How The Big Boys Do It

I took a field trip to Texas Monthly to ask food editor Pat Sharpe how the pro’s write about food. Lucky for me, they have a food cover story out on the racks right now: The 50 Best Burgers.

Pat said that about around four months ago, the first emails for the project went out to the team and the hunt began. I have to admit, their process is more detailed than I expected. Grading systems are established, tasting procedures are put in place and the state is divided up. A list of 300 restaurants slowly starts to shrink.

Burgers were graded by a bite of meat, a bite of bun and (wait for it) atmosphere. Pat said that, yes, that was a factor. When the dust settled, Pat personally went to eat at the top 10 to verify the juicy goodness. And, the winner? The Grape in Dallas. I know! I didn’t know they served burgers either. They do for brunch on Sundays. And, they seem to be selling a few more since they were crowned. Apparently, they were selling around 12 on any given Sunday. Now, the number is closer to 200. Pat ate hers and said it’s bonafied.