Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Diners & Drive-Ins
254
Lankford Grocery
Burger Star of the Lone Star State
Houston, Texas
Sure, it looks like a dump from the outside,
a dilapidated white frame house with red-
and-white-striped tin awnings on a resi-
dential Midtown side street. Step inside,
and you're all the more convinced it
is
a
dump—look at the mismatched tables and
chairs, the dowdy floral tablecloths, the
battered upholstered booths, the scratched
wood paneling, the dangerously sloping
floor. Coffee is served in a random collec-
tion of souvenir mugs; regular customers
know to shuffle over to the pot and get
their own refills.
But the burgers at Lankford Grocery
make it all worthwhile. These are fat, hand-
made patties grilled with just a slight crunch
on the outside, oozing juice from inside.
(Instead of paper napkins, the waitresses
just hand you a roll of paper towels—and
for good reason.) You can order a double
or even a triple, but you'll probably end up
having to get it wrapped to go—even a
single burger requires two hands to eat.
And if it's not spicy enough—down here in
Houston, spiciness is always a factor—ask
to have it topped with fried jalapeños or
the firehouse sauce, a hot mustard that
earns its name honestly. The Firehouse
Burger goes even further, with the pep-
pers worked into the ground beef before
it's thrown on the grill, and a little hot salsa
thrown on for good measure. Another
popular variation is the soldier burger, a
cheeseburger topped with a sweetly runny
fried egg. Sides? The onion rings are suc-
culently greasy and not overbattered; the
tater nuggets crunchy on the outside, soft
inside; but regulars insist on the Tex-Mex,
a fried mess of slivered jalapeños and
onions that wakes up your taste buds.
Expect an extralong wait for a table on
Thursdays, when the daily special is Lank-
ford's acclaimed chicken-fried steak.
Eydie Prior converted her parents' vin-
tage grocery store, opened in 1939, into a
full-fledged restaurant in 1977. They'd
been serving hamburgers informally to
their customers anyway for years, so the
conversion was really more a matter of
surrendering to destiny. Some might call it
a dump, but for others, it's a home away
from home.
88 Dennis St. (
&
713/522-9555
).
(
George Bush Intercontinental (37
miles/60km).
L
$$$
Hilton University of Houston,
4800 Calhoun Rd. (
&
800/HOTEL-UH
[800/468-3584] or 713/741-2447; www.
hilton.com). $$
Best Western Down-
town Inn and Suites,
915 W. Dallas St.
(
&
800/780-7234
or 713/571-7733; www.
bestwestern.com).
