Written by Evelyn Martinez & Mark Travis
A great burger doesn’t need much to make an impression, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to go all in. Whether it’s a no-frills cheeseburger done right or a towering double-patty stack layered with every possible upgrade, there’s no single formula for perfection; only the kind that keeps you coming back for another bite.
Enter: Best in Bun. Built from community nominations and online voting, the list spans classic cheeseburgers, veggie burgers and everything in between, highlighting the local spots that consistently rise to the top. The final results are as much about people and place as they are about what’s between the buns. Though what’s inside every bite surely seals the deal.
El Befe from Boarri Craft Meats and Goods
Winner | Best Artisanal Burger
When everything from meat quality to seasonings and grill time determines the flavor of a burger, who better to craft one than a meat artisan himself? Crowned Best Artisanal burger, Boarri’s “El Befe” locks down its foundation first, then offers customers all the necessary bells and whistles to add at their discretion—all locally sourced, of course.
Nestled within one of the city’s designated “Local Historic Landmarks,” Boarri Craft Meats and Goods opened its doors in October 2021 after what owner Nathan Kolenovsky described as “decades” of planning and a year of much-needed renovations. The building itself, built by none other than the H. E. Butt family carries a lengthy list of legacy tenants dating back to 1931. Kolenovsky honored the space by poring over local library archives and working diligently alongside designer and builder Justin Gainan to preserve its vintage feel, hard work that cultivates regulars.
“Food is fellowship,” he explained. “It’s where people get together, laugh, cry. If we can provide something that [the customer] enjoys and wants to talk about, then we’ve done what we’re supposed to do. To me, that’s the reward.”
Before getting to the farm-fresh toppings, condiments and sides, Boarri zeroes in on the patty. Ground fresh daily from the excess trim of its short rib cuts guarantees the utmost quality of meat. Add to that anything a burger lover could desire, from eggs and bacon to house sauce and fresh produce, and you have an award-winning Befe, personalized and cooked to perfection.
“When we added the burger [to the menu], all hell broke loose,” said Kolenovsky. “Our number one selling item last year was the hamburger—and we only sell [it] three hours a day, five days a week.”
As a local market, Boarri’s team sticks to the mission “big enough to serve you, small enough to know you.” The case stays stocked with unique cuts entirely made up of Texas livestock, and local products ranging from tinned fish to specialty jerky line the store shelves. Most importantly, visitors can feel the personal touch that comes with the nature of a local meat market.
Contact: 817 S Staples Street | 361.299.0149 | boarri.com
Tannins Wine Bar & Tapas/Wine Bar & Grill
Winner | Best Sliders
Winemakers know tannins, the backbone of red wine’s acidity and structure, to be a finicky science demanding patience and precision. Taking the practice of its namesake to heart here in Corpus Christi, even going as far as defining the term prominently inside the Southside location, local hidden gem Tannins Bar & Grill (and the original Bar & Tapas) applies this to everything it offers, from the wine selection to the food menu. After triumphing in the Sliders category with its Italian Meatball sliders, owner Jerry Davila hopes the recognition helps redefine both Tannins locations as “more than just a wine bar,” but also as “a great place to eat, meet friends and walk out happy.”
Tannins opened in the Crossroads Shopping Village in 2015, when owners Davila, Daniel Solano and Mario Fimbres looked to fulfill what they saw as an unaddressed need in the city: a cozy neighborhood wine bar. As the tapas concept found its footing on Alameda, the team slowly expanded the menu, experimenting within the limitations of a kitchen equipped with only an oven. Davila pitched a slider—not just any slider, he explained, but an Italian Meatball slider with a “Texas twist”: a secret ratio of hamburger meat, ground pork and chorizo giving it a spicy kick. Italian parsley and Davila’s signature chopped, not diced, onions round out the dish that he, Tannins customers and servers all agree to be one of the best items on the menu.
