Round 2: Johnny B's Burgers vs. Fred's Texas Cafe

Until, that is, we arrived at Fred's, the defending Battle of the Burgers champion, and with just one single bite, the underdog went down. Figuring that we are overly partial to Fred's own fiery concoction, the Diablo burger, we instead tried the Bacon Mushroom burger. Ah, those sliced portabella mushrooms, perfectly smoky and buttery; the grilled onions, caramelized to sweet perfection; the bacon, salty and not too crunchy; the thick slice of Swiss, creamy and elegant; and, of course, the 1/2-pound patty, impossibly juicy and flavorful. All of it came together with such flavorful force -- a champion always makes things look so easy. Lesser burgers survive in this bracket, Johnny B's. No, it's not fair. But in the Battle of the Burgers, that's the way the bacon crumbles

Round One: Nicky D's vs. Fred's

(8) Nicky D's, 1605 Farm Road 1187, Crowley vs. (1) Fred's Texas Cafe, 915 Currie St., Fort Worth

So hard to be objective when it comes to Fred's, a Fort Worth institution and our defending champ. But we went in with an open mind -- which all but snapped shut when we took one bite of the Diablo burger and got that perfect marriage of beef and dusky chipotle spiciness. We've had Diablos in the past where the chipotles dominated the marriage, but in this instance, it was an equal partnership that also made room for the other family members -- especially the Swiss cheese, pickles and onions.

Review: Fred's Texas Café North

DFW.com Review: Fred's Texas Café North

Watch for PATIO WEATHER!!

Watch the Weather - When It Rains, It's HAPPY HOUR at FRED'S!

Wed July 7 - Gourmet Pizza Night w/ Will Hobbs

Thurs July 8 - Christa Russell

Fri July 9 - TERRY RASOR BAND

Sat July 10:
7pm: Kyle Redd Band
Noon: Scott Copeland

Sun July 11:
COUNTRY SUNDAY
6pm: Devin Leigh
Noon: Kurt South

Friday: The Outlaw Chef Takes the Chuckwagon to the ZOO!

Terry Chandler and his chuckwagon will be serving up Diablo Burgers for the good folks participating in the Fort Worth Zoo's BEASTRO event!



$85 per person

$10 off for Zoo members

Tickets WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP AT WILL CALL the night of the event.

Cuisine from the area's finest restaurants and caterers, live music, live animals, open bars and more!

Huff Post: Burgerville

The HuffingtonPost's new FOOD section is a great read, as evidenced by this Taxonomy of the Hamburger article. Notoriously absent is Fred's Diablo Burger - the perfect juxtaposition of Heaven & Hell, leading revelers to contemplate the duality of man while attaining burger Nirvana.

24 Weird and Unique Hamburgers

Admitted, I'm spoiled - I reside in close proximity to that paragon of Texan culinary mastery:

FRED'S Own DIABLO BURGER

But other folks around the planet are not so lucky, so here are 24 Weird and Unique Hamburgers from KoldCastTV.com.

Fred's Burger Battle Victory Party

Fred’s triumphs in DFW.com’s Battle of the Burgers

It's official: Fred's is the best dang burger in DFW. M&O wins the readers' bracket.

In the Fort Worth region, Fred’s marched past Trailboss, rising star Dutch’s and stalwart Kincaid’s. The races weren’t always clear cut (in fact, the Fred’s versus Dutch’s matchup went into overtime — i.e., a second visit). But each time we were amazed how a burger that we had tasted many times before — particularly, the masterful Diablo Burger, which comes topped with Swiss cheese and chipotles — revealed to us new subtlety and richness of flavor.

Much like a classic novel, Fred’s offers a slightly different experience each time you tackle it, without ever straying too far from a core of pure genius.

The recipe, the beef, and the Fred's mystique make it No. 1

At Fred’s they know that the secret to making a great burger is to not mess with it

By HEATHER SVOKOS

Angel Mota is in command of the sizzling flattop grill at Fred’s Texas Cafe, brandishing his magic spatula — the only one he’ll use to cook with. In the small, steaming kitchen, he reaches for the burger’s secret ingredient. All part of the mystique that envelops the burgers at Fred’s.

Something as glorious as a Fredburger must have some intricate formula, some special ingredient that imbues this seemingly unfussy burger with such meaty majesty.

"My wife and I have had philosophical discussions about what makes it so good," says Marcus Johnson, a Fort Worth lawyer. There must be something, Johnson muses. Whether it’s the fried-not-grilled style or something unique in the seasoning. . . . "It’s good but not overpowering to where it’s just stupid," he says.

Would you believe salt and pepper?

