Voting Resources
Whataburger Reigns Supreme in Texas Hamburgers
Whataburger hamburgers reign supreme in Texas as the number one visited hamburger chain. The chain, founded in Corpus Christi, Texas, also fares well in large sections of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and even the panhandle of Florida.
The ranking comes from a survey of 20,000,000 Foursquare check-ins compiled by Thrillist.com. The Whataburger chain was founded in 1950 by Harmon Dobson. According to Thrillist, his only goal was to serve a burger so big it required you to use two hands to eat it. The name came from what he perceived the consumers’ reaction to the beefy burger would be, “What a burger!”
While the map put together by Thrillist clearly shows the dominance of Whataburger in Texas, it also reveals some Texans prefer other brands. In North Texas, some counties seem to prefer In-N-Out burgers as well as Carl’s Jr. Other counties seem to prefer Sonic, Jack in the Box and Dairy Queen.
While Burger King may lay claim to the “have it your way” slogan, Whataburger’s menu and options give you nearly 37,000 different ways to enjoy their burgers. Thrillist says if you want to try them all, you would need to consume three burgers per day for thirty-three years. To help keep employees happy and motivated, Whataburger conducts WhataGames competitions between stores. Employees are tested on their knowledge of operations, company history and customer service. Last year’s winning team, from San Antonio, took home a gold medal and $165,000 in cash.
Thrillist also listed two Texas hamburgers in their “33 Best Burgers in the Country” list. In Houston, the honor goes to a craft brewery bar called the Hay Merchant. Their “Cease and Desist Burger” gained notoriety after becoming the subject of a lawsuit from In-N-Out. The burger was originally named the Double-Double. After Hay Merchant owners received a cease and desist order the name was changed.
Burger aficionados in Austin can delight their taste buds with Swift’s Attic’s “Bowling Alley Burger” or the “Big Ass Burger Special”. The Bowling Alley Burger is described as “a succulent slab of Never Ever Angus with a nostalgic flavor profile marked by griddled onions, melted Fontina, and “fancy-ass” special sauce on a house made sesame seed bun.”
And so the battle for who can slap the most flavor between two buns continues.
