Carpenter Hamburgers

What a great treat to discover this place, thanks to Unilocal.Both of us got a burger– the firecracker as well as the bacon avocado burger. Absolutely fabulous! Liked the crispy tater tots better than the fries but all was delicious! We were traveling to Houston from Dallas and read the other reviews which clinched our decision to go there. Very glad we did! Great service as well.

I’ve only been here once. I had my usual burger, mushroom Swiss. My son had the fried catfish. Everything was delicious. The french fries here are really good as well.

My family loves a good homemade hamburger and found another one at Carpenters. On our trip from Houston to Dallas we usually stop at Russell Stover, and we also wanted to grab a bite to eat. We read the excellent Unilocal reviews for a good hamburger and we discovered Carpenters. The service wAs fantastic and although the facility was older it was very clean and welcoming. The veggie bar was fresh and very clean. I like the idea of decorating your own hamburger. If we ever pass through Corsicana again we would stop back by.

Damn… Good…Burger. Nothing more to say.

Great custom hamburgers and selection of menu items. Fast, friendly service. If you’re looking for a great hamburger and sides, then don’t miss Carpenter’s. Absolutely worth the detour from I45.

Nothing like a good burger! They always deliver. I’ve been here three times now and it’s been great every time. Love the fact you can dress your own. My personal preference is everything on it and I can pile high the lettuce like I prefer on my burgers and sandwiches. Fries, onion rings and corn fritters are yummy, yummy also. Good stop!

Driving through town and wanted something different than you’re typical fast food restaurant. We made a great choice by stopping here!
Chicken friend steak was big and the burger was great! Clean bathrooms and dining area. The owner (I’m assuming) checked on us and made us feel like a regular.
Will stop on the way back through again!

Driving between Houston and Dallas and looking for a good burger, this is the place to stop. It’s a few miles off the highway but worth every bit.
Fresh ingredients, clean dining room, this is my go to spot now when I make the 300 mile trip

My second. try AR Caarpenters. I was not impresses the first time but hay, maybe was not the day. Hamberger dry and over priced.
This 2^nd time it was a little more juice an was good but service was slow and 3 hambergers for 25 $$ was a little.

Awesome burgers. A little expensive for a family of 5. Our bill ran almost 60. But it was worth it.

Most expensive hamburger I’ve had not to mention the greasy french fries. We just spent over $ 21.00 for 2 people & will not be back

I’ll preface my review by saying I would come back again if I was in the area.
So I was passing through town and looking for a place to eat. Unilocal isn’t super active in smaller towns so I was surprised when I found this place with 32 reviews at the time. Looking at the reviews it seemed legit so our group decided to check it out.
The building is pretty new, parking lot is large. Talking to some locals they said that Carpenter’s has been in the community for over 20 years and moved to this location in the recent months. That made me pretty excited to experience this restaurant that has been an integral part of the community.
The menu is simple, order your burger size and add ons. There are also specialty burgers, sides, and other options as well. I ordered the ½lb burger with cheese, bacon, and egg. Then I got a large onion ring. Total was around $ 12, not too bad but not necessarily cheap either. I did have a lot of additions, though, so I was fine with the price.
When the staff brought our food out it seemed like they didn’t know what they were doing really. They had our names for each order but didn’t know which names matched to which order and it took a few minutes for them to figure it out. Hey they are in a new location, maybe that staff was new, it wasn’t a big deal.
Looking down at my food I was somewhat disappointed. The bacon was barely existent and not crispy in the slightest. The patty was a little smaller than I expected. Also, the amount of onion rings didn’t merit being the «large» size in my opinion. I ordered more to share and it wasn’t an ample enough size to share with others.
Side note here, they have a build your own burger bar with all the veggies and whatnot. Nothing fancy but it is available.
Taking my first bit I was pleasantly pleased with the burger itself. The seasoning was flavorful but I wish it would’ve been a bit more rare. Mine was cooked well done and I am a fan of medium. Not a big deal, it wasn’t dry or anything. Similarly, though, the egg could’ve been less cooked. There was runny yolk but again, personal preference is that it would be more runny. This might be nit picky, although I don’t believe it is too out of bounds, but the bun left much to be desired. The texture was like some generic grocery store hamburger bun and it didn’t add anything to the meal but only dried out my mouth with cheap tasting white bread. I was expecting the bread I saw in previous pictures but I guess that was from their old location since they were around 4 months or older.
So burger was not bad, passable. Onion rings, despite portion size, were pretty good. Nice crispness when biting into it. As I kept eating, however, I realized that I keep getting more and more ketchup. The onion rings were drying out my mouth.
Overall for the food– I expected more from an established restaurant with the reviews I read. Most things were basically a little over cooked in my opinion and that bacon was a huge disappointment for $ 1.09 or any price really. Service also was lacking but I didn’t expect too much. Perhaps they are just getting used to their new location, I’m not sure, but I left full but not satisfied with my experience. I’m open to trying it again but won’t be at the top of my list.

