History

Aubrey and Nona Lankford opened the Lankford Grocery & Market on Dennis Street in 1939 as a Fourth Ward mom-and-pop grocery; the family started cooking lunch for the neighbourhood and the burger became a fixture from the 1970s, with daughter Eydie Lankford Prior taking over operations. Anthony Bourdain featured the Lankford Burger on No Reservations in 2008; the line has not shortened since. Houstonians regularly call it the city's defining burger.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 25 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 600g ground beef chuck (80/20 fat ratio)
  • 4 sesame seed hamburger buns
  • 4 thick slices American cheese (or yellow cheddar)
  • 4 leaves iceberg lettuce, washed and dried
  • 1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced into 4 thick rounds
  • 1 small white onion, sliced into thin rings
  • 8 dill pickle chips
  • 4 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 30g unsalted butter, for the buns
  • Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
  • Texas-style fries or potato chips, to serve

Method

  1. Divide the ground beef into 4 equal balls (150g each). Do not overwork; just form into balls.
  2. Heat a cast-iron skillet or flat griddle over medium-high heat until smoking.
  3. Slice the buns in half. Butter the cut sides and toast on the dry griddle for 60 seconds until golden. Set aside.
  4. Press a ball onto the hot griddle, flatten with a spatula to a 1.5cm patty, season heavily with salt and pepper. Repeat for all four; do not crowd.
  5. Sear 90 seconds undisturbed for a deep crust. Flip with a stiff spatula scraping under the crust.
  6. Immediately lay a cheese slice on each patty. Cook another 90 seconds for medium; the cheese should melt and slump over the edges.
  7. Spread mustard on the bottom bun, mayo on the top bun.
  8. Stack: bottom bun, lettuce leaf, tomato slice, onion rings, pickle chips, then the cheese-topped patty.
  9. Crown with the top bun. Press gently and serve immediately with fries.

Tip from the editors. The Lankford bite is mustard-first, mayo-second; do not switch the spreads or you get a different burger. Iceberg, not gem lettuce; American cheese, not cheddar.

Where to eat lankford grocery burger

Lankford Grocery Burger in Houston

Lankford Grocery & Market ★ 4.4

$ Burgers

Lankford Grocery & Market in Houston is the 1939 Midtown corner-store-turned-burger-shack on Dennis Street, with the Grim Hatch-chile burger under $15.

TryThe Grim Hatch-chile burger

TipGet the Grim with sweet potato fries. Closed weekends. Counter and outdoor picnic tables only.

Directions

Goode Company Barbeque ★ 4.3

$ Texas BarbecueRice Village Upper Kirby

Goode Company Barbeque on Kirby Drive in Houston is Jim Goode's 1977 mesquite-smoked barbecue room, the city's introduction to commercial Texas barbecue.

OrderBrisket and a jalapeno pork sausage link. Jambalaya. Pecan pie to close.

TipMultiple Goode Company locations across Houston exist. The Kirby flagship is the original and the only one with the screened porch.

Directions Book

Eight Row Flint ★ 4.4

$ MexicanThe Heights

Eight Row Flint in Houston is the Heights icehouse from Agricole Hospitality in a converted Citgo gas station on Yale Street, with brisket tacos.

OrderBrisket tacos, the frozen-tied-with-Topo-Chico margarita, queso fundido.

TipThe patio under the old gas station canopy is the seat. East End second location for a different crowd.

Directions Book

Tiny Boxwoods ★ 4.0

$$ $20-32BrunchGarden-cafe brunch

Tiny Boxwoods brunch in Houston is the garden-cafe on West Alabama in the Thompson + Hanson nursery, with brunch plates, the Tiny chocolate chip cookie.

OrderTiny Cake (the chocolate chip cookie), pancakes, the garden frittata

TipWalk-in only. Get there by 9:30am Saturday to beat the 90-minute wait. Tiny cookies travel home; order extras.

Directions Book

All Houston signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want lankford grocery burger covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →