Taste Testing At Bailey's Burgers!

This morning I was recruited by my friends Shea and Cheryl Bailey to taste test their offerings at the soon-to-be-open Bailey's Burgers here in Kyle, located at the old snack bar at the Thunderhill Raceway. Somehow the Bailey's heard that I was a bit of a burger connoisseur, and they wanted my opinion before they opened their doors.

When I walked in, I was greeted by the set-up pictured above. The Baileys had narrowed their burger choices down to a few finalists: a patty that was formed from a combination of ground beef and ribeye, one that was made from Kobe beef, one that had a little chorizo mixed in and one that was coated with a thick, peppery rub. All of the burgers were served two types of soft, sweet buns (potato and sourdough), mixed baby greens, real cheddar cheese and thinly sliced red onions.

While almost every burger patty tasted better than 95% of the burgers out there, we settled on the basic ground beef/ribeye combo as the real winner. It was amazingly juicy and rich with beef flavor and easily the equal of some of the best burgers I've ever eaten. If this is the burger that the Bailey's will be serving once they open their doors, then they should have lines around the block.

I'm excited the Baileys are creating this burger just a couple of miles from where I live (but I'll have to control my craving or else I'll weigh 300 lbs. by Christmas). So far Texas has been pretty disappointing when it comes to burgers; as I've said before I thought they'd be much better since this is where all the beef comes from. But Cheryl Bailey confirmed my general opinion of Texas burgers when she said "Everyone wants to burn the meat to a crisp." Bailey's Burgers were literally dripping with juices, despite the fact they're using fairly lean beef. And yes, there was a little pink in the middle of each patty, just the way I like them.

If all goes well, Bailey's Burgers will be open by Monday, March 28th (although they may open a few days early for a dry run, but keep it under your hat). They are located at the Thunderhill Raceway just south of Kyle at 24801 IH-35, Kyle TX. Phone number is 512-268-6894 and their website is www.baileysburgers.com.