RESTAURANT REVIEW: Burger Bodega

Every Houston kid of a certain age (read: Millennial) has memories of late nights spent at House of Pies. Whether it was after a concert (who, aside from 99% of my readers, can forget the iconic "HOPE" balloon after an incredible Polyphonic Spree show in 2007?), a late-night movie at the River Oaks Theatre, or just a random trip with friends when there was nothing else going on, this epochal diner has hosted countless outings for everyone from hipster kids to Houston intelligentsia. Legend even has it that the founders of Compaq sketched out their initial plans for the company on a paper placemat at the flagship Upper Kirby location.

It goes without saying that pies are the specialty, and back in the day, my personal rotation consisted of the Texas pecan pie, cherry pie a la mode, and of course, their signature item and my all-time favorite, the Bayou Goo. This masterpiece, one of the most quintessential Houston foodstuffs, consists of a delicious flaky crust with sweet cream cheese, a vanilla and chocolate custard filling, pecan pieces, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. I can't stress enough how amazing this slice of joy is... so when I found out that chef Abbas Dhanani was creating a limited-time Bayou Goo shake at my number one burger spot in the city over Thanksgiving weekend, I obviously HAD to go check it out.

Burger Bodega is a roughly three-year-old joint on Washington Avenue that has perfected the art of the smashburger. There's often a substantial line wrapping around outside the small building, but fortunately due to my enthusiasm and fear of the mythical shake selling out, I arrive shortly after opening at lunchtime on Black Friday, and there was nary a soul waiting to order. As you might imagine, the interior is modeled after a bodega, those glorified corner shops that New Yorkers love to romanticize and insist are anything other than convenience stores (or dépanneurs if you are French Canadian). In keeping with that theme, the walls are adorned with displays of faux-cereal boxes, ketchup bottles, laundry detergents, and other products with cleverly tweaked Burger Bodega logos.

Chef Abbas has hosted numerous pop-ups with some of Houston's finest and up-and-coming restauranteurs, including Chris Shepherd, Alex Au-Yeung (RIP) of Phat Eatery, and even Neo chefs Paolo Justo and Luis Mercado back in July 2023, an event that I very much regret missing. However, the House of Pies mashup was the first sweet collaboration I can recall. Normally this item would be at the end of the review, but like Luke Hobbs said in Fast Five when asked if he wanted to start with the good news or the bad news... *extremely The Rock voice* you know I like my dessert first!

The Bayou Goo shake absolutely lived up to the (self-created) hype, with a spectacular blend of vanilla and chocolate, rich cream cheese, hints of nuttiness, and chunks of that world-famous crust. They weren't just imitating... I spied literal whole pie rounds in the kitchen, and I don't think these were there solely for inspiration. Presumably they blended this manna from heaven with some ice cream, and then topped it with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and of course whipped cream, as is tradition. I don't often order shakes at burger establishments because I'm ostensibly striving to be somewhat healthy and trying really hard to stay under five bills, but if they all tasted as good as this, I would surely put on a stone or two.

Moving backwards, there are really only two main items on the menu here. The first is the trademark smash burger, double by default but available in single or triple formulations as well. You're probably familiar with this type of hamburger by now, but just in case some haven't yet embraced or experienced this trendy item, it consists of a ball of ground beef placed on a super-hot flat top grill and pressed down to create a thin patty. Burger Bodega has the Platonic ideal of a smash burger, with exquisitely browned* crispy edges, while maintaining a juicy center, and flawlessly seasoned meaty flavor. There isn't that ooziness you expect from a thicker burger, but the textural tradeoff is worth it. Here the accoutrements include American cheese, grilled onions, housemade pickles, a mayo-based bodega sauce, and a soft potato bun. I can't stress enough how fantastic this burger is: I already had it as my #1 ranked burger in the city, and if anything this visit only cemented that further.

*I'm surprised we haven't talked about the Maillard reaction on this site yet, but this non-enzymatic chemical process is on full display in the smash burger process. I won't get too into the chemistry, but at 280° to 33o°F, a reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars rapidly creates melanoidins, which give browned foods their complex, savory flavors. This is commonly seen in everything from seared steaks to cookies to, of course, smash burgers.

The second "entree" here is a chopped cheese. Oddly enough, I first encountered this New York burger-adjacent sandwich at a brunch at Butcher & Bee, a Nashville Mediterranean restaurant, and later in banh mi form at my favorite Houston Vietnamese cafe, Les Ba'Get. It's obviously not as widely seen as a hamburger, so for those uninitiated: this sandwich is prepared by chopping together ground beef, onions, cheese, and seasonings (often adobo) on a grill and served the resulting concoction on a hero roll. Instead of the layered stratification of a traditional burger, here you get everything mixed together. What's lost in texture is made up in arguably more flavor, and also temperature: the chopped cheese here is served piping hot. And to supplement some of the missing crunch, there's shredded iceberg lettuce and tomatoes to give you that important element. You also have the option to get it spicy (I obviously did), and while I'm often skeptical of how much heat places will actually add, this addition of chipotle mayo actually packed a pleasantly surprising amount of piquant punch. Throw in some optional grilled jalapeños, and you have a pretty spectacular sandwich. A word of warning though: the hoagie bun valiantly tries to hold up, but some of the contents inevitably end up spilling out, making this something of a multi-napkin situation.

To round out the tight menu are, of course, fries. They are described as "thin cut", but much to my delight, are far from the tiny shoestring varieties that are so irritatingly ubiquitous these days. Wonderfully crispy with a hot fluffy interior, these bad boys had enough heft to impeccably complement the mains, and at just $1 to add them on to a burger or chopped cheese meal, are an outright steal. In true H-Town fashion, you can also get them screwed (with cheese sauce, onions, and bodega sauce) or chopped (screwed plus chopped beef and bell peppers). DJ Screw would be proud.

Unfortunately the Bayou Goo shake is long gone now, though keep an eye out for future limited-time offerings or collaborations here, as there is always some innovation in the works. But even if there's no special happening, this is a must-visit if you, like basically everyone, enjoy burgers (or want to try your first chopped cheese!).

RANKING UPDATE: Burger Bodega strengthens its hold as the #1 best burger on my Houston Restaurant Guide, and easily retains its spot in my Essential 33 restaurants. Hard to see this being unseated anytime soon.

NEXT UP: Austin loves to hype up their tacos... but are they really that great?