Everything is big at the Henderson Tap House. The patio is hugely open and resort-like with a long row of misters guarding the rolled up garage doors. SPORTS and BEER, as a concept, is present like a soccer ball to the mouth. College football helmets, skis, autographed things, Miller Lite Dallas Cowboy ads, and rackets are all bolted to the wall. Every sport ever is represented, except jai alai. (Note: Would anyone support a jai alai-themed gastropub, where burgers are tossed at you at marvelous speeds from those wicker-scooped cesta things? Let me know.). There's enough beer paraphernalia to chase you out of there. Coors Light boxes stand watch above the restroom pathway, just in case you were thinking of not having beers.
There's also the Big Tex burger, which I imagined for an embarrassing amount of time came as the actual Big Tex, prostrate, with that creepy smile, tucked into bun. The Big Tex Burger is 10 bucks, and it comes "grilled medium" with cheddar, smoked bacon, an egg, and BBQ sauce. I added the Parmesan truffle tots, too.
See also: Six Great New Burgers in Dallas
The look is all there. It looks like a burger that's your new favorite thing: There's the butter brushed Brioche bun (that's my night name) and the pristine lettuce draped over a chunky onion ring. There's an egg jammed in there too. Everything looked right with the Big Tex burger. But Big Tex looked fine too, until its mouth erupted in an electrical fire.
The first bite brought a soggy bacon and real bummer of an onion ring, which together was a salty punch on the strength level of Indiana Jones. I think it even made that punch sound effect. Immediately, the most frustrating part of the burger was the over-cooked medium doneness. Why default to a medium grilled burger? It was juicy but lacked that soft-packed richness of a good medium-rare to medium red. The egg yolk exploded nicely but didn't add much more than a runny yellow look. The bacon was floppy and wet throughout, and holy damn Dickies jeans was it salty.
There are other burgers on the Henderson Tap House menu that sound interesting: There's the "Fire Breather" that comes with jalapenos "in the meat" and a cheese steak burger (not online) that sounded terrifying. That one was called the "Tap Out," and it was also noted as being "grilled medium." It all sounds big-flavored and great, but it has to be more than looks.
Henderson Tap House is snug in between Axiom sushi and Gemma at Suite 101-102, 2323 N Henderson Ave, Dallas, TX 75206, and has so much freaking beer.
