I wasn't concerned until I reached into the brown paper bag to remove the burger I'd just ordered from Harvey G's. My first attempt to grasp the beast was too feeble and it slipped. I had to dig deeper, curl my hand under the tinfoil parcel and then lift. It was heavy -- not quite a dumbbell, but noticeably heavier than most burgers I've picked up.
The East Dallas take-out joint started burger-slinging last week. It offers the usual suspects -- LTO, mushrooms, Swiss, jalapeños -- and then, to give customers something to talk about, a monster creation. Naturally, I went whole hog. I ordered the Pancho Villa.
See also: Coming Soon to East Dallas: Harvey G's, a Humble Burger-and-Fries Takeout Joint
I don't know at what point, exactly, a burger ceases to be a burger and instead becomes an edifice of meat, but I do know the Pancho Villa leaves traditional burgers far behind in its greasy wake. The creation boasts a half-pound of beef, bacon, ham, cheese, a hash brown just like the one McDonald's tucks in that little paper sleeve and an egg fried till the yolk sets up completely. Thousand Island dressing pools in pockets between the bun and the potatoes beneath it and the bun quickly saturates with grease. It's intimidating.
I got about halfway through before I got bored. Or maybe I was worried for my health. Not far from the burger joint, contractors were ripping up the street to replace the water main and sewer lines. Walking past the project on the way to Harvey's made me think about my insides. For the sake of my own plumbing I tossed the rest of the burger back in the sack and started in on the spiral-cut potatoes.
These are spuds I can really get behind. They're cut thin and fried to a deep golden brown, with a texture right between crispy potato chips and soft, mushy french fries. You can get them coated with cheddar cheese or runny queso if you want to keep up with the coronary distress theme, but I think these potatoes are delicious absolutely plain.
If you pay the restaurant a visit, I suggest you start smaller than I did. Get a quarter-pound burger topped however you see fit, an order of those potatoes and a Dr. Pepper from the fountain machine. Trust me. You'll get lost in a helix of golden fried potatoes, and you won't miss Pancho as he rides on by.
Harvey G's 4506 Columbia Ave. No. 100, 469-334-0980, harveygs.com
