Houstonist Bites: The Lake House

While the process of ordering and picking up your food and beverages is strongly similar to the Cafe Express-style that's permeated the "express" food scene in Houston, don't let that put you off. The food itself is simply transcendent.

On this past Saturday afternoon, we moseyed inside and ordered a mango iced tea, a cheeseburger and a cone of sweet potato fries, then sat outside by the "lake" to await our food. Sure, it's only a shallow, man-made pond -- not so much a lake -- but the chairs and tables on the shaded deck, the little kids (and grownups!) guiding their miniature saiboats through the water and the steady, gentle hum of cicadas and lapping water makes The Lake House's patio an incredibly relaxing spot nevertheless. The plesantly sweet and tart mango iced tea was perfect for sipping on a day like this; the basil lemonade would have been even better.

When our order came up, we picked up the piping hot burger and fries filled up our little cups at the condiment station: mustard, mayo, ketchup. What a waste those were.

The cheeseburger, with its hand-formed patty of fresh Kobe beef, is so achingly juicy on its own that no condiments whatsoever were needed. The combination of the luscious burger, the savory cheese, and the crispy Bibb lettuce, red onion and tomato made for a frankly indecent burger-eating experience. Needless to say, the burger didn't stick around for long. It was one of those frenzied, debauched activities that makes you want a cigarette afterwards, even if you aren't a smoker.

The sweet potato fries were even more of a revelation. Normally, Houstonist likes to dip our sweet potato fries in mayonnaise, a slightly repulsive habit that we picked up long ago in Austria. But after just one bite, we couldn't bear to put mayo on another fry; they were simply too divine on their own. Crispy yet tender, sweet yet salty -- the fries could have been dessert, they were so good.

Best of all? This isn't a meal that will put a dent in your wallet, either. The burgers are big enough to share, and the serving of sweet potato fries is more than generous. Feeling parched after all that beef? Refills are free.

No, The Lake House isn't a destination restaurant. It isn't the kind of place where you bring out-of-towners or dinner dates (unless they're us); that's what its sister restaurant, The Grove, is for. The Lake House is the kind of place where you go to relax with friends over a beer on a killer Saturday afternoon and marvel that one of the best burgers in town is located next to a man-made lake in the shadow of the George R. Brown.

The Lake House Waterside Cafe
1500 McKinney (in Discovery Green)
713.337.7320