MARSHALL, Texas – Out in the woods of northeast Texas, just a few miles from the border to our Boudreaux buddies, you’ll find a burger joint with bountiful history.
John Fugler, better known as Bubba, runs Fugler’s Grocery, a small store out in the sticks. Turn outs it’s good stop if you’re looking to roll the dice on a burger that’s a sure bet.
Fugler’s originally was store and in a sense, it still is. Bubba’s father took over the store in the 50’s, and in the 80’s Bubba took over operations and added another staple – burgers. It didn’t take long for those burgers to get reputation.
“We went to cooking burgers,” said Bubba, “and they had a couple of the ladies around here that would come in and they wanted a hamburger, and I was out in the field over here and I was plowing, getting ready to plant seeds and stuff, and one of the girls says, ‘Hey, where’s Bubba at? Bubba’s out, he’s out back isn’t he? I want Bubba to cook my burger.’ So that’s where the Bubba burger came from.”
And Bubba has passed that legacy down to the next generation, Bubba the third – Bubba’s son Trey. When asked if Trey does a better job than him, Bubba pleaded the fifth.
“I get it all the time,” Trey said. “I can cook a better burger.”
Trey got things started on a big ole’ piece of beef.
“12 ounce patty here, ground fresh every day,” said Trey. “Straight on the grill, no seasoning at all. Just a little salt and pepper when we finish.”
While the 70/30 behemoth of beef cooks, Trey deals out the dough like the dealers in Shreveport. Once toasted, the toppings are added, and they’re not light with anything. Lots and lots of mustard and mayonnaise, lots of lettuce, lots of onions, and lots of pickles.
“That’s what makes it a Bubba burger right there,” Trey said.
The beef is laid on its bed and finished off with one and a half pieces of cheese. That is the simplest burger we’ve ever seen, but it’s legendary.
One, two, three, four – put the toothpick through the floor! After biting into the monstrously massive meat, it was perfectly pleasing to the palate.
No fancy seasoning needed with that incredible meat, and if you decide to take a date out for a bite these burgers will only set you back about five bucks! It’s a bargain of a burger here at Fuglers in Marshall – the Bubba burger, well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“They need to come here if they want a real burger and find out what a burger’s like, you know what I mean?” said Bubba. “It’s just a totally different experience. I mean, the atmosphere, the old store here, out in the middle of nowhere. It’s just a good feeling.”