As soon as I walked up to the entrance of Sunday’s Burgers and Burgundy event benefiting DIFFA/Dallas, the first thing I noticed was the sight of barbecue smoke rising into the air. That’s when I got excited. The Hunter Sullivan Band played sexy jazz on a stage surrounded by Greek pillars. Off in the distance, a large flat screen TV was set up to watch the Cowboys game much to the relief of several loyal fans.
It was definitely a night I hope you didn’t miss.
Jump for the burger photography by Leah Clausen.
Grace from Fort Worth had their 44 Farms slider, with pork, Port Salut cheese, and mushroom ketchup. The mushroom ketchup isn’t really ketchup; it comes from an old recipe that execuchef Blaine Staniford had become interested in replicating. I was interested, too, until he described the process, which was a bit involved. I decided against trying it myself. The burger was a bit heavy, but tasty nonetheless.
Chef Taylor Kearney and Chef Ryan Jungman, representing Nick and Sam’s, brought a burger that had Kobe beef and truffle. After one bite, I remembered that Kobe beef is popular for a reason. Paired with the truffle, it was a nice, straightforward pleasure.
The prairie fire burger from Max’s Wine Dive was a venison, bison, and ground beef patty with onions, tomatoes, and a chocolate and chili BBQ sauce. The meat, as you’d expect, was pretty gamey, but with the sauce it lost a bit of its edge. The bun was light and buttery.
Shinsei’s banh mi burger was an Asian-styled BBQ pork slider with pâté, jellied red peppers, carrots, pickles, and cilantro. I’ve become a big fan of the banh mi recipe since my introduction to it at BurgerFest a couple weeks ago, so I was eager to test drive Shinsei’s version of the spicy slider. I was not disappointed.
Representing Spoon was John Tesar and his spicy sloppy joe catfish. This was the only fish that came out to play this evening. The joe mix had a sweetness to it that went well with the sour pickle on top. The bun was crunchy.
The wine pairings were great, too. Asador’s red wine pairing with their locally-grown sliders was smoky and provided a great background for all of the flavors present in their burger.
The night was filled with the chatter of so many guests caught by the sights, smells, and sounds that surrounded them on the lawn of Bill and Karen Seanor’s beautiful home. I could almost see the mental RSVP’s being made in people’s heads for the next DIFFA event.
Jake Austin Medina is a D Magazine intern and a journalism major at the University of North Texas.
