This is going to be a David’s Burgers vs Freddy’s Steakburgers comparison. I have ate at both of these establishments. In fact, I frequent David’s Burgers a few times a month and I just ate Freddie’s Steakburgers for the first time today here in Searcy.
David’s Burgers
Freddy’s Steakburgers
Here’s more information about these businesses if you want to take the time to learn about the history of each: DAVID’S BURGERS FREDDY’S STEAKBURGERS
Before I get into the actual comparison/review of each one, let me tell you what my qualifications are for judging the quality of hamburgers. To be honest…I have NONE. Nope, I’m not a chef. I’ve never cooked in a restaurant and the burgers I cook at home are no better or worse than the ones you cook at home. HOWEVER, I have over my all these old years that I am ate 1000’s of hamburgers. YEP, thousands is easy to say. My Mom and Grandmother owned a cafe in Blytheville, AR (Betty’s and Lettie’s Cafe) for 10 years and burgers were almost a daily meal when growing up. Since that time, it remained one of my favorite foods (besides BBQ and pizza) that I have enjoyed all my life. But of my favorite foods, burgers are probably my favorite (I know, some might have thought BBQ…it’s close).
So how do I judge my burgers…easy, my scientific way is to compare them to the way Mom used to make them in a SKILLET. She would patty the meat out, and place about 4 at a time into the skillet, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and then cooked them until basically they were being fried with dark crusty edges and well done. She would place the bun on top of the burger and by the time they were ready to serve the bun would be warm and the edges of the bun all the way around also had a crusty greasy crunch to them. This is how I loved my burgers. Admittedly, the ones Mom made at home were much different than the ones from the cafe. The ones from our cafe were thinner, were pre-cooked and then browned when ordered, but they still tasted good, just not as good as Mom’s home cooked burgers.
Like most of my FAVORITE foods, most burgers are good. But that’s about it, they’re just good, they’re not great. My favorite 3 burgers of all time are Mom’s home cooked burgers (and I’ll never have those again – Thanks Mom), Burger Broil burgers (from Blytheville, AR – and if you’re from Blytheville…you’ll understand), and finally David’s Burgers of Cabot, Conway, NLR, LR, and Maumelle. So I’m sorry, that probably gives away this comparison, but it is what it is…
The Comparison – I think instead of giving a general comparison of each burger, first I’ll do an ingredient by ingredient comparison and then a conclusion for each one. I always order my burgers the same no matter where I go…mustard, pickle, onion, and jalapenos with double american cheese and well done.
MEAT – The quality of the meat is comparable. Probably because they both use steak to make their hamburger meat, I think David’s Burgers does use Ribeye, but I’ll have to verify that…even so, the quality and consistency is about the same. The difference is that although both burgers are smash burgers, the David’s Burger’s patty seems to be both thicker and slightly larger. Also, the David’s Burger is also closer in color to “Mom’s” homemade burger. The Freddy’s Steakburger was more of a brownish color, which could be from the seasoning. The burgers were both cooked to perfection even though I think the comparison of the hamburger patty goes to David’s Burgers, not by a large margin, but clearly the winner. Both burgers ordered were double burger sandwiches. DAVID’S BURGERS
SEASONING – This was the easiest of all categories to judge. The Freddie’s Steakburger had very little seasoning, probably just salt and pepper. If there was any other seasoning on the burger, I could not taste it…so the burger had a more bland, less salty taste. The David’s Burger uses a blend of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and is used liberally on both sides which results in a well seasoned burger bursting with taste. (Note: some people do not like a seasoned burger as they almost always taste salty…I love salty). David’s Burgers wins this comparison handily with their seasonings. DAVID’S BURGERS
BUN – Both David’s Burgers and Freddie’s Steakburgers uses a traditional bun. Neither of the buns were toasted, but the bread was fresh on both burgers. I noticed the Freddie’s Steakburger bun “seemed” to be a little smaller in size, but not by much. TIE between DAVID’S BURGERS and FREDDIE’S STEAKBURGERS.
