Woody's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Mineral Wells

Look, this place is renowned. I've driven past it a hundred times in my lifetime, and even saw Mikey Chen (Strictly Dumpling) do a food vlog on it where he came from NYC to Dallas and drove to Mineral Wells just to have "the best burger in Texas." Don't get me wrong, the burger was really tasty, but from a frozen patty state, I'm almost 100% certain it's not all beef and has some soy in it. Again, so is everywhere pretty much these days, so it doesn't mean it doesn't taste good, but I'm an all beef guy when I can help it. I'll stand corrected if I'm wrong about the soy. Now, as far as the atmosphere, it was exactly what I expected. It was a dark, smoky dive bar with ZZ Top blaring when we walked in. We looked / felt out of place, and I loved that aspect of it, and I haven't had a beer in nearly 20 years. We had our two little kids with us, and they think everything is an adventure. I even taught them to play pool. The food was satisfying, but in my opinion, the burger is on par with Braum's down the street (which is darn tasty too...also not 100% beef). I'm not knocking the place. I think it's a Mineral Wells institution. Not sure if I'll go back, but it was a great experience. I guess if someone has their expectations too high, it could be disappointing, but we loved it for exactly...

Drove over an hour to get here. Youtube recommended.. Well I forgot that I was warned this is a TRUE bar environment. Makes me think of the type of small town bar you might see in a movie. So I had planned to eat there but as soon as I walked in the cigarette smoke slapped me in the face and i said ok i need this food to go! IMMEDIATELY!!! Lol not only can i not stand smoke, I'm allergic. It took a while to get my burger. Way longer than expected. I was there talking to a local for the longest. Had a good conversation so i wasn't watching the clock. I finally got my burger and left. So just be warned of the smoke. They doNOT have French fries. That was a let down and to my people with melanin. Be prepared for curious "where'd you come from?" looks. It's a mostly Caucasian environment but you'll be fine. Oh yea... the burger. Good yes... but worth the drive? No. We've got comparable burgers in the Dallas area that also sell French fries lol I mainly took this trip as a random road trip to try a new food spot as I enjoy those. I enjoy my alone time. Music and the highway is...

This place was heralded as the best burger in Texas. Indeed, it was an outstanding burger at a fair price. However, service left me frustrated. Their process is cooking about 13-19 burgers at a time with about a 20 minute turn between rounds. It took us two rounds to get our burger, so slightly over 40 minutes. Burgers are about all they serve (grilled cheese, BLT, and hot dogs are also on the menu). No sides except bags of chips. Additionally, they allow smoking indoors, which is almost unheard of nowadays. It was an unpleasant odor and distraction. This is very much a local place and I don’t know they take kindly to tourists (I think my crocs gave me away!). Servers were matter-of-fact with a “like us or don’t” persona. They worked hard and are victims of their process. If you want an excellent burger and have time to sip a beer or two while you wait, Woody’s will work for you. For me, the burger lived up to the hype but the process and atmosphere diminished it. If I went again, I’d do the walk-up window and...