Square Burger

McKINNEY – Walk into Square Burger, and you can tell it's no ordinary burger joint. Housed in a historic 1929 art deco building that was once a dry-goods store, the 2 ½ -month-old spot on a corner of the town square has a great look, with an original tin ceiling that's almost 18 feet high, floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides and a long bar with a striking blue tile mosaic that's the backdrop for 30 taps. (Full review)

On the square in McKinney, in a lovely, lofty 1929 building that was once a dry-goods store, a chef who got his chops as a sous-chef at Spago Beverly Hills is flipping some terrific burgers. Six-week-old Square Burger is a real restaurant, though the menu consists mostly of burgers, salads and sides; there’s table service and a long, sleek bar that offers 30 well-chosen beers on tap (mostly North American). That burger, which is round, not square, comes on an ideal bun (a grilled Empire Bakery brioche number) with a thick pad of iceberg lettuce, a slice of tomato and circles of red onion. But this burger is all about the beef, which Genesis Beef raises locally. It’s grass-fed, antibiotic- and hormone-free and dry-aged 14 to 20 days before Genesis custom-grinds it for chef Craig Brundege. He likes to cook the thick patties to at least medium, but the kitchen agreed to my medium-rare request; the burger was juicy and perfect — like the backyard burger that dreams are made of.
(Full review)