TOPPINGS – I always get my burgers the same way no matter where I eat them. My burger always consists of mustard, pickle, onion and sliced jalapeno’s and double american cheese. Of course the mustard taste was the same. The onions on both burgers were fresh with moderate slices and crunchy. The jalapeno’s were also fresh on both burgers, although the David’s Burgers seemed to have a little more “kick”, but that could just be brand of jalapeno’s used on the burgers. Not a big deal. Next was the cheese. I always get double american cheese. David’s Burgers puts a slice of cheese between the patties and a piece on top of the meat. On my first visit to Freddy’s Burgers they laid both slices of cheese on the top patty (which resulted in the cheese not being fully melted), however on my second visit the cheese was in the middle and on the top. And lastly, the pickles. OH THE PICKLES. The David’s Burgers uses traditional dill pickle slices about the size of a quarter which have that wonderful sour taste and just a little bit of a crunch…yes, they probably came from a jar, but they had the traditional pickle flavor. The Freddy’s Steakburgers uses a large “spear slice” I still think it’s a dill pickle, but it just wasn’t as pleasing as the dill slices… PLEASE USE DILL SLICES on burgers. DAVIDS BURGERS EASY!
FRIES – David’s Burgers and Freddy’s Steakburgers fries are both good. Freddie’s Steakburger fries are the shoestring crispy fries similar to McDonald’s fries and harder to handle because they are so small, although they tasted fine (all fries are pretty good). Freddy’s were the short shoestring fries and I felt there could be more fries offered than what I had got. David’s Burgers uses a steakhouse fry, but its not so large that it doesn’t get thoroughly cooked, they are very good and even the to-go fries are a big portion. My wife complains the David’s Burgers fries has too much salt (she says that about all food), but I actually add more salt and I love the amount they give you. DAVID’S BURGERS
EVERYTHING ELSE – The drinks at both establishments was sweet tea. Very similar, really no differences. In house dining at David’s Burgers you get a complimentary sample cup of custard (swirl, chocolate or vanilla) and is a great way to top off a meal. Honestly, I don’t know if Freddy’s Steakburgers does that since they don’t have dine in yet. But I understand their custard is top notch and I’ll not argue with that.
The staff at Freddy’s was not as friendly, however I’ll give them a pass…they are a new business in town, still dealing with the pandemic and they were very busy…I’m sure it’s stressful training new employees. They were NOT disrespectful or rude, they were just busy. The crew at David’s Burgers yell out a huge welcome to you when you enter the business and their waitresses are very attentive. It just seems the employees truly ENJOY working there…Happy EMPLOYEES means happy customers. DAVID’S BURGERS
OVERALL CONCLUSION – First a small disclaimer. Freddy’s Steakburgers is a new business here in Searcy, so they are very busy…and the pandemic hysteria doesn’t help any business especially new ones. I’m NOT slamming Freddy’s Steakburgers, so don’t take it that way, they are actually better than I thought they would be. In Searcy right now, it’s one of the better burgers I have tasted (Main Street Cafe and Chit Chat and Chew Cafe are also very good), but in the long run I’d still get in my car and drive the 20 miles to Cabot (or Conway) to eat a David’s Burger. The bottom line is that everyone has a preference on how they want their burgers cooked, seasoned, and put together…I like David’s Burgers the best! Their burger just has a better flavor profile in my opinion, its juicier, and put together better on the bun. They’ve NEVER messed anything up when preparing my order. But I have a funny feeling my wife might prefer Freddy’s…basically it’s a personal preference…this was just my slant on a couple of good burgers. DAVID’S BURGERS IS MY FINAL CONCLUSION AS THE BETTER BURGER.
I am happy Searcy has a good smashburger restaurant and have no problem giving them my business from time to time, but my GOTO place is still gonna be David’s Burgers. They are the best burger (except for Mom’s) burger I have ever eaten and I had favorites as far away as Amarillo, TX to Norfolk, VA. Their burgers are more true to what I expect a burger to be…I despise “gourmet” burgers like you get at Chili’s or Colton’s. If you put the lettuce, onion, and pickles on the side next to the top of the bun…then you’re disrespecting the burger Gods, and I WILL NOT LIKE YOU AT ALL!!
C’mon man…be true to that burger. Make it a real burger. Way to go Searcy on Freddy’s Steakburger opening. I can truly recommend both places, but David’s Burgers is the winner of this comparison.
Maybe sometime this summer I’ll do a comparison of all the Searcy burger joints like Freddy’s, Main Street, Chit, Chat and Chew, Daisy’s, Highway 55, and Barb’s…maybe even a couple of others. Thanks for reading.
I Gotta Tell Ya 