Alison Cook reviews the smashburger at Cafe Louie in Houston - Houston Chronicle

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Here a smashburger, there a smashburger. The latest contender in the burgeoning Houston burger category comes from Cafe Louie, the charming East End bakery/cafe that recently opened for dinner service, too.

That’s when the dry-aged, double-double cheeseburger makes its appearance on the trim little menu.

I’m already a big Cafe Louie fan. I admire the pastries and baked goods from Lucianna Emiliani — she’s the “Louie” in question — and the savory items from her brother Angelo, whose pop-up pizzas blew me away during the pandemic. The terrific pastas and classic brick chicken in the style of San Francisco’s fabled Zuni on the new dinner menu told me I had to go back for the burger, pronto.

Here’s how it went. 

PRICE: $16 for the double-double cheeseburger. You can add waffle fries for another four bucks. 

ORDERING: A host will seat you in the big, airy dining room, with a view of the glassed-in kitchen in the back. A server will take your order.

ARCHITECTURE: No salad stuff. On a house-made brioche bun goes a layer of sweet-and-sour pickles, a bed of caramelized onions, then twin smashed patties, each topped with a melt of American cheese. Lastly comes a drapery of grayish black-garlic aioli, which gives the burger a disconcerting gothic quality.

QUALITY: Um, wow. The contrapuntal flavor and texture dance of this burger really grabbed me, and the lacy frizzles of the smashed patty edges proved irresistible. Sweet pickles in a crunchy, half-sour style cut through the rich savor of super-caramelized onion. The soft ooze of unassuming American cheese, punchy black-garlic aioli and buttery brioche set off the crisp-rimmed patties and the forward 21-day dry-aged flavor. The beef is from RC Ranch in Arlington, and the grind is short rib, brisket and chuck.

OOZE RATING: Mostly condiment based, but the thin, medium patties have some juice.

LETTER GRADE: Solid A.

VALUE: Fair, considering the quality of the ingredients and the overall excellence. 

VEGETARIAN OPTIONS: Not on the burger side, but there are some delightful vegetable small plates and salads.

BONUS POINTS: The waffle fries are surprisingly light on their feet, and they’re good with a side of that black-garlic aioli for dipping. And the wines by the glass list, featuring offbeat natural producers, might yield a zippy Slovenian red blend that’s primarily Blaufrankisch and served nicely chilled for summer. 

LOCAL COLOR: The young crowd mixes downtown and midtown professionals with artsy Second Ward neighborhood denizens. You might spot a frazzled seafood vendor knocking on the kitchen door with a cooler full of the day’s redfish, or share the dining room with a celebratory party of young women who embody the diverse face of Houston 2022 — all to a backdrop of Roy Orbison and crisp aqua wall graphics that conjure up the mid 20th century.

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Alison Cook reviews the smashburger at Cafe Louie in Houston - Houston Chronicle
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