BURGER FRIDAY: CHIEF CAJUN BIG BABY HAMBURGERS
Boys, do I have a deal for you. To take advantage of it, come along with me to a bustling driveup snack shack in the southeast Houston neighborhood of Brookhaven, which adjoins the historical black neighborhood of Sunnyside.
Driving along Holmes, as it runs between Scott and Texas 288, just south of the 610 Loop, you might miss the turn onto Brandon, where the sign has gone missing. It’s between Colonial and Comal, both of which are marked. Proceed south down a long block to the corner of Brandon and Glenrose, where you can’t miss the hulking black barbecue rig painted with yellow flames.
You have arrived — at the latest location for what used to be the Chief Cajun Snack Shack on Southmore, where the Chief’s burgers won a southeast-side name for themselves. Pull into a parking space and find out why the burgers here moved me to add a new rating category — value — to my longtime format.
PRICE: $5.40 for the cheeseburger special, which comes with a hefty side of seasoned fries and a super-cold can of H-E-B’s generic cola. ORDERING: Step up to the window where you order. It will probably be closed. Just wait, while consulting a menu posted on the outside wall, beneath a dripping air-conditioner unit. Presently, the window will slide aside and the face of the Chief Cajun on duty will appear, asking what you’d like. Once you’ve ordered and paid — cash is preferred, although stickers claim Visa, American Express and Discover work, too — hang out on one of the park benches stationed outside or wait in your car. Or just lean against your vehicle and shoot the breeze with the regulars, many of whom seem to know each other, while they wait for their burgers or fried fish or barbecue orders to be called.
ARCHITECTURE: Packaged in foil. Salad stuff on top. On a toasted bun goes a swipe of mustard and some dill pickle slices, followed by a tall ground-beef patty and a slice of melted American cheese. Next comes seriously red sliced tomato, big flanges of iceberg lettuce and rings of crisp raw onion, followed by a generous slather of mayo.
QUALITY: There’s a sensation of freshness and generosity that makes this surprisingly hefty cheeseburger very appealing. A sign near the window advertised the basic cheeseburger as a “quarter-pound combo,” but as I held it in my hands, staring in stupefac-
7839 Brandon; 832-65-8557 Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays