First Look: The Burgers at McKinney Avenue’s Cleaver and Co. Are Fully Legit

Cleaver and Co., a food hall concept with locations previously only in Colorado and Georgia, has since dropped into Dallas with its first stand-alone establishment.

Founded by Pat Garza and Pardeep Sharma (of Roti Grill and India Palace), Cleaver and Co. debuted its McKinney Avenue Dallas location in mid-February with a focus on elevated burgers, chicken sandwiches and hand-spun milkshakes.

The space and vibe can be described as casual butcher shop meets sports bar. Outside of a lone couple who popped in to pick up a to-go order, we had the place to ourselves. Maybe it just happened to be slow at that time (despite being peak lunch window hours), or Cleaver and Co. is still finding its footing (probably this). But if you’re looking for a burger that rises well above your average burger, Cleaver and Co. is a prime candidate. One bite in, and it’s evident the burgers here, all hand-crafted and made to order, are on another tier.

We opened with the West Coast burger ($13.99), a Cali-inspired creation of avocado mash, Monterey jack, tomato, grilled onions, pomegranate butter and cilantro crema. The buns are toasted brioche. You can add fries or tots for an extra two dollars, and you’d be ill-advised not to. The fries here, seasoned in Cleaver and Co.’s house butcher’s spice, are excellent.

Next, we tried the Texas Jalapeno burger ($14.49). Pepper jack and American cheese, a layer of grilled jalapenos and fried onions, and finished with jalapeno mayo. The patty is Nolan Ryan beef. The patties at Cleaver and Co. are as juicy as they come – and are cooked within the sweet spot of hamburger bliss heaven that lies somewhere between medium-rare and medium. Perfect.

And can we take a moment to spotlight the exceptional customer service? The cashier who took our orders (it’s counter service at Cleaver and Co.) was great. She also doubled as our server, delivering our orders and a complimentary side of chips and queso. Did we mention the complimentary beer that came with our orders? We don’t know if this is a regular thing at Cleaver and Co., but when we visited, beers and single-serving wine bottles came complimentary with orders. In a world that seems to grow increasingly angrier by the day, more complimentary queso and alcohol could go a long way. Just saying.

We finished with Cleaver and Co.’s California Club ($12.99) on Texas toast, built with grilled chipotle chicken, smoked onion ranch (we dig it), Monterey jack, bacon, avocado, and LTO. It was one of the better club sandwiches we’ve had. Other menu options to consider are The Smash burger (two smashed ground beef patties with Monterey jack and American cheese), Cajun Bleu burger (Cajun seasoning and blue cheese crumbles), spicy honey chicken sandwich with jalapeno coleslaw and hot honey sauce, falafel burger with mint goat cheese mousse, smoked brisket sliders and lamb gyro.

Handmade shakes, also an area of expertise at Cleaver and Co., include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, chocolate caramel and cookies and cream.

Cleaver and Co. is technically a one-year pop-up, so they’re on a 12-month trial run for all intents and purposes. We’re rooting for them to stick around.

Cleaver & Co. Burger, 4438 McKinney Avenue, Ste. 100. Daily, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.