The $7.65 half-pound B.P. Burger, cooked over a mesquite-wood-fired grill, is worth the visit to Beck’s Prime.
I don’t know what it is about cooking food on a grill, particularly a mesquite-wood-fired one, but what comes off the cooking surface somehow looks and smells great.
That’s the case at Beck’s Prime Restaurant, which is located across from Ozona next to a carwash and SMU Boulevard at 4622 Greenville. (There’s another Beck’s at Preston & Forest in Preston Hollow, too.) Beck’s is an unusual combination of fast-food fried meals and weirdly expensive plate offerings.
During our visit over the weekend, I tried the 1/2-pound B.P. Burger (pictured), which is essentially a straight-up grilled hunk of meat with some special sauce ($7.65) and a regular order of Idaho fries ($2.65); my wife had the $8.65 half-pound cheeseburger. When it comes to the burgers, there’s plenty enough there to make a meal for most of us, with my wife whacking hers in half and taking it home for another meal.
The regular order of fries, while good, was a little skimpy in terms of quantity for the money; Smashburger originally had shrimpy but expensive sides when it first opened in Dallas, too, but something must have happened there (customer complaints, probably) and the side portions have increased measurably.
Since this is Dallas, and since we were eating at a chain restaurant, it’s always hard to get away for much less than $20 if we order soft drinks, too. By way of comparison, we were in Wills Point last week (40 miles or so east of Dallas), and a similar meal in a small-town burger shop was just about as good and cost $12.75 (just one soft drink but plus a big piece of coconut-creme pie, too). What can I say: Big-chain food — make that all restaurant food — costs more in Dallas, that’s for sure.
OK, so that takes care of the portion of Beck’s menu I’ve tried. I can’t speak for the $30 sirloin strip or the $31 ribeye, which may be great but just seem odd being served in a fast-food environment. Maybe they’re basically for take-home diners or businesspeople visiting Dallas alone and looking for a casual place to enjoy a good, expense-account meal. That’s for one of you to answer, perhaps.
Anyway, Beck’s burgers are great, and the chicken sandwiches and salads looked good, too. When I’m flush, I’ll swing by again.
