Toasted buns with the right amount of secret sauce spread across the center. Freshly sliced tomatoes and peeled leaves of lettuce laid on top of a semi cooked hamburger, juicy enough to dribble grease down your chin. If you are having a mouthwatering, sitting in the backyard of your neighbor’s barbeque, realizing that now is not the time to decide on your ‘should I or should I not become a vegan’ kind of experience you might just be at Hopdoddy on Westheimer in the River Oaks District.

Hopdoddy is a beautiful burger bar I found myself sitting on a Saturday evening with a hungry stomach.

I heard a lot about the famous Hopdoddy restaurant. I heard about how the food melted in your mouth and the milkshakes were to die for. Needless to say, when I got to the restaurant, it was different than I was expecting.

Hopdoddy was located in the River Oaks District, which is a very scary location to a girl like me. The River Oaks District is the home of million houses and many Mercedes Benzes and BMWs. It came as a shock to me that a hamburger joint would be located in this area, since hamburgers are associated with barbecue sauce covered hands and ketchup stained cheeks. I was proven wrong the second I set eyes on the hamburger bar, just a block away from where I parked.

Hopdoddy is certainly a place I would recommend to President Obama or the Queen of England if they ever set foot in this location. If heaven owned a burger bar, this is what it would look like. Teardrop shaped light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, giving off a warm glow. Various hamburgers literally served on a silver platter, a fork and knife residing on the tray as well. Their soft drinks weren’t even the usual Coca-Cola or Dr.Pepper brands you would see on the soda machines. Instead, they served Maine Root sodas, which I later learned are organically sweetened.

The line wasn’t too long when I got there, which I was silently thanking the universe for because later during my stay there, I saw the line of people stretch outside the door. I had stared at the long list of items they had on the menu, ranging from a concoction of milkshakes, crafted beers, and creatively made hamburgers with a long list of ingredients, which I was very scared to eat. Despite being here on official business, I chose a relatively simple hamburger. It contained a medium cooked patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, and sassy sauce- whatever that meant, I assumed it would be similar to the Thousand Island dressing they use on the Big Macs at McDonald’s.

My best friend had got one of their massive milkshakes, and I ended up ordering one for myself. It was a Nutella, pretzel and chocolate milkshake, a beautiful concoction with drizzles of Nutella and pieces of crushed pretzels sprinkled around, then topped with a towering amount of whipped cream and paired with a boba straw. One little sip and I couldn’t keep my lips off the straw. We had also ordered a platter of finely cut truffle French fries to share. I loved the French fries, but they tasted like normal fries I could buy at any other fast food place.

Eating this hamburger really set the bar high for me.

The first bite of that hamburger was a smoky, grease wrapped beef patty with a dollop of the creamiest sassy sauce, added with a crunch of the world’s toastiest bun.

In short words: I adored the hamburger, a lot.

The price of the bill wasn’t a shocker since I was paying for myself and another. It was moderately priced for a hamburger joint inside the RIver Oaks District.

Honestly, I would love to go back anytime soon. A rockin’ hamburger joint in the middle of the richest center in town? Sounds like a dream come true.