Leslie Brenner Finds a Killer Burger at Sugarbacon

This week Leslie Brenner trekked to Sugarbacon, the old gas station-turned-restaurant in downtown McKinney from former Stampede 66 chef Jon Thompson. Despite being like, so over pork belly, Brenner found a lot to like:

Among the main courses, that superb Wagyu tri-tip was a special -- served on a vibrantly herbal chimichurri alongside warm potato salad. ... Meanwhile, a thick-cut, smoked Berkshire pork chop came to the table beautifully cooked, set on hominy streaked with green chile and topped with a smart little green apple salad. Seafood dishes were successful, too, such as well-seared sea scallops on creamed corn whose fresh kernels tasted just right in Indian summer, dressed up with a lovely little tomato-arugula salad.

Any of those are better choices than a boring chicken breast and tough short ribs, the critic says. She also highly recommends the butterscotch banana pudding, and weighed in very favorably on the burger:

Thick and juicy on its good, shiny bun, the Wagyu patty arrived spot-on medium rare, slap-happy with bread-and-butter pickles and handsomely dressed with melted cheddar and hey — sliced sugarbacon! It's one of the best burgers around.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Observer's Scott Reitz weighed in on Addison's Ida Claire. He's considerably less critical than Brenner was in last week's one-star review, but nonetheless feels Ida Claire has many improvements to make. He is a fan of the burger on a sweet potato bun and the fried oyster po'boy, however. D's Eve Hill-Agnus went to Rapscallion and found some surprising — and sometimes, confusing — flavors, but left sold on the spicy Szechuan fried chicken; and finally, the Star-Telegram's Anna Caplan checked out dinner service at Swiss Pastry Shop and devoured some fantastic mac and cheese, sauerbraten, and weisswurst.