“Do the collard greens have meat in them?” I found myself querying the server at lunch. Of course they do. After all, Mookie’s BBQ in Great Falls is a temple to smoked flesh. And really, I should have known that a place where I was ordering the Mookie’s Burger would offer sides with additional animal protein.
You see, it’s more than grilled beef that makes the Mookie’s Burger as lofty a height as is depicted above. The half-pound Angus patty is gilded with an abundant portion of pulled pork. Other burgers at Mookie’s include one covered in braised short ribs, and an occasional special is crowned with house-smoked pastrami. Of course, this is a barbecue restaurant, where those craving a carnivorous meal need only look toward the Pitmaster Sampler to plow through pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket, burnt ends, smoked sausage, and baby back ribs in a single sitting. But for a single diner bent on a bounteous burger, there’s no competing with Mookie’s Burger.
Served on a fluffy egg-washed bun, the ground beef is cooked to the diner’s requested temperature. At medium-rare, my juicy patty soaked the bottom layer of bread just enough to make it feel like another meaty element. Enrobed in a layer of melted cheddar, the beef is flavorful enough on its own to be a craveworthy burger, but then there is the mound of moist pulled pork. And it doesn’t end there. Pickled jalapenos contribute a mild sizzle of heat, while crunchy chicken-fried onion rings add an enjoyable additional level of texture.
Can you get your mouth around it? I did, barely, and enjoyed dipping the burger in the cumin-forward barbecue sauce on the side. And the collards? They’re tangy, tender, and tangled with strands of smoky pork.
1141 Walker Rd., Great Falls
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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