Battle of the Burgers: down to the Final Four

Battle of the Burgers Elite Eight: Which Cowtown legend crumbled?

The kind of hamburger you prefer says a lot about the person you are. This thought occurred to us as we judged the fascinating showdown between Kincaid’s and Fred’s, the top two seeds in the Fort Worth bracket. Comparing Fred’s unwieldy, piping hot behemoth Diablo burger to the old-fashioned simplicity and elegance of Kincaid’s bacon cheeseburger felt criminal, even perverse — like trying to declare which is better, a Jackson Pollock canvas or a Beethoven symphony.

For us, the choice of Fred’s — big, bold, wildly inventive — was ultimately easy, but we suspect another, more conservative-minded set of judges might have gone for Kincaid’s. Same goes in the chain category, where the uncommonly polished, straight-to-the-point Fuddruckers squared off against the overstuffed, flavor-packed burgers at Pappas.

The point here: In the Elite Eight, there were no real losers, only different burgers for different dining sensibilities. The joints that made it this far are regularly serving up consistent, distinct works of culinary art, and they all deserve to be celebrated.

And while there are no wildly unexpected choices left standing in the Final Four, we are positively giddy as we consider the next set of showdowns, which pair two similarly over-the-top burgers (Fred’s vs. Pappas) on one side of the bracket, and a pair of more traditional burgers on the other.

Will the compact, greasy beauty of Five Guys topple the old-school, poppy-seeded charm of Jakes?

Will the fire and chaos of Fred’s triumph over the slightly more orderly, but just as voracious Pappas burger ?

The answers will tell us as much about ourselves as they do 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.

Battle of the Burgers: down to the Final Four

Battle of the Burgers Elite Eight: Which Cowtown legend crumbled?

Battle of the Burgers: Fred's edges Dutch's in a Fort Worth deathmatch

BURGER BATTLE: Fred's edges Dutch's in a squeaker, as the field is narrowed to an elite eight

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Battle of the Burgers: down to the Final Four Battle of the Burgers Elite Eight: Which Cowtown legend crumbled? The kind of hamburger you prefer says a lot about the person you are. This thought occurred to us as we judged the fascinating showdown between Kincaid’s and Fred’s, the top two seeds in the Fort Worth bracket. Comparing Fred’s unwieldy, piping hot behemoth Diablo burger to the old-fashioned simplicity and elegance of Kincaid’s bacon cheeseburger felt criminal, even perverse — like trying to declare which is better, a Jackson Pollock canvas or a Beethoven symphony. For us, the choice of Fred’s — big, bold, wildly inventive — was ultimately easy, but we suspect another, more conservative-minded set of judges might have gone for Kincaid’s. Same goes in the chain category, where the uncommonly polished, straight-to-the-point Fuddruckers squared off against the overstuffed, flavor-packed burgers at Pappas. The point here: In the Elite Eight, there were no real losers, only different burgers for different dining sensibilities. The joints that made it this far are regularly serving up consistent, distinct works of culinary art, and they all deserve to be celebrated. And while there are no wildly unexpected choices left standing in the Final Four, we are positively giddy as we consider the next set of showdowns, which pair two similarly over-the-top burgers (Fred’s vs. Pappas) on one side of the bracket, and a pair of more traditional burgers on the other. Will the compact, greasy beauty of Five Guys topple the old-school, poppy-seeded charm of Jakes? Will the fire and chaos of Fred’s triumph over the slightly more orderly, but just as voracious Pappas burger ? The answers will tell us as much about ourselves as they do 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.
Battle of the Burgers: Fred's edges Dutch's in a Fort Worth deathmatch BURGER BATTLE: Fred's edges Dutch's in a squeaker, as the field is narrowed to an elite eight The five-mile swath of prairie west of downtown Fort Worth should officially be renamed Hamburger Heaven. Fred’s, Kincaid’s, M&O and Tommy’s all grill up burger goodness along West Seventh Street and Camp Bowie Boulevard. Delicious newcomers Dutch’s and Pappas Bros. makes things juicy just a mile or so down the road from there. And now Love Shack is joining the Westside beef brigade, with a new location in the So7 development. That is a roundabout way of saying that narrowing the field to eight great burgers just in Fort Worth is difficult. Trimming our 32-burger bracket to an Elite Eight is downright excruciating. Every burger that has advanced thus far in dfw.com’s Battle of the Burgers is a PTPer (Dick Vitale-speak for prime-time player). But only one glorious slab o’ beef will emerge from our judges’ summerlong search for the best. Could the winner be among this week’s mega-matchups? Grab a napkin and check ’em out: 2. Fred’s vs. 6. Dutch’s ■Winner: Fred’s Dutch’s is the new kid in town. Fred’s is the grizzled veteran. Both serve magnificent burger creations — juicy half-pounders that reflect their unique and contrasting styles. Their matchup was one for the ages, an instant classic. The bacon blue cheese burger at Dutch’s is a masterwork. Rich and flavored, the prime beef melds beautifully with the creamy but not overpowering blue cheese. The hunk of bacon is a salty, chewy compliment to the hint of sweetness from the bun. We could find barely anything wrong with this hamburger, except that it was facing off against the genius of Fred’s Diablo Burger. (Cue gunfighter music.) Like Fred’s itself, the meat in the restaurant’s burgers is unadorned — thick and mmm, mmm good. But the Diablo’s combination of juicy beef, fiery chipotle peppers and cool, perfectly melted Swiss cheese is simply inspired. Add a crunchy pickle and a dab of mustard for some vinegary sharpness, plus a sturdy bun bathed in butter, and the result is a taste explosion, bite after sumptuous bite. Truthfully, it’s a crime that either of these burger titans has to fall. But the bracket gods have spoken.