The juicy all-beef burgers at the iconic Houston ice house and restaurant Lankford Grocery are a thing of local legend. Owner Paul Prior — son of the famed proprietress “Miss” Eydie Lankford Prior — has been perfecting these 100 percent Angus beef patties for decades, including all 17 different ways you can top it here.
Miss Eydie’s parents opened the Montrose neighborhood joint in 1937 and ran it as a grocery store until the 1970s when the popularity of the burgers (not to mention their breakfast and daily lunch specials) kept devotees coming back to those oil cloth-covered tables again and again.
Next month Resy is urging diners in 10 cities to pay tribute to classic restaurants by taking part in The Classics Remix, a nationwide series of weekend-long pop-ups accompanying Resy’s annual editorial package: The Classics, A Tribute to the Restaurants That Define Our Cities. In each city (Boston, Charleston, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.), a top chef will partner with a famous food destination to create a multi-course remix menu — offered for dine-in and/or takeout varying by locale — based on the institution’s signature fare.
In Houston, the weekend of November 5 to 7, rising star chef Aaron Bludorn whose namesake restaurant Bludorn, at the edge of downtown, is sharing his inspired riff on those iconic Lankford Grocery burgers he’s come to savor. Curious about the burger Bludorn has conjured?
It’s a beef short rib patty topped with Redneck cheddar cheese and caramelized red onions, with a smear of jalapeno-spiked mayo. But what’s a burger without fries? Don’t answer that. Just order Bludorn’s Moroccan spiced curly fries with harissa aioli for dipping, while dessert brings Lankford’s famous cheesecake accented with fresh thyme and fig jam.
Taste it all by reserving a seat at one of those fire-engine red picnic tables out front (or order it to-go). Head to Resy to secure your tickets via pre-sale this Monday, October 11 at 10 am EST for American Express Gold card members with an account tied to Resy. Tickets sales open to the general public on Wednesday, October 13 at 10 am EST.
Lankford Grocery, 88 Dennis Street, Houston 713.522.9555. Open Mondays through Wednesdays from 9 am to 3 pm, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 am to 8 pm, Saturdays from 7 am to 8 pm, and Sundays from 9 am to 3 pm.