Smashburger

Troup Highway  & Loop 323

3314 Troup Hwy.

Tyler, TX. 75701

(903) 526-7982

www.smashburger.com

My wife and I were cruising around Tyler a little after 11:00am. We were pretty hungry since we hadn’t had breakfast that morning. We were both in the mood for a good burger and we knew that MacDonald’s or Burger King wasn’t going to cut it for us on this day. Then like Ace of Base, I saw the sign. The Smashburger sign. I had been wanting to try Smashburger so this seemed like a fortuitous sighting. We pulled in and set our minds in burger mode. It’s a good thing we arrived when we did. A little after we sat down to eat the lunch crowd started to arrive. Smashburger appears to be a pretty popular place. But I needed to taste their food to see if they had earned all this attention.

Smashburger Tyler Texas

Smashburger basically serves six kinds of burgers and a few chicken sandwiches along with sides and malts. I felt a little hurried trying to figure out what I wanted. There were only two people ahead of us so I had to think quick. The six burger options are the Classic Smashburger (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, onion, pickles, and smash sauce on an egg bun) the All American Smashburger (American cheese, ketchup, mustard, onion, and pickles on an egg bun), Lonestar Smashburger (served open face with cheddar cheese, beefy chili, diced onions, diced tomatoes, fresh jalapenos, and graded cheese on a chipotle bun), BBQ Bacon and Cheese burger (BBQ sauce, apple wood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and haystack onions on an egg bun), Spicy Baja burger (Pepper Jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, chipotle mayo and fresh jalapeno on a chipotle bun), Mushroom Swiss burger (garlic sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and mayo on an egg bun), and the Classic Smashchicken (chicken breast with red onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato and mayo on a butter toasted multi-grain bun). Besides the Classic Smashchicken you can also substitute chicken for beef on the Lonestar, the BBQ, Bacon and Cheese, Spicy Baja, and Mushroom Swiss. The Classic Smashchicken costs $5.99 and the rest cost $6.99. The Classic and All American Smashburger cost $4.99 for a 1/3 lb. burger and $5.99 for a ½ lb. burger. The Lonestar, BBQ, Bacon & Cheese, Spicy Baja and Mushroom and Swiss all cost $5.99 for a 1/3 lb. burger and $6.99 for a ½ lb. burger.

As I was looking quickly over the various burger choices I decided to get the BBQ, Bacon & Cheese. The Spicy Baja sounded tempting to me as well with its guacamole and spicy kick. The Lonestar Smashburger would have interested me a few years ago but it just sounds gross to me now. Chili, cheese, diced onions, and jalapenos. My heart and stomach would not be thanking me. My wife ordered the BBQ, Bacon & Cheese as well but she told them to hold the BBQ sauce. That was a good idea. The burger was quite tasty. It was obviously a good piece of beef cooked up right so you could savor the flavor. The bacon was excellent -thick pieces of apple wood smoked bacon. It was nothing like those limp, pathetic, slivers of bacon they give you at fast-food joints. The cheddar cheese was quite tasty as well although the bun smothered some of its flavor. My wife was right about the BBQ sauce. The sauce tasted fine but there wasn’t very much of it on the burger so I couldn’t get enough of the flavor in each bite. I kept wanting to add ketchup but that would have tasted gross with the BBQ sauce. I liked the haystack onions on the burger but they were quite salty.

Of course you can build your own Smashburger or Smashchicken sandwich. I would definitely do this next time. When you create your own sandwich you choose your own bun (classic egg, multi-grain, spicy chipotle, or none), cheese (American, aged Swiss, sharp cheddar, blue, pepper jack), Sauces and dressings (ketchup and mustard, mayo, ranch, smash sauce, spicy chipotle), and toppings (leaf lettuce, tomato, red onion, grilled onions, kosher pickle slices, jalapenos). You can also get add-ons to your burger for an additional fee: extra 1/3 lb. smash burger ($2.00), extra ½ lb. smash burger ($3.00), apple wood smoked bacon ($1.49), beefy chili ($0.99), fried egg ($0.99), guacamole ($0.99), garlic sautéed mushrooms ($0.99), fried pickles ($0.49), extra cheese ($0.49), and haystack onions ($0.49). I have been mulling some ideas for burgers over in my head. I would go with the multi-grain bun. Healthier, you know. Swiss cheese is gross so that is out. Pepper Jack would be good with a spicy style burger. Cheddar good with everything. But I think I would go with the blue cheese. It tastes so good on burgers when its done right. I don’t know if I would get any sauce. Maybe a little mayo. Then I’d definitely add on some of that  apple wood smoke bacon. And maybe for a crazy little twist I’d add on some fried pickles as well. Anyway, you burger lovers can see how you could have fun building your own masterpiece. If you build your own smashburger it costs $4.99 for a 1/3 lb. burger, $5.99 for a ½ lb. burger, or $6.49 if it has chicken instead of beef. That’s not counting the cost of add-ons of course.

