, told us later that he had a special high quality blend created. It was all double ground to get the ideal consistency. The tomato and onion toppings were sliced incredibly thin and placed evenly around the burger so that every bite was a perfect blend of every burger element.

The bun was light and had a perfect crisp around the edges. I think Kevin got a tear in his eye when he saw that he was down to the last bite.

I had the Portobello sandwich. I added smoked provolone and avocado. It was a large meaty mushroom cooked just enough, but not the least bit mushy. The sandwich was piled high with spinach and roasted red pepper. By the time I reached my last couple of bites, the bun was laden with juices from all the veggies. You can tell Vegan Girl that she should go try this out. The owner has lots of friends in the Dallas cycling community who are vegan or vegetarian, so he wanted to make sure they are accommodated too.

Topping it all off was a chocolate shake. Thick and rich and worth the calories!

The atmosphere is what we have been waiting for in our neighborhood. I’m so excited it is within walking distance of our house. The owners have remodeled an old house but kept the structure intact. The space fits in well with the neighboring Meadows foundation community. The upstairs patio surrounds the A-frame roof of the back of the house which houses a flat screen TV and a grouping of comfy outdoor couches. It seems like each table up there will have a pretty good view of both the TV and the Dallas skyline.

We were lucky to get to meet Randy the owner and visit with him for a while. He is a very nice guy and very personally invested in every aspect of this business. Although he doesn’t have an extensive background in restaurants, he has worked to make everything that comes out of his kitchen something this foodie would be happy to eat. After talking to him, we really WANT him to succeed and be our neighbor for years to come.

I think our only question now is if we will wait until the weekend to go back.

Look for more on Stackhouse Burger in the coming days on craveDFW.com.