Owner Dave Culwell founded the brand as the world eased into a post-COVID landscape. During the height of lockdown, he organized small backyard cookouts as a way of keeping his family and neighborhood together. But the food was too good to live there, and per the recommendation of his then 13-year-old daughter, he took his show on the road. With nothing but a grill, a delicious signature dish (The Schmurger smash burger, of course) and a familial dream, Culwell began hosting pop-ups at local bars and community events, fashioning himself and the brand into Dallas’ culinary nomads. For most customers, the first bite of a Burger Schmurger burger elicits two reactions. The first, “This is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.” The second, “Where can I go to get this every night?”
The answer to the question has long been High Fives, the casual Dallas bar that lends its kitchen to Culwell and company five nights a week. It remains a symbiotic partnership, but not one without its limitations, namely, the size of the kitchen and the lack of cohesive branding. No matter how many hungry patrons Burger Schmurger draws to High Fives, it’s still not their place.
As such, it was a no-brainer when a prime location in East Dallas, nestled firmly between neighborhoods and adjacent to the hugely popular El Vecino Tex-Mex and eco-convenience store Green Spot, became vacant.
We visited Burger Schmurger for an exclusive media preview, where we tried burgers, appetizers, fries and cocktails from their beefed-up new menu. The restaurant opens to the public on April 30.
The interior is remarkably different from the pseudo-classy aesthetic that Bar None presented, opting instead for a warm neighborhood hangout that’s just family-friendly enough not to leave the kids at home but still cool enough for an after-hours recharge. There’s a pool table in the back, and we heard rumors that karaoke and live music programming are on the way.
Culwell’s two signatures, the Schmurger (a standard smash burger, but better) and the Maverick (with smoked bacon jam, double cheese and an inverted bun) still take top billing on the new menu. We’ve had them plenty of times, so we decided to try four of the newly permanent offerings, along with a side of fries and pretzel bites.
The Claremont Hotel was a standout, smoothly cooked with Swiss cheese, mushrooms and bacon. The Pasadena is about as classic of a burger as you’ll find: lettuce, onion, tomato, and American cheese. It’s solid, but with plenty of other funkier options, we’d opt for something else.
One of those funkier options is the O’Brien, which marks the first burger we’ve ever had with horseradish, combined with an Irish stout beer cheese. It was our favorite of the night. The East Dallas was the fourth burger we tried, a nod to the neighborhood where the restaurant was born. It’s topped with a heaping amount of bacon and fried onion strings, with a layer of creamy bleu cheese on top.
On the side, beef-tallow fried fries and pretzel bites were as tasty as we expected them to be. For $2, fries come with five different sauce selections, including the Schmurger sauce, lemon dill ranch, garlic aioli, barbecue and a rotating fifth option.
Burger Schmurger will still be serving out of High Fives, so this brick-and-mortar is essentially a second location, but one with a wholly realized vision and manifestation of the neighborhood ethos.
The Painted Pony cocktail, made with gin, aperol, coconut, bitters and orange and lemon juice.
Simon Pruitt
Burger Schmurger, 718 N Bucker Blvd., Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 3 to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight; Sundays 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Closed Tuesday