The main difference between the two locations is in the name, with the Southside’s added grill allowing the menu to expand while keeping all the classics intact. Guests can rest assured, whether drawn to the intimate charm of the original Bay Area spot or the Southside’s longer menu and extra room to linger, the same high-quality, carefully curated experience always follows—as do the juicy sliders. — Evelyn Martinez
Contact: 3855 S Alameda Street | 361.334-3893 7629 | S Staples Street Ste A111 | 361.452.0285 | tanninsgrill.com
“Vago Cheeseburger” from El Vago Burger & BBQ
Winner | Best Classic Cheeseburger
A visit to El Vago Burger & BBQ might be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated. Not because of the brand’s pair of cartoonish, fiendish logos that greet customers at the window—one devil brandishing a spatula and another hoisting a burger—but because of its beefy menu, one inspired by “stoner food” and replete with more protein than a GNC store.
In that sense, El Vago’s classic Cheeseburger acts as a sort of gateway beef that might lead you to the parts of the menu where there are virtually no limits to the amount of meat one can pile on (spare a thought for the humble sesame buns employed here). But sometimes it takes an act of perfected simplicity to remind us that a burger derives its soul not from its size, but from its sizzle.
The Vago Cheeseburger mounts a diverse assault on the senses while working within a standard framework. It is decked out with the usual frills—lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions—but the star of the show is the timeless relationship between the succulent 80/20 patty and molten cheese. The cheese seems just as eager as you will be to get to the center of the meat, seeping into the patty’s delectable topography, creating a creamy, combustible bite.
Although it has been serving up some of the best burgers in town for more than two years now, owner Alex Arredondo’s first entrepreneurial enterprise under the El Vago moniker was selling beard butter at the Corpus Christi Trade Center (the devil in his logo, it must be said, does sport a luscious beard). As he looked around one day, he asked himself, “What does everybody here have in their hands?” The answer was obvious: Food. So he started selling barbacoa and barbecue out of his stall, not expecting it to take off. “I never knew my food was that good,” Arredondo said.
“Good” might be understating it. El Vago rapidly grew into a business that needed its own space to breathe, which it found on a corner of a mostly residential area on the city’s Westside. The location, with its covered outdoor picnic table seating and detached smokehouse where the barbecue aroma curls off the roof and wraps around the customers, feels ingrained in its neighborhood, a sense that is elucidated when a postal worker hands the day’s mail to the cashier … and then places an order.
Generosity has been an integral part of El Vago’s success, and not just in its substantial portion sizes. In June of last year, Arredondo announced on social media that he was offering free lunches to school kids on summer break. In November, he teamed with Smack Eats to serve hundreds of Thanksgiving plates to the community. In December, he ran a toy drive to help provide Christmas gifts to families in need.
“There have been times in my life when I struggled to provide, so I know how it feels,” Arredondo shared. “We have a lot of customers who really care about this place, so to be able to give something back to people who need help, it feels like the right thing to do.”
Contact: 4701 Barrera Drive | 361.737.2810 | @elvagoburgerandbbq
Water Street Oyster Bar
Winner | Best Bacon Cheeseburger
The Marina Arts district guides families, industry leaders and tourists alike along seaside alcoves spread throughout the landscape. Water Street Oyster Bar, the first under the Water Street umbrella to open its doors back in 1983, sits on the corner of the market square. Throughout the day, sunlight spills through the open windows in a twisting kaleidoscope fashion. Visitors get lost in the marine world built within the antique building, and the air fills with anticipation as they await the locally lauded menu featuring the newest award-winning item, the Bacon Burger.
First of five Lomax family-owned restaurants—Executive Surf Club, whose Veggie Burger appears later in our list, El Camino, Central Kitchen and their Shoreline sister Elizabeth’s—to open on the corner of the newly renamed Lomax Street, Oyster Bar stays true to their promised “premium quality” since their early days as a humble scratch kitchen serving fishermen and industry workers. In fact, catering to that early demographic practically solidified the Bacon Burger as a day one item.
“Sunburnt, salty guys coming in after a day of fishing have always wanted cold oysters, cold beer, a cold martini [or] a greasy cheeseburger,” explained Richard Lomax, Water Street CEO and heir to dad Brad’s restaurant empire.
