Fog And Smog Turn Their Sights On Overwrought Bartenders

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I don't know why Jasper Russo sends me the occasional video, interspersed between promotional emails about his liquor empire Siegel's, but he does. Most of the time I watch the short movie once and then go on with my day, but this one I think is worth sharing. DJ Dave and Barney Kook, the dudes behind the parody video Whole Foods Parking Lot have released their next spot. This one pokes fun at the bar tending trend that practically writes its own jokes.

Tired of muddled sage cocktails that take a massive bite out of your drinking budget? Had enough waxed mustaches and fedoras? You'll get a kick out of this clip.

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Houston-Based Becks Prime Drops Their Massive Burgers on Preston

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Forest Lane has a new burger place. Becks Prime opened last week promising fresh, fast, burgers, steaks and sandwiches. The Houston based fast food chain with 13 locations, comes endorsed by the same Texas Monthly list that honored Brian Luscher with the greatest burger in Texas.

How does Becks stand up? I think Luscher is more than safe for now.

The stand-alone building, just west of Preston Road on Forest Lane, is complete with outdoor seating on a wooden deck and a drive-through window for burgers on the go. Once you're inside, you'll see that comparing Becks Prime's burgers to The Grape's is a little silly - this place is elevated fast food - but comparing Becks to other notable dine and dash locations in Dallas makes sense.

If size matters (I've heard it does not) Becks Prime crushes the likes of Mooyah, and Smashburger. The massive half-pound patties dwarf typical fast food options and it should for a fast food burger that starts at $7.25. The meat is ground in house fresh each morning, according to marketing material, and grilled to order over mesquite wood. I ordered a regular and the lady at the counter told me they typically cook their burgers medium, would that be OK? I told her sure, but then stopped and asked them how else they would cook it.

"Any way you want," she told me. I asked for medium rare and she nodded before I asked her if they'd cook it rare and then she nodded again. There's another big differentiation. Lots of fast food places cook burgers to order instead of holding cooked patties in a steam tray, but cooking to desired doneness is pretty rare. And a few minutes later when my burger arrived and was actually cooked rare I realized that Beck's Prime is not your typical fast food burger joint.

As the lunch crowd continued to build I munched on my burger and sucked on a cold iced tea. Burgers should typically be cooked to medium, so I won't comment on juiciness, but I will say the burger was greasy. It came on a soft, very fresh bun, with shredded romaine, pickles, lots of mustard, onions and tomatoes. It could have used more seasoning, but it tasted a lot more like a burger you'd have in a bar than one you'd pick up at a drive through. Same for the fries.

I'd like to head back and give this place a second look in a few weeks but for now, if you need a burger on the quick and you're in the area, you should probably give Beck's Prime a shot. Hopefully yours has a little more sear and a little more salt.