First published through The Paris News on April 14, 2017. The article can be found on their website at http://theparisnews.com/opinion/article_1ae1ce3c-2126-11e7-8f71-e3def6b42309.html

This past weekend, Jeff Hinkle and I decided it was a good idea to travel a little more than two hours just for a burger.

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A week before, Jeff told me about a list with the top 15 burgers in Texas we had to try.

According to Elizabeth Abrahamsen, a writer for Wide Open Country, Maple & Motor in Dallas is number 14.

Abrahamsen said, “in 2013, Maple & Motor was ranked best burger in America by Zagat, and was even featured on ‘Diners, Drive-ins & Dives.’”

After we read about Maple & Motor, we decided to take a trip to Dallas to try this “best burger in America.”

Abrahamsen said Guy Fieri has visited Motor & Maple, and said the burger he had was “primetime a delicious burger.”

I’m definitely no burger connoisseur, but I had to get a taste.

When we got to the diner, the atmosphere had an aroma of seared hamburger meat in a room big enough to fit about 30-40 people.

We had to wait a little bit to place our order, because it was rather busy on a Saturday. You have two options to choose from when ordering a burger. Option one, which Jeff chose, was pink. Option two, which I chose, was no pink. The difference between the two is simple: the pink one will have a bit of pink in the middle, whereas the other will not. Jeff ordered a side of onion rings and, since I don’t like onions, I chose cheese fries. The cheese fries came with jalapeños and bacon on top.

After placing our order, we sat in a booth and waited for the burgers. The seared meat smell intensified, and Jeff made a comment about not eating earlier in the day.

We heard them call out the number of the orders, anticipating them calling our own soon. When our number was finally called, the anticipation escalated.

Jack Perkins, the owner of Maple and Motor, has said they use half of a pound of ground chuck, 70/30 fat ratio meat for the burgers. Having a bit of fat in a burger is preferable. Anything more lean tends to make a burger dry and rather unappetizing.

I was told a good burger should drip. With the 70/30 fat ratio in the beef, Perkins’ burger does just that.

The burger I ordered only had mustard on it, because I wanted to try out the meat and not all the extra. A well-cooked steak requires no sauce — but, I can’t give up my mustard.

When I bit into the burger, the mouth watering, savory and freshly seared meat was filled with flavor. Every bite was filled with a meager amount of salt. It was far from tasteless.

Jeff said his burger was delicious and spectacular, as well.

Would I recommend eating here? Of course. However, Jeff and I still have 14 burgers to go through.