(4) M&O Station Grill, 200 Carroll St., Fort Worth vs. (1) Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 1304 W. Pipeline Road, Hurst
Call it onions versus Obama: The mom-and-pop M&O Station Grill squaring off against the Barack-and-Michelle-approved Five Guys Burgers and Fries. M&O, which won the Readers' bracket in 2009's burger battle, marinates its meat in diced onions (and serves up its M&O Original with thick pieces of onion on top), while Five Guys takes a more straightforward approach, keeping its slender patties pure. The Five Guys' standard cheeseburger -- two beef patties, draped in cheese and, if ordered "all the way," blanketed with mayo, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup and mustard -- is quite a mouthful. Alas, the meat (cooked well done, by corporate mandate) tasted much drier than usual, with hardly a trace of juiciness; and on the day of competition, Five Guys really seemed to be suffering from the dreaded Fast Food Skinny Burger syndrome, where the meat threatens to disappear beneath the toppings. It was a sharp contrast with M&O, where the Original burger, outfitted with lettuce, tomato, pickle and "special sauce," managed to be thicker than three Five Guys' patties smushed together. The overwhelming onion flavor made this round closer than it should be -- seriously, folks, a little is OK, but dial it back a bit, mmkay? -- but the M&O burger was simply the far more satisfying and succulent experience. A sloppy victory over Five Guys, but a victory all the same.
The winner: M&O
