Thick, Juicy, Messy

Eat It: Hugo’s

Gushing about Hugo’s burgers, fries, more

By Rachel Birdsell
TFW Contributing Writer

Preamble Ramble

I have been reticent about reviewing Hugo’s because it’s Hugo’s. I mean, everyone already knows that it’s “The Place” to get a burger in NWA, right?

But then, a couple of weeks ago, I had a couple stop me on the square and ask where “that burger place that’s supposed to be around here” was. Obviously, the good news hasn’t reached everyone, yet, so I feel it’s my duty to proselytize the divine Hugo’s. Can I get an amen?

Food For Thought

This round at Hugo’s I ordered the Guacamole Burger with a basket of fries. My burger, as usual, was cooked exactly medium rare, which was exactly how I ordered it. It was piled high with creamy guacamole and came with a side of lettuce, tomatoes and onions. The burger was beeftacular! It was also one of the finest I’ve ever had in this fair state of ours. It was thick, juicy and messy — just as it should be. In my mind, if your hands don’t get a little messy when you’re eating a burger, then you’re not eating a good burger.

The fries were hand-cut and about as homemade as you can get without actually being in someone’s kitchen. If you placed a basket of my home-cooked fries and a basket of Hugo’s fries in front of me, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference except that Hugo’s fries might be a little better than mine. To put it succinctly, the fries at Hugo’s are damn good.

If burgers aren’t your thing, I can also recommend the mushroom crepes. They’re made with fresh mushrooms, white wine and sour cream, and they will cause you to make noises that might embarrass your dining partner. If you happen to go on a day when they serve their beer cheese soup, GET IT. It is a bowl of liquid awesome.

In my opinion, Hugo’s has the best burger in Northwest Arkansas. In fact, if you can point me in the direction of a place that makes better burgers than Hugo’s in NWA, I will eat my hat. OK, maybe I won’t really eat my hat, but I’ll definitely go to the restaurant to give it a review.

The Sporkcast
(1-5 sporks)

Atmosphere: 4.95 dimly lit, vintage sporks with crackled silver handles and neon-lit tines. The atmosphere at Hugo’s is comfortable, relaxed and can be loud and boisterous at times. It’s in a basement, and I like to think it was formerly a speakeasy. The walls are covered in antiques, and there are usually some pretty good tunes playing (if you can hear them over the din of happy diners).

Food: 4.95 smoky sporks that sing lounge music in a sultry voice. I’ve never eaten anything at Hugo’s that wasn’t fantastic, but the majority of the time, I’m there for a burger and fries.

Staff: 4.90 golden sporks with sparkly tines. My server was prompt, happy and even though she was busy, she still took great care of me. For the record, I have never had bad service at Hugo’s.

Dollars spent: My lunch took about $11 of my folding money. Most of the burgers are around $7.

Chance of returning: Of course, I’ll be back to Hugo’s as long as they’ll have me. When I’m needing some comfort food, nothing beats their burgers and fries.

If you know of a great eating place, drop me a line at rabirdsell@gmail.com. I’ll check it out and let you know what I think.