Hamburgers, hotdogs, fries and more. It has been around for along time and seems to be moving to 7^th Ave or at least opening another location?

Didn’t expect to like this place judging from the outside. The hamburgers and fries were good. The jalapeño ketchup was really good. Would eat here again.

If it were not for Unilocal,I would have never discovered this amazing restaurant. It’s located in what looks to be a house, but the food is amazing here. Their burgers are custom made and appear to be pressed a little bit — I would equate their style of a Texas style (could be wrong). It was cooked to perfection.

Had a fun experience at this place. The grilled chicken salad had an interesting twist with dill pickles, onions and tomatoes. it was like eating a grilled chicken sandwich without the bun. It wasn’t cheap ($ 38 for 2 adults and 2 kids) but the food was great and I love finding off-​the beaten-​path gems like this. Not much in the way of healthy choices (except the grilled chicken salad) but if you are looking for hamburgers and fries without the «fast food» aspect, this is your place.

This little dive could be easily missed, but it’s the best thing within a 45 mile radius. Great food, personal service, all around good stuff.

Carpenters has been a great burger joint for at least 30 years. I remember eating under the trees in the back as a kid. It has been my favorite burger ever since then.
I’ve probably eaten a few hundred Carpenters burgers over the years and I’ve never had a bad one.

Wonderful burgers and great service the owner brought us our food. So nice and homey atmosphere. Definitely a hole in the wall restaurant, but a gem. They should invest in big signs because their flashing name sign changes and can be easily missed.

I don’t make the drive between Dallas and Houston often, but when I do, I’m always wishing I was driving to Austin so that Czech Stop could be an option. Unfortunately, it’s not, but Carpenter Hamburgers provides a reasonable satisfaction to a burger or quick stop craving.
Star 1: How was the service and atmosphere?
A local spot through and through, I was really into the atmosphere at Carpenter Hamburgers. A man who appeared to be the owner was friendly and helpful, and while minimalist, the atmosphere was classic Texas, with license plates lining the walls and The Price is Right on the telly. My burger came out just quick enough to not keep me waiting while having me confident that it was made to order. Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
$ 5.99 for a full size burger? Excellent —
Great price for what you get. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
A good burger? Sure, but there are some minor tweaks that could have made it better. Just as a quick heads up, it’s literally meat, cheese, battered and fried jalapenos and some pepper flakes, so be sure to make requests if you’re looking for a bit of lettuce or tomato. Personally, I’m not into rabbit food, so I could appreciate the setup. The bun kicked things off just right having been thrown on the grill for a bit, but my gripe came in the form of the bun/​patty ratio. We’re talking about a pretty sizable bun here, and I’m not sure the patty quite lived up to the half pound title it was given on the menu. Keep in mind in the picture above that it was sitting atop some thick fried jalapenos. Additionally, the flavor was a bit lacking. While the pepper flakes are a nice touch, I’d recommend cooking them into the burger instead of adding them after the fact. The fried jalapenos were fine, but when it comes to something with firecracker in the title, I’m looking for spicy! My fault for not asking, but freshly cut jalapenos would kick things up a notch. I’m okay with the burger, but there’s room for improvement. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
With as harsh as I am, three stars is nothing to scoff at, and with a few small improvements, I could easily see this bumped. Carpenter is a great local stop that dishes up a good burger, but I can’t say I’d demand those making the drive go out of the way to make a stop. No Star Granted.