Aside from its brief stint as the “Water Burger” before, as Lomax put it, a cease and desist from a similar-sounding establishment “kind[ly] and graciously asked us to pivot the name,” the burger hasn’t strayed far from its origins. A handmade Angus beef patty topped with cheddar cheese and applewood smoked bacon, all sitting on top of a slightly toasted brioche bun baked in-house daily from Central Kitchen. Lomax swears by the restaurant’s “no frills” approach, citing how sometimes in the seafood business, “you’ve just got to stand out of the way and let the ingredients work.”
Contact: 309 N Water Street | 361.881.9448 | waterstmarketcc.com
“Ultimate Burger” Vick’s Famous Hamburgers
Winner | Best Double/Triple Meat Burger
Turning 50 this summer, Vick’s is no stranger to accolades. Even before it claimed fame for its burgers in the name itself, by year five in operation, it made headlines for them in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, then the San Antonio Express a few years later, and even earned a spot in The Bend’s last burger issue back in 2017. Once second-generation owners George and Lisa Pollakis took over the original location on the westside, the name officially reflected what the city always knew the place for: “Vick’s Famous Hamburgers.” Adding onto its list of local awards, it comes as no surprise to find Vick’s somewhere in this issue, reigning supreme in the Double/Triple Meat category,
Pollakis keeps it as simple as his parents and original owners, Vick and Zoe Pollakis, did when it comes to the restaurant’s mission. “Quality ingredients, a good price point and off-the-charts customer service,” described Pollakis. “We’re part of the community. When you walk in, we want you to feel like you’re family. All that spells good value.”
Endlessly customizable, all of Vick’s burger combos can turn into double, triple and, one-upping us in our own category, even a quad stack. The signature “Ultimate” burger, created by Pollakis’ son Anthony who now runs the Saratoga location, features “pretty much everything, including the kitchen sink,” according to Pollakis: grilled tomatoes, onions and jalapeños, layered between fried pickles, bacon, lettuce, American and Swiss cheese, mustard, ketchup and mayo, all laid on top of the classic beef patty.
Dedication to quality means every item on offer, from the freshness of the seafood to the fine-tuned batters used for its beloved fried pickles, okra and onion rings, deserves some time on your plate. Become a regular and eat your way through, or experiment with what you know you love—maybe with an egg on a double meat or chili to top off the fries. – Evelyn Martinez
Contact: 626 N Port Avenue | 361.882.5082 | 6734 Saratoga Blvd | 361.444-5382 | vickshamburgerscc.com
Price’s Chef
Winner | Best Patty Melt
In the center of the Six Points juncture sits a living monument to a bygone era. In 1941, Dan Price took over a diner along South Alameda Street called The Chef and slapped his name on the sign. It has been a cornerstone of Corpus Christi’s culinary scene ever since.
“It’s a landmark,” Price’s Chef general manager Alex Guerrero said. “This place has its own legacy, and we are just trying to keep it going.”
When Luis and Zora Guerrero moved their family from Los Angeles to Corpus Christi in 2006, they were looking to get into the food service industry. They considered becoming Quiznos franchisees, but as the sandwich chain began shuttering its local locations, the Guerreros learned of a chance to purchase Price’s Chef. While the transition was finalized, Luis worked as a dishwasher for a month before being revealed as the new owner—just like an episode of “Undercover Boss.”
Around the same time as the local diner’s founding, way over on the coast of California, a restaurateur named Tiny Naylor began serving up a new spin on the hamburger, swapping the bun for rye bread. Some 80 years later, two bedrocks of American gastronomy—diners and patty melts—are alive and well inside the walls of Price’s Chef.
“The classics are appreciated by people,” Alex Guerrero said. “They withstand the test of time.”
Portioned on a classic flat-top grill, each ingredient gets paid special attention, temperatures tailored by design: The grilled onions are cooked slowly on the side while the 85/15 Angus patty simmers on the main stage. Once they are sporting a nice summer tan, the patty is smothered and covered with the onions, coated with a savory Swiss cheese and laid on seeded rye bread. With its sharp angles and starchy blend, the toast offers a crunchy contrast to the soft, juicy inhabitants dripping off its flat surface.
