The Mustard Region
(1) Jakes, 515 Main St., Fort Worth vs. (8) Mooyah Burgers and Fries, 2720 Texas 121, Suite 600, Euless
Mooyah, the Frisco-based chain, is spreading like wildfire in Texas with 20 locations. It's easy to see the appeal -- shiny, happy white-and-red interiors, customizable burgers and awesome fresh-cut fries. But our Mooyah moment, at the Euless location, was marred by some heavy-handed grill work -- the two flat patties in our bacon cheeseburger were crispy on the edges. The bacon was overdone, too, which meant our burger had plenty of crunch, just not much finesse. No wonder Jakes, a finalist in our 2009 Burger Battle, barely had to get out of bed to win this first-round snoozer. Our jalapeño bottle cap burger was big with a nice gooey layer of cheese, even if the two lightly peppered patties were a bit drier than we like them. The bacon that we requested never showed, but the zingy jalapeño bottle caps (fried in a delicate batter) gave Jakes the turbo boost it needed to secure a first-round victory, albeit a jittery one. If Jakes wants to make another deep run in this bracket, it'll have to get its poppy-seed buns in gear. The winner: Jakes