Back at the grill, we study as Mota, one of the cooks at Fred’s, assembles the famous Diablo Burger — the Fredburger’s cocky, spotlight-hogging brother. Underneath the flattop is a refrigerated drawer laden with cheese slices and balled-up beef. Mota grabs a beef ball, smacks it into a patty, lays it onto the grill, and sprinkles the top with a dash of pre-mixed salt and pepper. That’s it.

They do use a great ground beef at Fred’s — never frozen, always fresh, and always from Taylor Dressed Beef in Fort Worth, says general manager Quincy Wallace, the longhaired, cowboy-hatted gent who says his title is "general manager and head whipping post."

"We’ve been using Taylor Beef since Fred’s was Fred’s," Wallace says. (Fred’s opened in 1978.)

And it has served them well. The burgers at Terry Chandler’s funky little Fort Worth joint have snagged armloads of awards and even earned national attention, most recently from the Food Network and Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Not to mention local kudos: After a gut-busting six-week odyssey, we have proclaimed Fred’s the Best Burger in D-FW.

Mota’s next move is to flatten the patty onto the grill with a press. Then he pulls out a Mrs Baird’s bun, brushes the flattop with melted butter, places the bun face down on the grill, and brushes the bun top with the golden nectar.

Mota lets the burger fry for about two minutes on one side then flips it, letting it cook for another minute before he adds the good stuff.

And that’s another secret to a good burger, says Fred’s cook William Bryan Massey III — better known around Fred’s as Lizard. "Don’t mess with it," Massey says. "Cook it medium, and don’t handle it too much. Frying it on the flatiron sears the outside a little bit and keeps the juice in the meat, where it needs to be." (So later, it can drizzle down your chin.)

Several inches from the sizzling patty, Mota lays down a handful of grilled onions and tosses in a smattering of San Marcos chipotles in adobo sauce. Magic spatula, chop-chop, mix-mix.

He spatulas that smoky pile on top of the patty (still on the grill), then pulls out two slices of Swiss cheese — first making sure to run them over the flattop so they can suck up some chipotle residue. Then the cheese is laid on top of the chipotles.

He paints the bun with a smear of mustard, a toss of raw white onion, pickles, a healthy handful of lettuce, and two tomato slices. Then he sits the burger on top, and, voilà! One mouthwatering Diablo Burger.

It was headed straight for the belly of Jim Marzolf of Rowlett, a Fred’s virgin who was lured in by the Food Network publicity. Marzolf clamped his jaws around it, and his eyes popped in surprise. "Ohh . . . this is great," he said, his voice oozing blissful surrender.

"It’s spicy, but not to where it’s gagging you," he said, shaking his head. "There’s nothing like this."

In a way, customers agree, the burger is consistent with its hometown. "Like Fort Worth, Fred’s defies trends and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not," Johnson said. "It’s always been classic in its . . . well . . . not in its approach — it doesn’t have an approach, it just has an existence."

It’s a place where the owner wears flip-flops, shorts and a cowboy hat, where practical jokes and crusty humor abound, and where one of the chefs is a published author whose books have titles such as Corn Fed Neck: Tales From Hardcore Texas.

"You could sit here," Fort Worth firefighter Frank Babic says, "and there’ll be an attorney sitting next to you, and on the other side there’s an alcoholic poet. Or a painter, a construction worker. Republican, Democrat, Independent, or someone in a Che Guevara T-shirt. It’s a really eclectic little group. That’s Fort Worth."

And that’s Fred’s.

FRED'S Makes TOP FOUR in THE BATTLE OF THE BURGERS

1. Kincaid’s vs. 2. Fred’s

■Winner: Fred’s

Are you Republican or Democrat? Conservative or independent? Comparing the Fort Worth institutions Kincaid’s and Fred’s — which deservedly were seeded numbers 1 and 2 in our Fort Worth bracket — reveals as much about your personal ideology as it does about your taste in beef. Kincaid’s leans conservative: It offers up a no-frills, unassuming burger. The buns are standard issue. The cheese is inoffensive. Yet the burger works, in part because it’s so appealingly old-fashioned. Fred’s, on the other hand, is wildly, even recklessly independent. Applying chipotles to anything can be overpowering but on the Diablo Burger they blend with the tasty beef and melted Swiss cheese perfectly. The bun barely holds together. You need about 300 napkins to clean up your mess. The exuberance on display finally proves infectious. So which is it. John McCain or Barack Obama? Rick Perry or Kinky Friedman? Kincaid’s or Fred’s? Call us a bunch of left-leaning pinkos if you must, but we’ll always pick the trailblazer over the guy that opts to stay the course.

Diablo Burger Makes Texas Monthly's 50 Best Burger List

Fred's Infamous Diablo Burger is listed in the Top 50 Best Burgers in Texas by Texas Monthly! Now The Diablo has been making mouths water for years, but we're still so proud!

Star Telegram searches for DFW's Biggest Burger Fanatic

Above: Terry Chandler's Signature FRED'S DIABLO BURGER