Side Hustle Burgers Make Its Presence Known in East Dallas

Having a side hustle seems to be the norm these days, as most of us could use a little extra scratch. The ideal side hustle leverages a skill you already have and enjoy doing, and it doesn't require a lot of money to get off the ground. Side Hustle Burgers checks all of these boxes. The new ghost kitchen concept comes from Jay Jerrier and the fine people at the PILF Restaurant Group (which, we assume, means “Pizza Is Looking Fine,” but we could be wrong), who have already brought us Cane Rosso, Zoli’s Pizza and Thunderbird Pies.

The ghost kitchen concept is nothing new for the PILF Group (wait, does it mean “Pizza Is Life Food”?). Thunderbird Pies started as a side hustle itself before landing a permanent home in East Dallas. And, Thunderbird Pies already serves up the Thunderburger, a solid burger in its own right. With the kitchen space and know-how already in place, giving a bigger burger concept a shot seems like a no-brainer.

Side Hustle Burgers started serving burgers a few weeks ago, with online ordering and delivery in the East Dallas area, and pickup available at the counter at Thunderbird Pies. Although it’s not mentioned on their website, we found that you can pop into Thunderbird Pies and place your order right there, then dine in like any other customer. And on a recent Monday, that’s exactly what we did.

Smash burgers are the name of the game at Side Hustle, and their game is strong. A half dozen burgers come with varied toppings, plus there's a crispy chicken sandwich, and chips, curly fries or onion rings to add to your heart’s content. After chatting up our server, we settled on the Nach'Yo Burger ($16) with pico de gallo, cheddar and pepper Jack cheese, a cilantro lime crema and guacamole. We added a side of onion rings ($6), and since we were dining in, availed ourselves of a cold draft beer while waiting.

Speaking of waiting, know that if you order in person, Side Hustle’s online orders take priority, and they let us know when ordering that it could be 20 minutes. Thankfully, the wait was about half that amount, and we were only a quarter of the way through our beer before a pair of aluminum trays landed in front of us.

For all of the Nach’Yo burger's toppings (and there are lots of them), the crunch of the seared beef patty pops through each bite. Our burger was practically oozing guacamole and cheese, and the pico de gallo’s jalapeños brought their A-game. It’s also no puny-sized wannabe burger; when paired with fries or onion rings, even the heartiest of appetites should be sated. Perhaps our only gripe was that the burger itself was blanketed by guacamole; next time, we're tempted to try the Classic Jack or namesake Side Hustle burgers that offer less messy toppings.

On the flip side, the onion rings are a solid choice. Despite one oversized ring that had shed half its batter, the rest of the rings were fried to a perfect golden hue, the crunchy outside shielding the sweet onions beneath. The rings remained crunchy throughout our meal, and they come with a side of ranch dressing to cool things down as needed. With a cold Rollertown Big German to go with our rings and burger, we lacked nothing.

On Monday and Tuesday, online orders open at 3 p.m. to match Thunderbird Pies’ operating hours. The rest of the week, you can order a Side Hustle burger starting at 11 a.m. in the event your burger cravings start earlier in the day.

It’s hard to say what the PILF Group’s long-term plans are for Side Hustle Burgers. But whether it gets a venue of its own or remains a semi-secret addition to Thunderbird Pies, the burgers are worthy.

Side Hustle Burgers, inside Thunderbird Pies, 7328 Gaston Ave.