Burger review: H2 Gourmet Burger in Fort Worth

"Gourmet" means atypical cheese choices and a pretzel bun.

H2 Burger inside

Tucked inside the Red Goose Saloon (formerly the Red Goose children’s shoe store some 30 years ago) is the newest addition to Fort Worth’s burger scene – H2 Gourmet Burger Co. Opened during Super Bowl week in 2011, we first thought that the H2 was a play on words like “Hamburgers 2 the next level.” But we found out that it is actually the initials of the owner Hutchison (who we think also owns Froggies off White Settlement) and head chef (who created the recipes) Cordon Bleu-trained David Hollister.

When you first enter, be prepared – it is a bar – a dingy, smoke-smelling bar. Kids would be okay during the day time (when they are open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) but after that, it is not a place for families. (Funny side story, we asked for a high chair, not thinking it was a bar! But the waiter actually went next door to Uno’s and borrowed one from them for us – now that is service.)

This is a place for foodies. If you are a traditionalist with your burger, then you would not like this place. But if you are a person who likes the fusion of greasy spoon burger with gourmet flair, then this is your place.

The menu is robust and a treat for burger guys (and gals) and includes a handful of third-pound gourmet hot dogs and a few more “non” burgers including turkey and veggie. The prices ranged $7-$10. Unfortunately, there is no website with menus to direct you to.

We ordered the basic cheeseburger as we always do, the H2 Burger w/ cheese, which wasn’t nearly as basic as the name would suggest. It was a 1/2 pound of Angus beef and topped with tomato, arugula (instead of lettuce), tarragon mustard, and balsamic caramelized onions.

Among your cheese choices are gorgonzola, smoked cheddar, swiss, muenster, chevre, and grana padano (which is like parmesan). And yes, there was no American on that list of cheeses. What did you think the word gourmet in the title meant?

H2 Burger burger

The burger was served on a rectangular red plate, wrapped in white tissue. It came cooked medium per our order and was presented restaurant style, which was nice. AGH describes the burger as “flavorful.” When you list the ingredients as above, you may not think it will work, but the flavors do.

The burger was hot, and the juice factor was great. The flavor of the meat was masked with all the toppings, but it was good.

The one comment we would have is that the onions were a bit overpowering to the rest of the meat. If you want ketchup, then you will get the house-made version. And this was not some “start with catsup from Del Monte and MacGyver it up” style. This was the real deal.

The burger comes with shoestring fries, which were average. It was almost as if all the creativity was used up on the burger and this was what was left over. They did use some creativity for the pickle on the side. This was a house-made “spicy” number that was terrific.

You get two choices in the bun department. The staple is the ciabatta bun, but we opted for the pretzel bun. This was interesting. Think of the inside soft part of the pretzel, not the outside crunchy part. The buns were toasted and a nice complement to the burger.

They serve fountain Diet Coke -- no surprise, it is a bar. And the best part of our meal was the appetizer. We went with the fried pickles, which again are house-made and awesome.

All in all, we were impressed with our burger experience at H2. AGH will slide it in to her Top 10, but for MBH its not quite enough to displace the current Top 10. But, if we were doing the “foodie” Top 10, this place would take 1st prize with Lili’s Bistro in second.