An Austin burger joint with Michelin cred has arrived in Houston. NADC Burger is now operating inside Lustre Pearl, an Austin-based bar that opened in EaDo earlier this year.
Short for Not a Damn Chance, NADC burger unites pro skateboarder Neen Williams with chef Phillip Frankland Lee, a Top Chef alum who operates Austin restaurants Sushi by Scratch and Pasta Bar — the Los Angeles locations of both restaurants each hold one Michelin star. United by a love for burgers, the two friends developed a recipe, which they tested at pop-ups around Austin.
“Burgers are our favorite treat meal,” Williams tells CultureMap. “We decided to join forces to make the best burger we could possibly make. It took us awhile to get the recipe down. There was never a plan to turn it into restaurant. It was just a passion project between two friends.”
To create the best possible burger, NADC uses 100 percent wagyu beef from R-C Ranch, which is located near Houston in Angleton. After being seasoned with a spice blend from Williams’ company, it’s topped with thin-sliced onions, a secret sauce (from a recipe developed by Lee’s mother), American cheese, pickles, and “tamed” jalapenos. At one-third of a pound, it’s thicker and beefier than a traditional smash burger with lots of acidity from the pickles and jalapenos to cut the wagyu’s richness.
French fries are available plain or "Beast Mode."Courtesy of NADC Burger
“The wagyu beef is the main component. We wanted this burger to bring you back to your childhood,” Williams says. As for the cheese, they quickly realized only one kind would do.
“At the end of the day, a cheeseburger needs American cheese. No matter what you put on the burger it doesn’t taste like a classic American burger without American cheese.”
While the initial plan may not have been to open a restaurant, Williams and Lee ultimately teamed up with bar owner Matt Wolski to make NADC Burger a permanent business. Together, the trio have outposts at three bars in Austin as well as a flagship location that opened last year. Since Wolski is also a partner in Lustre Pearl, bringing NADC to Houston just made sense.
“The opportunity came up. Loving Houston’s food culture, I was just like let’s run with it. Let’s do big things. I’m stoked to bring delicious burgers to everybody,” Williams says. “It’s been great so far. We’re definitely newer on the block. It’s going good. There’s been a lot of people who love the burger. They’ve made videos and stuff, which has been cool.”
Even as the initial response has been strong, both Wolski and Williams expect demand to increase once crowds start arriving at Lustre Pearl for football season. With a potential Astros playoff run and new excitement for the Texans on the horizon, they expect NADC Burger will stay busy for the foreseeable future. Does that mean more Houston locations are coming?
“We’ve talked about expansion and what makes sense. Having two, three, four locations in a city makes it work for us,” Wolski says. We’ve started dialing in our own flagship stores, which is what the one in Chicago is. We’re looking for a stand alone NADC brick and mortar in Houston. There’s a lot of great neighborhoods. We’ll see what comes out of the next couple months.”
