Ketchup Burger Bar
3028 N Hall, Ste 179
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 922-8222
http://www.ketchupbar.com/
Price: $
Ketchup Bar offers a variety of specialty ketchups made in-house. Green Tomato, Spiced, Chipotle, House, etc... They also use local organic ingredients. They also have a full bar.
It's a pretty small place...a few tables in the front area with the bar and a small dining area in the back. You order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. If you want water/sodas, there's a self-serve area towards the back of the restaurant along with all the different types of condiments and silverware.
They offer a wide variety of fries. So we started off with 2 of the Fry Trio...which is a great deal!
Fry Trio (from left to right: Spicy Buffalo Fries, Onion Rings, Zucchini Fries) $6~
The zucchini fries were the ones I really wanted to try. They were sooo good! They were all hot and freshly fried. The zucchini inside was super tender and paired well with the crispy batter. The onion rings were good but kind of generic, I would've liked the rings to be thicker. The buffalo fries had a nice spicy kick to it, but were a little soggy from the sauce.
Fry Trio (from left to right: Sweet Potato Fries, Garlic Chive Fries, White Truffle Parmesan Fries) $6~
All of these were good. I loved the sweet potato fries. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and nice and sweet. :) I also liked the cut of the garlic and truffle fries...slightly thicker and fried perfectly. The Garlic Chive one kind of got lost among the other fries. I didn't taste much of the seasoning. The truffle fries were flavored with truffle oil, not actual truffles, but you still get the flavor. I liked these a lot too. If you can't decide from all the yummy options, definitely get the Fry Trio!
We tried out all the different ketchups with the fries.
The chipotle is pretty standard chipotle flavors. The spiced tasted like normal ketchup.. My favorite were the Green Tomato and House. The House had a bit of sweet and tang in it, almost like they mixed some dijon mustard in there? Dunno...but it was yummy. The Green Tomato was just different, and I liked that a lot! One of my friends said to me, " how can I ever go back to Heinz ketchup now?" hahaha. Agreed! :P
I got the The Blue Burger (Gorgonzola, pickled red onion, arugula, tomatoes, and our Mission Fig Spread on fresh baked Brioche) $9~
I liked it a lot! Dieting on the weekdays has me deprived of meat and this burger definitely hit the spot! haha. The fig spread was definitely interesting. It wasn't too sweet when I tasted it on its own, but paired with the rest of the burger, the sweetness came out more. I love the sweet/savory combo so this was great! The figs were sweet and fruity and the beef was juicy. The fresh arugula and tomatoes balanced out the meat and cheese. The brioche was amazing as well and really held up against the filling...didn't get super soggy. :) It wasn't really greasy either...so I didn't feel heavy at all eating it. The only think is I couldn't really taste the gorgonzola. I got a bit of creaminess of the cheese but was lacking the flavor. But overall, it was definitely what I wanted.
Other people ordered...
My bf got this. Wild Mushroom Burger (Sauteed mushrooms, aged swiss, arugula, tomato, roasted garlic aioli on fresh baked Kaiser) $9~
He loves the classic mushroom and swiss burgers so of course he had to get it. He liked it a lot. I got to try a bite. There were lots of mushrooms in there which is good.
Ketchup Burger (Tillamook Cheddar, red onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard and our signature House Ketchup on fresh backed Brioche) $8~
This looked really good. My friend said it tasted great and the bread was awesome.
The Roadhouse (Gruyere, Cherrywood smoked bacon, onion rings, garlic mayo and tomato on fresh baked Brioche) $9~
I almost got this.. I would've liked to have some greens on it though. But my friend said it was also really good.
They also offer several different kinds of milk shakes. One of my friends got the Creme Brulee Shake $5~
This was highly recommended by the guy at the register. It looked really good with the roasted marshmallow on top. It tasted good too. Rich and creamy just like a creme brulee. If only it could have the torched sugar on top!
Vanilla Bean Shake $5~
This was their other recommended shake. My sister got it. I liked the vanilla wafers garnished on top. It was a little melted/runny though. Her bf said he saw them leave it at the bar for a long time before they brought it out to her. That kind of sucked. But it tasted like a regular vanilla shake...nothing too special about it....
