Eighteen Hamburgers You Need to Try Right Now

Barbecue burgers are available only Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., while they last, and they always sell out. A juicy half-pound ground beef patty is cooked and then finished in a hickory-stoked smoker. For best results, be sure to get it with barbecue sauce, onions and pickles, notlettuce, tomato, mustard and mayo.

Honorable mention: Original New Orleans Po' Boy (cheeseburger poor boy)

Daniel Kramer

Eydie Prior's handmade masterpiece at Lankford Grocery

Daniel Kramer

J&J probably serves the closest thing in Texas to Fletcher Davis's original hamburger.

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• Steve Christian
• Algernon Stamps
• Michael Berry Burger
• Meat
• Fruits and Vegetables

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Three Chain Burgers

Oversize hamburgers made with freshly ground beef are all the rage at chain restaurants these days. Here are three Houston favorites worth checking out.

Becks Prime

2902 Kirby Drive, 713-524-7085; and seven other locations

Don't complain if the dining room is smoky -- it's a small price to pay for mesquite-grilled meat. USDA Choice chuck roasts are ground on the premises of each location every morning. The fresh ground meat is formed into half-pound patties by machine. You can get them medium-rare if you like. The original on Kirby has been open since 1985. A Bellaire bakery has been baking the buns for 20 years. This may be the best chain burger in America.

Prince's Hamburgers

3899 Southwest Freeway, 713-626-9950; and two other locations

When Houstonians went "cruising for burgers" back in the day, the most popular destination was Prince's Drive-In, which first opened in 1934. The new locations pay homage to the old drive-ins with historic photos and old menus. The Angus beef, which is ground fresh daily, is available medium-rare. The "king's favorite" is a half-pound patty with chili, cheese and grilled onion on top, and lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard and mayo on the bottom. The "original" features Prince's sauce, which looks like a slurry of pureed fresh tomatoes.

Fuddrucker's

3929 Southwest Freeway, 713-621-8222; and 17 other locations

Born in San Antonio, the Fuddrucker's chain is famous for grinding its own meat and baking its own buns. The machine-formed burger comes in third-pound, half-pound, two-thirds-pound and one-pound sizes. They'll griddle-cook it medium-rare if you want, though there is a warning on the menu about the health risks. You dress the burger yourself. This is the granddaddy of the new old-fashioned burger chains.

Honorable mention: Culver's ButterBurgers, Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, Ruby Tuesday