Usually places on this web site involve establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. But there is a place in Dallas so unique “liquor or not” that it can’t be overlooked although it is so easy to overlook.

Fifteen or so years ago, the Dallas Morning News rated Roses as serving the best hamburger in Dallas. That is a major claim in a town full of ground beef joints. Not foreign to the all beef patty and having never been to Roses, I wanted to do my own appraisal. But as the article reported, part of the charm of the place is finding it so no address or phone number were listed. That challenge turned me into a lunchtime sleuth.

A search of the phone book was futile. Asking around brought me blank stares or “I know something you don’t know” twinkles. A colleague in my office joined the search. One morning, she ran into my office simply stating “I found it!”

It appears that she was driving down lower upper Greenville and eyed this old red house that had been there for years. Above the locked screen door were the reflective letters that one buys at the hardware store stating modestly: R-O-S-E-S.

Let\’s take a quick diversion to explain lower upper Greenville. As confusing as that bit of direction may sound, people in Dallas know exactly where that is. Mockingbird Lane divides Greenville Avenue, a bustling street of distinctive bars, restaurants, stores and personalities. Above Mockingbird Lane is commercial, apartment heavy upper Greenville; below it is small, single family home-filled lower Greenville.

Anyway, Roses was found but the role of sleuth continued. How do you get into the place? And what do you do when you get in?

My accomplice and I waited out back until we found two well-rounded guys with short sleeve dress shirts and ties heading toward Roses’ backdoor. We followed them in where more hand-applied lettering simply stated “Welcome.”

The first stop is the cooler. Reach in and pull out a bottle of pop served in classic returnable bottles if the manufacturer still offers them. Grab chips if you like and have a seat, but just to mark your territory. You must go back and order directly from Rose. She writes down your order on a small piece of paper and hands it to her son (or at least that what we call him) the griller.

Return to your seat until your name is called where you go back to the kitchen and fetch your hamburger or cheeseburger – those are the only things on the menu at Roses – plated by wax paper. The burgers are fresh and hot and taste as good as any in town.

Upon completion, everyone busses their paper, puts the returnable bottles in the proper container and then goes back to pay Rose. She then adds up your total on an 8 ½ X 11 piece of paper that serves as her calculator and ledger. Burgers are $4.25, one dollar more for cheese. Cash only, or as the handmade sign near the kitchen says, “American Money.”

You\’ll smell like the delicious burger you just had for a couple of hours, as the ceiling is low at Roses and the ventilation was pre-Dallas air conditioning. But forget about the smell, it is finding the place and enjoying the whole experience at Roses that will make you yell \”Eureka!\”
– D. M.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Rose Stivers passed away on December 1, 2003 just two days shy of her 89th birthday. Lunch in Dallas will never quite be the same without her.