I got some of Smashburger’s Sweet Potato Smashfries to go with my burger. The Sweet Potato Smashfries are seasoned with rosemary, olive oil, and garlic. They cost $1.99 with the purchase of a sandwich and $2.99 by themselves. I thought they were very good and a fun change of pace from your typical fries. The problem was there were too many of them. While the flavor was good it’s not the kind you want to keep eating for very long so I didn’t end up finishing my Sweet Potato Smashfries. Smashburger’s regular smash fries are seasoned the same way as the Sweet Potato Smashfries. I think they would be very good. They cost $1.79 if you get a sandwich and a dollar more if you don’t. Other sides at Smashburger include shoestring style fries seasoned with sea salt, Haystack Onions (thinly sliced, crispy onions with dipping sauce), Fried Pickles (served with buttermilk ranch dressing), veggie frites (flash fried asparagus spears, carrot sticks, and green beans) and beefy chili (beef with beans, jalapeno slices and grated cheese). The veggie frites and fried pickles sound good to me. The veggie frites cost $2.99 with a sandwich and a dollar by themselves. The fried pickles (and haystack onions) cost $1.99 with a sandwich and $2.99 without. The beefy chili costs $2.59 with a sandwich and a dollar more by itself

They also have hot dogs (smashdogs) at Smashburger. They are all made from 100% Angus beef and served on a toasted poppy seed bun. The Classic Dog (mustard, ketchup, relish) costs $3.49. The Chicago Dog (yellow mustard, tomatoes, sport peppers, sweet relish, onions) and the Chili Cheese Dog (grated cheddar cheese, onions, jalapenos, and beefy chili) both cost $3.99.

There are three salad options on the menu and the all cost $6.99. The three salads are the Cowboy Cobb (diced chicken breast, chopped applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, haystack onions, romaine and iceberg lettuce, with spicy chipotle sauce and topped with guacamole and jalapenos) The Smashwedge (wedge of iceberg lettuce, chopped applewood smoked bacon, diced tomatoes, red onions, blue cheese crumbles with blue cheese dressing) and the Ranch Chicken Club (strips of crispy buttermilk seasoned chicken, chopped applewood smoked bacon, diced tomatoes, red onions, cheddar cheese, romaine and iceberg lettuce, with buttermilk ranch dressing).

There are also four meal options especially for kids. The kids smashburger, smashdog, chicken strips, and grilled cheese. All of the kids meals are $3.99, all appear to be unhealthy, and all are sure to please a kids taste buds.

I was interested in getting one of Smashburger’s specialty shakes or malts. They are made with Haagen Dazs – oh yeah! You can get vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry flavor. My wife thought they were too, expensive though. They cost $3.99. I reminded her that drinks at Starbucks cost even more but I still didn’t get my chocolate shake. They also have a root beer float in a frosted mug for the same price as the shakes and malts.

The drinks at Smash burger (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Minute Maid Lemonade, Iced Tazo Tea, Bottle Water, and a bottle of IBC root beer) all cost $1.69. You can also get a bottle of beer for $2.99, a bucket of four bottles of beer for $9.99, or a glass of red or white wine for $3.99.

I knew after the first few bites of my BBQ, Bacon & Cheese burger that I liked Smashburger. The fact that they played one of my favorite songs from “Wincing the Night Away” by the Shins only increased my opinion of the place. I am planning to return soon to create my own masterpiece burger. I will probably have to experiment a little bit to get it just right (that’s part of the fun) but I will perfect it eventually.