I love burgers. I mean, I truly love burgers — and have eaten fantastic burgers all over the world, from New York to Tokyo and lots of places in between. Dave Culwell loves burgers, too. Great, but you know what really matters? He makes some of the best ones in Dallas.
And he's already eyeing Collin County.
Burger Schmurger opened on April 30 in East Dallas, near my old Lake Highlands stomping grounds, with This & That Hospitality. It's the first brick-and-mortar spot for the former musician-turned-real-estate-broker-turned burger slinger, who got his start in backyard cookouts during the pandemic.
All that led to buzz, pop-ups at breweries and in Deep Ellum, and even a Best Bite Award at the culinary festival Chefs for Farmers in 2022. A year later, The Dallas Morning News wrote that Culwell was making the best burger in the city. Good news. He still is.
"I grew up with my grandmother and I always cooked," Culwell tells Local Profile. "And I always found a lot of joy in cooking and feeding people." A Los Angeles native, Cuwell ended up moving to the Lone Star State in 2016 with his then-wife, a seventh-generation Texan.
What Makes Burger Schmurger So Darn Good
These are proper, no-nonsense smash burgers. They're deceptive, and there's a lot going on. "I like that they are juicy, crispy, cheesy and salty," says Iris Midler, founder of Chefs For Farmers Dallas Food and Wine Festival.
Dallas has a great burger tradition, whether that's Chip's, Jake's, Keller's or the original Goff's. Los Angeles does, too, and it's one that's been imported to Texas with In 'N' Out.
For Culwell, his burgers are evocative of the best burger you've had, no matter where you're from. These burgers are all things to all people. "I get a lot of people who say to me, this reminds me of the burger I grew up with back in Louisiana, back in Mississippi, back in California — whatever it is," he says. "They say this reminds me of home."
The brick-and-mortar spot is also evocative of a time gone by, something we've seen Seager & Sons also execute well.
What's Next?
What do you mean, what's next? Burger Schmurger just opened! Yes, that's right. It did, and it's delicious. If the restaurant does as well as it should (and deserves to), expansion seems inevitable. Dallas is a big city. There are lots of opportunities for expansion. But now, as of spring 2025, and this is certainly subject to change, Culwell is looking north.
"If this goes the way we think it's going to go, we started looking about six months out, seeing where's the next spot," says Culwell. "Definitely want to hit the suburbs, because the suburbs get all the chains." And Burger Schmurger isn't a chain, which could add to the appeal. (Chain or not, what really matters is that the burgers are absolutely amazing!)
Possible places Culwell mentions include Frisco, Prosper, McKinney, Allen and maybe even Anna. "Who knows what'll happen," he continues. "Prosper, Anna and Melissa are starting to become cities."
"Like, my ex-wife that grew up here," he says, "she thought Richardson was on the other side of the world when she was growing up — and Plano was Oklahoma as far as she was concerned. But not anymore. It's all right there and so accessible now."
For Those With Dietary Restrictions
Schmurger has gluten-free buns, and a veggie burger. And if they don’t butter the bun on a veggie burger, it’s vegan.
How To Get There And What's Nearby
Burger Schmurger is about 30 minutes to over an hour from Legacy West, depending on traffic. White Rock Lake and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden are all close (the arboretum is under ten minutes by car).
(We thank Burger Schmurger for hosting and treating us!)
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