A friend recently encouraged me to eat at Sparkle’s Hamburger Spot — a tiny burger joint with a big reputation for serving tasty burgers in Houston. Sparkle’s is located at the corner of Leeland and Dowling, just east of Houston’s historic Eastwood neighborhood. Housed in a small building flanked by picnic tables and a shade tree, Sparkle’s has a very reasonably priced breakfast and lunch menu.
I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with a side order of onion rings at the walk-up window. The young lady who took my order was friendly and helpful. Everything at Sparkle’s is made-to-order, so the service is not fast. They wait until you place your order to start cooking. Once I placed my order, I joined the dozen other folks sitting around the picnic tables, patiently waiting to hear their number called. Those who had phoned in their orders did not have as long to wait.
I have to confess that waiting was the hardest part because I was so hungry. When the gal at the window finally called out Number 74, she handed me my burger in a white styrofoam box. I settled into a comfortable seat at the picnic tables and opened the box. Inside I found a healthy burger swaddled in paper along with a generous portion of onion rings.
The burger was big — at least a half-pound and inch-thick crumbly patty cooked to perfection and topped with a generous portion of cheese and bacon. The mustard and mayo slathered buns created the perfect embrace for the meat. When it comes to burgers, it generally doesn’t take more than one bite to conclude whether it’s good, bad, or downright nasty. One bite of this burger made every minute of the wait worth it all. Delicious, hearty, and flavor filled!
If you are looking for fancy, look elsewhere because there is nothing fancy about Sparkle’s. This place is about the food. They do burgers and they do them right! The folks on the other side of the walk-up window know what they are doing and they do it well. Sparkle’s has definitely earned its reputation as one of the best burger joints in their own neighborhood and beyond. And they have earned a spot on my own list of the best places to eat a burger in the Lone Star State.