Texas Highways' best burger is found in East Texas

LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - It's hard to resist a good burger, especially when you're on the road, so who would be better to choose the best burgers in the state than Texas Highways magazine?

Well, their number one choice is from a restaurant that originated in Longview, and number four is in Tyler.

Texas is a big state and it's not surprising to find a big burger, but finding the best burger is more challenging. Well, after a wide sampling, the honor goes to Jucy's, which started in Longview. Debbie Maxey, married to the owner Ronny Maxey, was shocked.

"But being number one was something that we didn't know; we didn't even know the issue was coming out," Maxey said.

They've been voted number one in East Texas for years, and were in the top twenty list in Texas Highways back in 2004.

"Getting there early to grind meat and putting beans on, and using real potatoes, nothing's frozen, chicken fried steak, everything's fresh just as a mother would in a kitchen," Maxey said.

"You're making me hungry," I said.

"That's good," Maxey laughed.

Darla Rose and family were hungry too and stopped to have their first Jucy's burgers.

"It's amazing. It really is. It's well, it's juicy," Rose observed.

Jucy's also has locations in Marshall and Tyler. Speaking of Tyler, burger number four originated there, and Sulphur Springs. Dennis Moreau's Burger Grind has been only around about a year, but impressed Texas Highways and made the list.

"It's very humbling and it makes you feel pretty good.

"It's very gratifying to know that all the hard work got us some notoriety there," Moreau said.

Back at Jucy's in Longview, it's a full restaurant.

"We just really try not to put anything on the menu that we couldn't be really proud of," Maxey added.

Or apparently really full from.

Ronny Maxey started Jucy's in 1980 and flipped burgers until just five years ago, and still goes to work every day. Cities from Carthage to Shreveport and beyond want a Jucy's in their town, but the Maxeys want to keep the stores close for quality control.

Copyright 2015 KLTV. All rights reserved.