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Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009
M&O Station Grill is the people’s choice for best burger
Loyal, vocal clientele puts M&O Station Grill on the map for burger fans
By RICK PRESS
Let’s call M&O Station Grill what it is: "The Little Burger Joint That Could."
Week after week, the family-owned-and-operated restaurant in the shadow of Montgomery Ward Plaza, faced off against the titans of Fort Worth burgerdom in our Readers’ Bracket -- and vanquished every one of them.
Kincaid’s, gone; Tommy’s, uh-huh; Fred’s, you know it; Pappas Burger, not even close.
When M&O torched Five Guys Burgers and Fries in the finale, with another thick stack of handwritten customer ballots, it was the culmination of a methodical but heartfelt campaign to tell the world what the M&O faithful already know: It grills one heckuva burger.
"Maybe we haven’t been in the public eye for very long," says Rose Badillo, who owns the nearly 2-year-old restaurant with with husband and chef Danny Badillo, "but we’ve been in the back of the kitchen for a long time, and we’ve got a great burger."
Their customers second that emotion — in between bites, of course.
"The chorizo burger is the best," says Ryan Mordecai, a regular. "They grill the buns just right."
Evelyn Gonzalez had just discovered M&O, but she came back for a second straight day.
"We woke up and decided to go to lunch, and I said we’re going back to M&O burger."
Danny Badillo, who has been working in the food industry for 30-plus years, is M&O’s culinary mastermind, and he has dreamed up some unique creations, everything from the Bleu Cow (stuffed with blue cheese and bacon). to the burger we kept hearing most about, the Tijuana Burger. It’s topped with a cream-cheese stuffed poblano pepper and guacamole. One bite, and you’re lost in a creamy hamburger heaven. (You’re also licking goo from the far reaches of your face, but M&O is not about prim and proper burgers.)
What’s Badillo’s secret? A half-pound of marinated angus beef, laced with postage-stamp-size onions, flattened on the grill with no mercy. "The whole idea is to sear the burgers really good," says Danny. "It locks in the flavors and the juices."
"It’s way better than the other competitors [in the Fort Worth bracket]," says Gonzalez. "I would choose this over Kincaid’s"
"I can’t go anywhere else," says another satisfied customer, licking his fingers. "I voted for M&O every time."
That kind of devotion, and a concerted effort by M&O’s staff, propelled the relative newcomer past Fort Worth stalwarts Kincaid’s in Round 1 and Tommy’s in Round 2 to earn the title of DFW.com People’s Champion.
"Honest to God, it hasn’t taken much effort," says Rose, who spearheaded the write-in campaign. "Sometimes the customers would pick up a bracket at the counter or we’d set one on their table and ask them to fill it out. They’ve been very happy to do it, week in and week out. They want to see us stay around."
The restaurant, which turns 2 years old in November, is named for local business pioneers Marvin and Obie Leonard (M&O). Inside, you can step back in time with the ’50s-style lunch counter and black-and-white photos adorning the walls. And next door, you can stroll through the Leonard’s Department Store Museum.
But while M&O embraces its quaint, mom-and-pop vibe, the Badillos are thinking big. Rose says they are hoping to open several more M&O’s, and she thinks that its triumph in the Readers’ Bracket will only help raise the place’s profile.
"We’ve proved ourselves, once again," says Rose, sitting next to her husband at the counter after the lunch rush. "Our customers say we have a great burger."
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