Burger Island (Carrollton, TX)

1208 East Belt Line Road # 108, Carrollton, TX 75006, T: 972-245-4621 ‎

When I was at the Burger Island, I thought it was an example of local Mexicans starting a burger joint without much money. I have seldom seen such a dump, in terms of interior. You could imagine that I was more than a little surprised when I found out online that Burger Island is actually a chain with 8 locations in the larger Dallas area.

Burger Island has burgers, sandwiches, and salads. All burgers are made from half a pound of 100% Angus beef. Although it is home to the Jungle Burger, I went for the Big Island Burger at $5.50. It is a huge burger that comes with sauteed onion, mushrooms, jalapenos, mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles (I declined the American and Provolone cheeses). The end result was a huge, very tasteful burger, which didn't taste anything like a basic burger.

VERDICT: 91/100

Burger Island might look like a Hawaiian restaurant turned Mexican-burger joint (at least the one in Carrollton), it serves big, tasty burgers! Next time around, I will also sample the seasoned fries.

Shipley Do-Nuts (Houston, TX)

6411 Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Houston, TX‎, T: 713-738-2248‎

Shipley Do-Nuts is a local donut chain (mainly) in the larger Houston area going back to 1936. They are a regular donut store, selling classic-style donuts and coffee. What sets them apart is that their basic donut is made of yeast.

I ordered an original glazed, which were just freshly made, and had the girl at the drive-thru counter choose the two others. I forgot the price, but I thought it was just under $3. All donuts were quite chunky and tasted fairly similar to Dunkin' Donuts. The best one was actually the original glazed.

VERDICT: 73/100

Shipley Do-Nuts is a regional donut chain, which is similar but a bit better than Dunkin' Donuts. However, although the original glazed is the most tasty, it cannot compete with a (hot) Krispy Kreme original glazed donut.