The red, white and blue Price’s Chef storefront has been an indelible part of Corpus Christi’s iconography for longer than most patrons have been alive, and it’s easy to see why. Sliding into a booth here is like entering a time portal. Akin to the Americana aesthetic, the prices here are from a different age, offering customers the chance to take an affordable bite out of history; one you won’t soon forget. Because taste, after all, is timeless. – Mark Travis
Contact: 1800 S. Alameda Street | 361.883.2786 | priceschefcc.com
Executive Surf Club
Winner | Best Veggie Burger
Since 1990, the beating heart of Corpus Christi’s Marina Arts District has echoed the rhythm of the tides. Sensing that life’s current was carrying him away from the roaring waves that brought him vitality and peace, surfer and restaurateur (in that order) Brad Lomax clutched at the essence of the bay and attempted to bring it to shore.
“My dad and his buddies were just getting too old to [surf] anymore,” Richard Lomax, who took over from his father as CEO of Water Street Restaurants, said. “So he wanted to create a place with a real casual environment where they could have a beer and a burger and reminisce about the glory days.”
The Executive Surf Club was founded as an act of preservation, capturing the fleeting feeling of youth and infusing it into a restaurant conceived with equal attention paid to atmosphere and appetite. But there was one particular palate that wasn’t yet catered to, requiring a natural addition to the menu: The Veggie Burger. “We had to have it for the hippie surfer guys,” Richard Lomax said.
Although it sprouted up as a bespoke option for health-conscious surfers, the Veggie Burger’s appeal quickly spread to even the heartiest carnivore. It features a custom-crafted black bean patty, anointed with an ambrosial house-made ranch and bedded down with freshly sliced lettuce and tomato. There’s precision in the patty’s shape, maintaining a uniformity that conceals a depth of flavor.
“We tried 20 different patty mixes before we decided on this one,” General Manager Louis Contreras said. “And the way we grill and sauté the patty, I think it makes it stand out.”
With an archipelago of starches dotting the herbivorous canvas, each mouthful is a connection to our roots, capped off with an intriguing spice, a gentle reminder that Mother Nature bites back.
Contact: 306 N. Chaparral Street | 361.884.7873 | @executivesurfclub
“The Hang Over” from Padre Island Burger Company
Winner | Best Brunch Burger
At its core, a brunch burger comprises two essential elements: a fried egg, representing breakfast, and a hamburger patty, representing lunch. This savory symbiosis has quelled the most voracious of appetites, dating all the way back to late 19th-century Germany, even serving as a form of medicine for some.
Whether you are trying to shake off the night before or simply looking to jumpstart your day with a bold bite, Padre Island Burger Company’s “The Hang Over” burger will quickly convert all comers from sluggish to satiated. And perhaps it can make that headache magically disappear, too.
“We see a big uptick in orders for this burger on Saturdays and Sundays,” owner and head chef Jason Johnson said. “We attribute that to the party atmosphere on the Island on the weekends. And during the summer, it’s all week.”
Packing a powerful protein punch on a pillowy sourdough bun, The Hang Over showcases a scrumptious 75/25 certified Black Angus mix. Adorning the precious fatty patty are crispy corn-smoked bacon strips, a slice of block American cheese, meticulously sautéed caramelized onions and, of course, a picturesque sunny-side-up egg. To enjoy this burger in all its glory, take The Hang Over out onto PIBC’s breezy patio; upon first bite, it will appear as if the runny egg is melting off the sun itself. Just be sure to bring plenty of napkins with you.
While the burger basks in the erupted egg’s golden rays, your envious fries might begin to crave a viscous dressing of their own. They will yearn for the yolk. Want our advice? Order a side of Dr. Padre sauce and another of garlic aioli and fashion your fries as spoons.
As a formally educated chef with a bachelor’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Johnson had an open mind when choosing what kind of culinary corner to carve out for himself in his hometown. While scouring Corpus Christi for a place to call his own, a spot on Padre Island became available.
“As soon as I saw the location,” Johnson said, “I knew it needed to be a Jimmy Buffett, cheeseburger-in-paradise-style restaurant.”
On the titular song of his 1994 album Fruitcakes, Buffett preaches that “there’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.” Should you find yourself crossing that line, don’t fret—this burger paradise has just the order for you.
Contact: 11878 TX-361 | 361.949.3490 | padreislandburgercompany.com
