Burger Brief: Tim’s Texas Bar-B-Q's Border Burger

Kyle Mullin | Sep 4, 2015 5:09 pm | Add a comment | 2055 reads

Burger Brief takes a look at some of the contestants in the Beijinger's 2015 Burger Cup. Now that we're down to the Sweet 16, we talk to Tim Hilbert of Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q, whose venue is still in contention for the honor of Beijing's Best Burger.

Name: Tim Hilbert
Nationality: USA
Number of years living in Beijing: 11
Venue: Tim’s Texas Bar-B-Q
Name of signature burger: The Border Burger

Tell us about your signature burger. What makes it the best burger in Beijing?
The Border Burger is a 250g char-grilled beef patty topped with smoked green chiles, bacon and two slices of cheese. It’s special because we're the only place in town to serve the smoked green chiles. They aren’t too hot, like Jalapeño peppers are for some people. Instead, they have a complex flavor of mild chili and smoke.

What does the burger come with?
All our burgers come with your choice of one side dish: coleslaw, beans, cornbread, mashed potatoes, refried beans, a green salad or real french fries — not frozen.

What drink from your menu goes best with the burger?
The best thing to drink with a burger is an iced-cold beer. We have the coldest beer in town. Some of our most popular are our assortment of American craft beers like Rogue Dead Guy, or a local Slow Boat Zombie Pirate. American food needs American beer, plain and simple. And there's nothing better than American craft beers. I like the finishing hops in the Dead Guy - it brings out the sizzle in the beef. And a cold Pirate Zombie just slides down the throat!

What other burgers do you have on the menu?
We also have a Mexican Burger that features fresh guacamole; a Mushroom Melt with grilled mushrooms and onions; and a Ragin' Cajun spicy grilled chicken burger. Lastly, we have our EuroBurger combo, which consists of a fillet steak with blue cheese and our standard Hamburger/Cheeseburger, featuring our flame-grilled 250g beef patty.

Aside from your own restaurant's burger, what was the best burger you’ve ever had?
On a recent 10-day trip in Northern India, and after six straight days of Dal, rice, Gobi and naan or roti for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I had a vegetarian burger that never tasted so good! Aside from that, I always enjoy sitting outside with a beer and enjoying a burger down at Plan B. The best burgers are the ones you cook yourself in your back yard and that's the atmosphere that Trevor has at Plan B.

Like this burger? Vote to push it through to the Elite 8 via thebeijinger.com/2015burgercup. Meanwhile, catch up on the stiff competition through the rest of our Burger Briefs.