I was pretty full but I wanted to try their desserts. They were all $4...that's pretty cheap! I got the Mississippi Mud Pie $4~
When it came out, I was a little surprised. It was basically a chocolate ice cream pie. My expectations of a Mississippi Mud Pie is more like gooey, messy, maybe some mousse...kind of a like a 'dirt cup'...the ones with the gummy worms in it. The chocolate ice cream was good and the chocolate cookie crust was good, but it was just an ordinary ice cream pie... It looks like there's layers of something in it, but I couldn't taste the differences between the layers. It was a slight disappointment. :( Next time I'll try something different.
I'm really glad we went there, it was just what I needed and everything was delicious. The service is pretty non-existent aside from them bringing the food to you. Since we were newbies we didn't know we had to get everything else ourselves in the back. The waiters weren't too friendly when they told us to get it ourselves either... But the guy taking our orders at the register was really nice. I would definitely go back. It definitely gives Village Burger Bar (my favorite burger place in Dallas) a run for it's money. They should open a second location in Plano!!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This was pretty generic. The greens were pretty fresh and the vinaigrette was nice...although I didn't use much of it. I liked the parmesan crisp. 
It kinda sucked that we couldn't mix and match sliders, but oh well. I really liked this. The bread had a nice toasty crunch on the outside. I thought the beef was juicy and tender. The flavors were good as well. Although I didn't taste any scallion or spiciness. The fries were not bad but I imagined 'matchstick' to be even thinner...
This sounded really good but was just ok. I didn't get the feel of all these different kinds of cheeses...maybe only 3 out of the 5. It wasn't rich enought I guess. And they should've used the spiral/corkscrew type pasta instead of the elbow macaroni... I think that would've made it better.
The presentation was nice, but I expected it to be a Chop! When it gets sliced like that, I would actually call it pork tenderloin or something. The pork was just a teensy bit overcooked but was still pretty good. The plum demi added a sweetness and fruitiness to the dish. I liked the pairing together, but I think it might be too sweet if I had eaten a couple more bites.
This was kind of a fail. :( They basically made grits and threw some cheddar on it. I wish they would've mixed the cheese in the grits. That would've made it better. It still tasted good but was definitely a disappointment. 
This thing was a beast! Stacked super high, everyone went "Ooooo" when it came out. But it was disappointing as well. My friend said it was kind of bland. :/ 
She really liked her burger. The meat looked pretty juicy. But her fries were a little too salty.
It sounded really interesting. It looked really good when it came out. I really liked it. It wasn't too greasy or salty like pizza can get sometimes. The eggs were fluffy and added a nice texture to the ham and crust. I didn't see or taste any sausage on there though... The jalapenos were a nice touch and they were actually spicy! I hate it when the jalapenos have no heat at all. I also liked the bits of fries they garnished it with. 
Everyone was pretty stuffed but I HAD to try this. It just sounded too good to pass up. Plus their dessert prices were pretty decent I thought. For 6 bucks this thing was pretty huge. It was ooey and gooey with all the melted chocolate and marshmallows. YUM! I really liked it. But I recommend sharing this because it is really sweet with all the marshmallows...I could've never finished it on my own. Also, it would be nicer if they had crisped up the crust a little bit more. But overall, it was a good dessert. Everyone liked it. :) 
These were interesting. Usually potstickers are pan-fried. These were definitely DEEP fried. haha. And they were HUGE! The filling was a mixture of meat (I think pork) and veggies. I actually liked it. It was like a giant eggroll almost. The outside was crunchy and the filling inside had pretty good flavor.
Cha-Chan Mein (bottom of picture) (done Korean style) is noodles with a black bean sauce. When I first had this noodle YEARS ago...I hated it. I was expecting Chinese style Ja Jian Mein which I love. Instead I got this weird black sauce that tasted like squid or something... Ick. So I was hesitant to get it again, but my friends wanted to try it. It was actually not bad. Definitely did not taste like squid like I remembered. There were chunks of potato in the black sauce and it was slightly sweet. The noodles were AWESOME. Great texture and cooked perfectly! We were all pleasantly surprised. Jaam Pong (top of picture) is a Spicy seafood noodle soup. I love Jaam Pong (its equivalent to the Chinese Tso Ma Mein). Well...anything spicy I love. haha. Again, the noodles were fantastic. Cooked perfectly and the broth was spicy and full of veggies and seafood. It was a little too spicy for my friends but I thought it was perfect. Just amount of heat without killing your tastebuds. I would definitely recommend the noodles here.
