Frequently, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter has lunch at a local restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
How is it that a restaurant on a well-traveled street can be inconspicuous?
I introduce Exhibit “A”, Hopdoddy Burger Bar (1370 East 70th Street, Shreveport).
Tucked in a corner and just a few steps from another restaurant, Hopdoddy is the shy person in school who doesn’t want to call attention to themselves. You could drive by every day and not know Hopdoddy is there. But heard a while back that Hopdoddy replaced Grub Burger Bar, of which I had eaten. So, on a recent Wednesday, I invited a friend to hop on over to Hopdoddy (see what I did there?) and join me for lunch.
One thing about Hopdoddy – there is plenty of seating. The inside is large, bright, and has a lot of high-top tables and a few booths, as well as bar seating. If you prefer soaking up some sun, there is patio seating in front of, and on one side of the restaurant. That side area has two large TVs, and ceiling fans.
My friend and I chose to eat inside, and even at 12:30, it felt like we had the room to ourselves. Large windows line the front and one side, while mirrors are on one wall. Sunlight filled the room, and some kind of music played throughout. During our 90-minute stay, I only recognized one song.
When arriving, you have a choice as to how to read Hopdoddy’s menu. You can look through a hand-held menu, or you scan a QR Code and see the menu on your phone. That’s what we did, moving out of the way so regulars who knew what they wanted could make their way to the counter. At Hopdoddy, you pay for your meal in advance, and your drinks are self-serve.
As its name implies, Hopdoddy is big on burgers. There are five “Regular” burgers, five “Specialty” burgers, and a Veggie burger. If chicken is more your thing, there are four options – a couple of burgers with a ground chicken patty, fried chicken, and chicken tenders.
The holidays are upon us and I wanted to eat somewhat healthy so I wouldn’t feel guilty when I don’t eat healthy over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Therefore, I was very happy to see that at Hopdoddy, you can make any burger into a bowl. The less bread, the better. So, I ordered a Shroom Bowl ($10.95) – a hamburger patty with Creamy Goat Cheese, Mushrooms, Mayonnaise, Basil Pesto, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion – all in a bowl.
As for my friend, he was having a down day and needed a pick-me-up. So, he decided to go with the Cadillac of Hopdoddy burgers, the Cadillac Wagyu ($14.95). My friend was enticed by a half pound of Wagyu Beef, Swiss Cheese, Steakhouse Bacon, Crispy Fried Onions (he left off the onions), Steak Sauce, Truffle Aioli, Roasted Tomato, and Arugula.
At Hopdoddy, if you want fries with your burger, you will have to order them separately. We chose a shareable order of traditional hand-cut fries ($6.95). The young lady who took our order asked if it was okay that our fries were served before our meal. That was fine, as we were both hungry. We thought of the fries as an appetizer. My friend and I both had fountain drinks ($3 each).
As promised, our “appetizer” came out first – five to 10 minutes before our meals. We were served a large bowl with fries, which is not the same as a large bowl of fries. Don’t get me wrong. There were plenty for two people, but it was like when you buy a big bag of chips, and the chips only fill about three-quarters of the bag. The fries were thin-style, and well-seasoned.
My Shroom Bowl was filled with all of the promised ingredients. Except for the meat with pesto basil on top, everything was mixed together. It all tasted as good as I assumed a burger would taste, without the extra bread calories.
You know how food in person never looks as good as it does on TV? Well, that was not the case when it came to my friend’s Cadillac Wagyu burger. It looked every bit like one you would see in a commercial. While not overly large, his burger was stacked high with everything promised. And it was stacked neatly. Nothing was falling apart. In fact, my friend’s burger came with a long piece of something (think an oversized toothpick) which held everything together.
“That was one of the best burgers at a true burger joint I’ve had,” my friend said. “I liked how it was juicy, and that it wasn’t undercooked, but wasn’t dry, either. It was perfect. I was full the rest of the night.”
Not only did my friend enjoy what was between the buns, he enjoyed the buns.
“Some burgers, you have to unhinge your jaw because the bun is so big. It takes away from just tasting the burger. This was a great combination of burger and bun, and it wasn’t too much bun to take away from the burger.”
Hopdoddy serves five types of shakes, which we could have had for dessert. However, even though the shakes in the menu pictures looked delicious, we chose to pass. Maybe (Probably) next time.
The cost of our meal before tax and tip was $38.85. Here’s another instance of where you’re asked to leave a tip before getting service. When paying, I asked the lady at the counter the subtotal, so I could leave an appropriate tip. She said she couldn’t tell me. That meant I had to guess, which ended up costing our server 78 cents in addition to the tip I left.
I give Hopdoddy Burger Bar Three Forks. It was really good, and I am kicking myself for not having been before now. The next time I am in the mood for a burger (with or without the bread), I hope I remember Hopdoddy. Like the shy person in school, just because Hopdoddy doesn’t call attention to itself, that’s not to say it doesn’t have a lot to offer.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit for lunch?
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