Goff’s Hamburgers

I was not impressed at all. I gave it 2 stars because the food was Meh but not horrible, however the cashier would alone make me not want to come back. First off rude, cold, barely speak English. The English thing I often overlook, but with attitude you get no sympathy. The burger tated watery and bland, not all what I expected from a charcoal grill. Burger Street, Whataburger, In N Out are all better if that tells you anything.

I hold grudges for decades. When treated like an escaped convict by a business owner, I don’t forget. In 1969, I took a lady friend to Goff’s on Lover’s Lane for lunch. Harvey himself pointed to the door and said, «Out.» Puzzled, I asked why. He pointed to a sign that declared, (paraphrasing) that «people of malodorous emanations need not enter.» Huh-​? I asked him what was the problem. One of the patrons, a corpulent man with a crew cut, grinned and told me that my hair was too long. I stated that my money was as good as anyone’s and Goff gestured to a huge fry cook who emerged from behind the counter brandishing a large metal spatula. I noticed that all the customers were wide-​eyed with anticipation, even a pair of University Park cops, who did not intercede. We walked out, laughing, our middle fingers vertical. I never patronized that man’s restaurant and will not. Goff represented the very lowest level of behavior: a bigot and reactionary, friend to all bitter, stupid outcast right-​wingers. A few years ago I accompanied a friend to a Goff’s near SMU. I did not eat. The food looked unremarkable and my companion was not impressed. Enough ranting… find another independent burger joint and let Goff’s die naturally.

Too much competition to have burgers like this these days. Very small meat patty was quickly chilled by the grated cheese. Fries were ok and hot. Also very expensive for what you get. Do yourself a favor when you get to the door; turn around go across the parking lot to Chili’s. It’s not horrible but too many good alternatives.

I ordered «The Deal,» a burger topped with chili-​cheese dog. As you can expect, it was very messy and greasy and the cheese was cold (how do you let that happen??), but overall, it tasted alright. The fries were absolutely horrible, don’t think I finished them.

I ordered a burger and got a burger.
I ordered onion rings and got onion rings.
I ordered a chocolate shake and got a chocolate shake.
Nothing more.
Other than the pictures on the walls all you get is realativley over priced meal: Burger $ 5. something, Rings $ 3. something, shake, pretty weak, $ 3. something; I am already at $ 11.00, plus tax. Hhhhuuummmm?

I’ve heard many good things about Goff’s. It must be the nostalgia factor, because this place is nothing special.
The previous comments of being over-​priced is correct. The #2 comes with just hickory sauce, nothing else. It is barely a ¹⁄₅ pound with a large bun and cost $ 4.75. Cheese was $.65 extra and was cold and unmelted. Burger was ok, but very disappointing.
I also ordered the chili cheese fries. The fries themselves are very good, but the chili was bland with what seemed like no spices. What kind of chili has zero spice?
Service was unfriendly and slow, although there was no one else in the place.

I have to include my childhood memories in my review, which bumped my rating up to 4 stars. Even without my memories of a Goff-​owned Goff’s, I got a good burger and acceptable fries. Yay!

D Magazine would have us believe that good burgers are to be had here. But I couldn’t disagree more.
I expected some great coal-​grilled burgers, but ended up wishing I had driven to Wendy’s, McD’s or any other fast-​food burger chain instead. Barely 5 minutes after I put in my order, I picked up my meal and fled the scene for more comfortable digs.
If there was a charcoal taste to this burger it was buried by the lettuce, pickles and barely-​melted shredded cheese topping. I also wanted to like their homemade fried pies but eating one left me guiltily wishing for McD’s variant. For $ 4.80 you get what appears to be a quarter pound burger the size of a child’s cheeseburger wrapped in foil. Maybe I’m used to all the Texas-​sized burger meals I’ve been experiencing lately, but even lacking in size, a Goff’s burger tastes nothing memorable.

Decent.
I went to Goff’s simply because I wanted a hamburger. The food is pretty good, but be warned it is pricey for the quantity.
I got a regular hamburger with lettuce, mustard, and ketchup. The burger was a slight upgrade in taste from a fast food hamburger, but cost 5 times ($ 4.80) than a burger with more meat would at a place like Wendy’s.
The fries are good, and probably the only thing worth their price on the menu. It’s about $ 1.80 for a good amount of thick fries.
Overall 3 stars, the food is pretty good but the portion you get is no where near the price you pay (just under $ 7 for a regular hamburger and fries, no drink).

The cold cheese on the hamburger is gross. I am not sure if it was the size of the patty or what, but there was not enough heat to melt the cheese at all. The relish sauce wasn’t great. Price was about $ 1 too high for a burger of that size.
Only thing that makes me disappointed there is not a 0 star option is that the onion rings were decent.

Greatest? Burger? Ever? Granted, I was starving and I got my food in about :45 seconds, but that was a tasty burger. Not too big they make you sick later; not so small you leave hungry. Perfectly sized. Grilled right behind the counter over coal, and the kitchen seemed spotless. (prefer the coal-​fired burger, and they’re a dieing bread. Goff’s dresses the burger with anything: freshly-​grated cheese, chili, onions, «special sauce.» Got some onion rings and I *think* they were made in-​house. Wasn’t 100% sure. They needed some salt (Bob’s is the best ever) but they worked. I didn’t like the chintzy $.50 ranch cups or the $.25 cup of pickled jalapenos.

Ok, I admit that I am biased. First, anyplace that acquired a statute of Lenin in 1992 has to be cool. The new location on Hillcrest is sans Lenin, but still. Second, I work at SMU and so the new location is super convenient for me. But beyond that, I really think that Goff’s burgers are better. The shakes are unbelievably good. The onion rings do not appear to be homemade but they are good anyway. I have tried the supposedly better places (Twisted Roots, Jakes) but Goffs is better. Are they consistent a la chains? Maybe not. But the choices and unique combinations make this an interesting place to return to again and again. The prices are very reasonable and I am always satisfied. The wife and I went to Twisted Root (Richardson) tonight and honestly we both came out saying we prefer Goffs. If you are close to downtown or in the HP/​UP area, I cannot think of a better place for burgers.

I (like a lot of other people) love burgers. I tried this place for lunch today. The décor is interesting as they have a bunch of (mostly) old Dallas photos on the wall. I’m all ways captivated by old photos. They got some aerial ones where they show before and afters that were cool. They even had a fairly new one of Laura bush eating at their Hillcrest location in 2006. Wow, if the 1^st lady is eating here it must be good, huh. Wrong-​a-​mundo. The burger was almost burnt, and the fact that it was ready about 2 minutes after I ordered makes me question whether it was made to order. And what is it with lettuce. Just because the stuff is cheap doesn’t mean you have to put a shitload of it on there. Less is more with lettuce. (But these guys aren’t the only one to make that Faux Paux in my book). I even had to upgrade to get onions and a slice of tomato. (OK its was only about .20 or .30 extra) Fries were good though.

I checked out Goff’s (new?) location today at Preson and LBJ. Had I known I was going here in advance I would have been able to research and then order the super awesome fried pie that Deno recommended, but alas I did not so I was on my own.
I got a burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and mayo and a vanilla and chocolate shake (half and half!). I was happy to see garlic salt available bc i’m a sucker for some garlic on anything. The hubs got a #1 and a chili cheese onion dog. The burger was good (not like kenny’s good, but what do you want for less than $ 5?). I should have skipped the shake and got some fries — they looked pretty tasty and the shake didn’t rock my socks off.
Hubs wasn’t a fan of the dog as much as he was of the burger. Next time — burgers, fries and PIE! :)