This sounded interesting so we decided to try it. I love Japchae.... but with fried rice?? I've never heard of that combination. It's basically fried rice on the bottom and a pile of Japchae on top. haha. Both aspects were good, and they were good together. Again, the texture of the noodles were great. I wish there was a little more beef in the dish though.
The other one (no picture..sorry) was the soup to their Szechwan Noodles (hot and spicy soup w/ oyster). This was spicier than the Jaam Pong. My friends couldn't handle it. haha. But I really liked it. Next time maybe I try it with the noodles. :)
Kimchi was pretty good. The radishes are good for relieving the spiciness of some of the dishes. hehe.
I just remembered it being so pretty and colorful. I asked the waiter about it and he said it was really good. I decided to try it. I'm not a beet fan but the color was just so vibrant and it's definitely something different. I'm always trying to sample new things! Typical hummus usually comes with toasted pita bread but this came with a bunch of fresh veggies and thin Pumpernickel chips. I asked the waiter to identify some of the veggies. There were radishes, baby carrots, radicchio, and green onions. He said the veggies change depending on what was fresh from the local farmers. Apparently there are 4 local farms where Brownstone gets its produce from. That's pretty awesome. Supporting local farms and using the freshest ingredients! The dip itself had this bold, rich magenta color...sooo beautiful! The flavor was fantastic... it had a smokiness to it, garlic-y, and sweetness from the beets. The fresh veggies paired perfectly with it. The crunch from the veggies also added a great texture with the creamy dip. I liked how I can still taste the veggies even with the dip. You can definitely tell the ingredients were super fresh! :) My bf really liked the pumpkernickel chips. It was a good change from the regular pita bread. If you like hummus, definitely check this out!
I think the polenta is what sold the dish for me. I really like grits and polenta so I'm drawn to anything with it. The dished looked so yummy. There were 5 super large, plump scallops on the plate...probably one of the best looking scallops I've had in a restaurant. The scallops had a nice sear on them and was nice and tender. The polenta was pretty tasty and had large chunks of bacon in it...can't go wrong with that! haha. The bacon added a smokiness to the cheesy polenta which also paired really well with the scallops which in itself, had very light seasoning on it. The kale added a nice contrast of textures and also a splash of bright green on the plate for aesthetics. My only negative was that the browned butter sauce was a little watery to me. I wish it would've been a little thicker. But overall, it was a great dish. The size was perfect...not overfilling but also didn't leave me hungry.
This was my #2 choice. Anything braised is always good in my books. haha. It also looked really good. I liked the little pop of color with the green brussels sprouts. The pork was fork tender...soo juicy. The pasta was really interesting. The texture of the pasta was almost as soft and creamy as the cheese filling. I bet they roll their own pasta. I don't think you can get that texture from dried pastas. The cheese was creamy but light in flavor so it wasn't overwhelming. The texture of the cheese and the pork worked well together and the chunks of bacon and brussels sprouts added a nice bite/crunch to the dish. I wish there could've been a little more kick in the sauce...maybe a little bit of spice? Both my bf and I also thought that it would be good on both dishes to have more greens on top. But I'm just nit picking at this point. haha. It was delicious. :)
The waiter said they introduced this for Valentine's Day, but they are considering permanently keeping it on the menu. The cake was a good size. I liked the torched marshmallow on the top layer...although I think they could've torched it a little more. hehe. The cake texture was different than most regular cakes but was still really moist. I liked it a lot! Even with the marshmallow on the top and middle, it wasn't too sweet. You can definitely taste the graham cracker and paired with the bittersweet chocolate sauce it was YUMMY! A great ending to a great meal.
It was sooo pretty! I've never seen red velvet cake presented this way before. Usually it's just a big slice of cake, or in cupcake form. I liked how they alternating thin layers of cake and cream cheese frosting. The red was so vibrant...presentation was definitely an A+. Then we dug into it. OMG!!!! It was sooo moist and delicious. It was decadent yet light. The cake and frosting combo wasn't too sweet...it all just worked together perfectly. I think this is one of THE BEST red velvet cakes I've ever had in my life. 
The size was also pretty reasonable for the price. It took A LOT of will power not to inhale that thing for myself. I'm just wondering what they do with the leftovers after they cut out the round cakes. I'll totally eat the leftovers if they just toss it!!! hahaha. 
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