Burger john.jpg

Jimmy Buffett decided to take a stance in 1978 and sing a song with a subject that many people thought about but few were brave enough to stake a stance and sing about.

Cheeseburgers.

Listening to his Son of a Sailor album, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” was a hit in my mind, even though it only reached No. 32 on the charts. However, the brilliance of singing about a cheeseburger resonated so much with fans that it was the first song on his greatest hits album in 1985. In fact, he performs the song about cheeseburgers after his hit Margaritaville during concerts.

When we have discussions about the stories and features you see in ETX View, they are polite and informative. It’s so interesting to hear about the great people, places and businesses in East Texas.

However, when it came to a bucket list of 15 places to get a burger in East Texas, we had 60 places thrown into the mix. Getting it to 15 was not easy. In fact, if you go to the Longview News-Journal or Tyler Morning Telegraph websites and look for burgers under the Best in Town and Best in East Texas competitions, you will find several places voted on by our readers not on this list.

It’s not a top 15 list, it’s just 15 places you should plan a day-trip around. And find other unique places, we would love to hear about them. Make sure you vote again this summer in our “best of” contest.

Back to these burgers, photographers Michael Cavazos and Les Hassell did a mouthwatering job capturing their essence. 

When Jimmy Buffett sings, “Cheeseburger in paradise, Medium-rare with mustard’d be nice, Heaven on earth with an onion slice. Not too particular, not too precise,” he did not see these burger stories and photos.

But he brings us all together when he sings, “I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes, Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer, Well, good God almighty which way do I steer for my cheeseburger in paradise?”

He is correct. Like pizza and barbecue, there is something special about a burger. We grill at home, we buy them at fast food establishments. Sometimes, even at the finest restaurants, our eyes and hearts wander from entrees to the section titled, “Burgers.” After all, we get to order how we want it cooked the same as the finest steak they serve.

In the photo with this column, I posed with a burger I was served at a Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football playoff game. They put food coloring in the bun to match their uniform colors and didn’t spend enough time cooking it. But it was a burger, so I had it cooked to perfection and ate it.

As you enjoy the incredible photos and stories in this edition of ETX view, don’t worry about getting drippings from your cheeseburger on the glossy pages. It wipes off. And I hope you join me in checking these and other locally-owned burger joints. Visiting once is great, but the second time is paradise.