One should separate gourmet burgers from chains. A great gourmet burger is Good Friends on Peavy near White Rock Lake. D magazine rates burgers in Dallas each year and Good Friends was in the top five. Of course they cost significantly more than even the best chain. Several other top rated burger places have already been mentioned including Maple and Motor and Twisted Root. The quality of the meat seems to improve significantly when eating at gourmet restaurants as opposed to chains. D magazine seems to be on top of this.