100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 73, X-Tudo Burger at Friends Pizzeria

By Katharine Shilcutt Tue., Jun. 19 2012 at 2:00 PM

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once.

The X-Tudo in magnificent cross section.

As I understand it, the "X" that comes before every burger on a Brazilian fast-food-style menu -- like the one at Friends Pizzeria -- indicates that the burger will have, at the very least, cheese. That's because the letter X is pronounced "sheesh" in Portuguese, a sound which comes very close to sounding like "cheese." So a X-Tudo burger on the Friends Pizzeria menu means that you're getting a cheeseburger "Tudo" -- with almost everything.

Everything means everything: bacon, ham, peas, corn, potato sticks, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise and even a fried egg. It's a burger that's difficult to eat, for sure, but rewarding. I liked the pleasant crunch provided by the peas, corn and potato sticks, and the fatty, smoky slick from the extra-fatty bacon used on the X-Tudo burger.

"It's the classic style of burger back in Brazil," says Friends Pizzeria owner Ronaldo Gomes, who comes from a small town in Brazil -- so small, he says, that they "don't have McDonald's or Burger King."

And while he doesn't have any idea why corn, peas and potato sticks ended up being standard toppings, Gomes says: "That's what we used to eat all the time."

The list so far:

No. 100: Chili cheese mac at Jus' Mac
No. 99: Texas turkey sandwich at Spec's
No. 98: Custard at Petite Sweets
No. 97: Caprichos mixtos at Taqueria Monterrey Chiquito
No. 96: Pineapple-wasabi burger at Lankford Grocery
No. 95: Farmer's MKT Pizza at Phoenicia's MKT Bar
No. 94: Potatoes at Money Cat Brunch
No. 93: Breakfast tacos at Sunrise Taquito
No. 92: Hot dog at Tacos D.F.
No. 91: Avocado gelato at Frozen Cafe
No. 90: Chicken sandwich at JerryBuilt Homegrown Burgers
No. 89: Beer-battered asparagus at Hearsay
No. 88: Honey Badger omelet at Kraftsmen Cafe
No. 87: Pastelitos de carne at El Jalapeño
No. 86: Pancakes at Union Kitchen
No. 85: Wild boar and crab pizza at Boheme
No. 84: Breakfast croissant at BB Donuts
No. 83: Pretzel at Anvil Bar & Refuge
No. 82: Short rib sandwich at Shepherd Park Draught House
No. 81: Grilled shrimp po-boy at Pappadeaux
No. 80: Dahi puri at Shiv Sagar
No. 79: Aporreado at Los Corrales
No. 78: Oxtail francobolli at Aldo's Cucina Italiana
No. 77: Tonkotsu at Cafe Kubo's
No. 76: Spinach danish from Angela's Oven
No. 75: Pupusas at El Petate
No. 74: Pheasant dog at Sammy's Wild Game Grill

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Location Info

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Friends Pizzeria

7952 Westheimer, Houston, TX

Category: Restaurant

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Tags:

Brazilian food, burger, Friends Pizzeria, X-Tudo

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SirRon

If Wonka made a gum that incorporated all the flavors of the X-Tudo, I'd probably want to try it... even if it was still in alpha testing.

FattyFatBastard

The peas and corn do seem a bit ridiculous. However, if they can fry the egg up correctly, I'd be willing to try it out. We did like the torta burger at El Gran Malo, after all (although that was the only thing we liked. The tacos were simply pedestrian and the ceviche was inedible.)

Matthew

i'd eat that. although i'd be worried that that much produce would make the burger too cold.

Katharine Shilcutt

Hard-fried like that seems to be how the X-Tudo burgers are served... I'm sure they'd fry it over-easy if you asked. :)

SirRon

Just wondering, that comment is because it is fried too hard? Also, I could have sworn that it would have been peas on a burger that would set you off :)