Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It's a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It's a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern cuisine and beloved tenets — and everything in between.
At Bernie’s Burger Bus, the burgers are so juicy they might start dripping when they hit the table.
They offer several kinds of burgers with all sorts of different toppings. However, the quality is so good that keeping it simple is best. The Principal lets the individual components shine through, including the perfect bun, browned inside and out, and the patty made with beef that's loosely ground and formed in-house.
Even though it's fairly simple, The Principal still has a bit of a fancy touch: slow roasted garlic tomatoes. That addition adds tons of extra juice and flavor. Thin slices of bread-and-butter pickles are used rather than dill. It’s an addition that could have sent the balance plummeting off the cliff into too-sweet territory, but it doesn’t.
Other than that, The Principal is a pretty classic burger with lettuce, onions, mayonnaise, mustard. All you have to do is pick a cheese: cheddar, pepper jack, bleu, gouda or goat. I personally always get pepper jack.
Bernie’s makes its own mustard and ketchup in-house but the burger doesn’t’ need anything extra. Instead, use the ketchup for a side of the crispy, skin-on fries. It would be a terrible shame to miss out on them.
The List of Top 100 Dishes of 2015 So Far:
No. 85, Hunter's Honey Roasted Duck at Brennan's Of Houston
No. 86, Fish & Chips at Good Dog Houston
No. 87, Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit at Blacksmith
No. 88, "Saucy Balls" At Brooklyn Meatball Company
No. 89, Perry's Steakhouse/Perry & Sons Pork Chop
No. 90, General Tso's Chicken from The Rice Box
No. 91, Eggs, Refried Beans, Hash Browns and Hugo's Sauce at 59 Diner
No. 92, Shipley Do-Nuts Plain Glazed
No. 93, Housemade Bologney at Public Services Wine & Whisky
No. 94, Bo Luc Lac at Cheno's (formerly Chino's) Fast Food
No. 95, Combo #5 at Soto's Cantina
No. 96, Carnitas Salad At Chipotle
No. 97, Pickled Shrimp At Punk's Simple Southern Food
No. 98, Lobster Roll At Maine-Ly Sandwiches
No. 99, Chili-Cheese Coneys At JCI Grill
No. 100, Corned Beef Hash And Eggs At House Of Pies
