Texas’s Trump Burger Is Not Well worth the Drive (or Your Dignity)

From Civil Rights-era lunch counter sit-ins to restaurant kitchens operated by immigrants throughout the nation, meals — its programs, histories, and cultural patterns — has all the time been political. Some eating places, nonetheless, make it extra evident than others.

Trump Burger, which loudly proclaims its help for President Donald Trump, has rapidly turn out to be probably the most controversial fast-casual eating places in Texas. What began as one politically charged burger joint in Bellville, Texas, in 2020 has since expanded to a chainlet throughout the area, bringing its unapologetically MAGA branding to cities like Flatonia, Texas; Kemah, Texas; and, most just lately, West Houston on Chimney Rock Highway.

Proprietor Roland Beainy, a Lebanese immigrant who says he opened the restaurant in help of Trump, has been candid with native media. Although his eating places haven’t any official affiliation with the president, Beainy has stated he thinks Trump drastically improved the economic system throughout his first presidency (spoiler: he didn’t) and hopes to collaborate with him at some point. Not everybody, nonetheless, appears as enthusiastic. Even earlier than opening its doorways in Could, Trump Burger’s Houston outpost was met with center fingers from passing drivers, in response to a Houston Chronicle report — an indication of the friction in a predominantly Democratic metropolis. However Trump Burger isn’t attempting to win everybody over. From the “Made in USA” logos plastered on the menu to burgers actually stamped with the Trump title, the restaurant makes its deference to the president (and a selected group of diners) resoundingly clear.

So, how does Trump Burger actually stack as much as the compelling burger choices already in Area Metropolis? Eater Houston tried it so that you don’t must. Right here’s the rundown.

Brittany Britto-Garley

The Meals

With 5 totally different types of burgers and a Philly cheesesteak, the menu options the identical Trumpy vibe threaded into the whole restaurant’s decor. The namesake Trump burger is a comparatively simple 8-ounce chargrilled Angus beef patty topped with two goopy slices of yellow American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayonnaise, and selfmade barbecue sauce, all on a bun that’s gaudily stamped with a bolded “TRUMP” insignia (the ultimate contact is an American flag toothpick that stakes its declare within the bun). The Trump Tower burger, named for Trump’s New York skyscraper, provides an try at grandiosity — however actually, it’s only a double cheeseburger (two 8-ounce beef patties, 4 slices of white and yellow cheeses, with the restaurant’s customary toppings). The Bellville Zinger, possible a tribute to its hometown, sounds probably the most fascinating, with grilled onions, peppers, jalapeños, and Sriracha.

As with most features of Trump Burger, a menu isn’t only a menu. It takes jabs and makes an attempt to drive political factors dwelling with brutish humor. The Biden Burger, which is reportedly the “Harris Burger” on its Houston menu, includes a 1-ounce beef patty topped with “outdated tomato” and “the oldest buns accessible as a result of dishonest and inflation.” Listed underneath an illustration of former President Joe Biden with a pink X over his face, the burger is priced at a really random $50.99. “It’s a joke,” a cashier stated once I requested if it was an actual dish to order.

The Costs

Burgers and sandwiches — the principle occasion right here — all come as a combo with fries and price between $14 and $17. Salads are $11. Starters, which embrace fries and onion rings, are between $6 and $7. A five-count basket of hen strips served with honey mustard is $13. The youngsters’ menu includes a 4-ounce burger and a hen tenders meal with fries for $10 every. The drinks part retains it easy, with bottles of water, sodas, iced teas, and Otto’s root beer, for between $2 and $3.

Brett Coomer

Brett Coomer

The Vibe

Each Trump Burger location tries to outdo itself in nationalist and character cult aesthetics. Although Houston’s exterior is extra subdued and minimalist, the Kemah location includes a stage for dwell music and cocktails. The Bellville location appears most excessive: Photographs of Trump dominate the house, with life-size posters alongside flags, slogans, and merchandise that blur the road between restaurant decor and propaganda. A very jarring picture exhibits Trump elevating his fist, bloodied ear and all, after surviving an alleged assassination try in 2024 — a picture positioned not removed from cabinets stocked with Trump-branded mugs, hats, and koozies.

However for all of the visible noise, the precise environment can really feel eerily subdued. As I walked in on a latest Sunday, the stress, possible mixed with our nervousness, felt palpable. Right here, the vibe wasn’t festive — it was stiff, unsure, and uncomfortable, significantly for me, a lady of shade. The opposite diners current averted eye contact. Even the playlist, looping music movies on wall-mounted televisions, couldn’t inject life into the house. Probably the most pleasure I noticed was amongst households toddling round with their youngsters, many carrying Trump memorabilia (a boy, no older than 7, donned the shirt that learn “Daddy’s Residence”). It was a stark distinction to the raucous, family-friendly power you’d count on at most burger joints.

Brett Coomer

The Verdict

If you’re somebody who voted for Trump and helps his administration’s many compromising selections, this place is probably going for you. In the event you don’t fall into that class, is the meals adequate to look previous its rhetoric? The chargrilled burger patties are thick however bland, topped with a waxy cheese that lacks any memorable taste. The fries are crisp, and the meals reasonably priced, clocking in at across the identical value as you will get a burger and fries at one other, arguably higher, burger joint. Nonetheless, for individuals who see Trump’s legacy in another way — as a man who has deported harmless individuals; stoked division; subverted the Structure; and acted towards values that embrace equality, entry, and alternative — consuming right here appears like an endorsement of somebody whose vitriolic rhetoric has harmed, in lots of circumstances irreparably, the individuals he was elected to serve.

Trump Burger isn’t actually about burgers. It’s about broadcasting allegiance to an administration by means of capitalist, consumerist means: shopping for a cheeseburger. It’s an opportunity for Trump supporters to floridly rally behind a determine they admire. However with numerous burger spots in Houston that serve much better meals, Trump Burger is straightforward to move up. Each chunk turns into a political assertion, that, frankly, leaves a nasty style.