Don Quixote and Rick Vanderpool have a lot in common.

The don, as you’ll recall, wandered Spain in search of imaginary wrongs to right. Rick Vanderpool wandered across Texas in search of the perfect hamburger.

They both dreamed the impossible dream.

Finding the perfect Texas burger is impossible for the simple reason that a lean, well-done, flat-grill burger that whispers sweet nothings to Mary Beth may be every bit as appealing as a petrified hockey puck to Jim Bob.

And the medium-rare, grease-dripping-to-your-elbows charbroiled cheeseburger that leaves Johnny Mike wobbly-kneed with bliss may leave Wanda Jean wobbly-kneed with nausea.

Rick traveled 11,000 miles around Texas only to discover that when you ask a Texan to sermonize on the subject of the perfect burger, the response is essentially this: “Man, the best burger you’ll ever lay a lip over comes from this little ol’ dive in my hometown. It’s the best because it’s fried/grilled/broiled perfectly so it’s rare/medium-rare/medium/well-done/charred. It’s nice and lean/greasy, it’s served on a whole wheat/white bread/poppyseed/sesame seed/sourdough/rye/onion bun, and it does/does not come with grilled onions on top.”

This diorama of diversity made apples-to-apples comparisons and Rick’s quest for the perfect burger impossible, but his journey — like Don Quixote’s — made for good yarns nonetheless. His stories of greasy spoons and the Texans who love them are preserved for posterity in a new book, “The Texas Hamburger — History of a Lone Star Icon,” published by History Press.

It’s an interesting addition to the ever-growing library of Lone Star reference books. As Charles Kuralt once said, “You can find your way across the country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars.”

“The Texas Hamburger” is written with that in mind, not only as a history book and commentary but a sort of road atlas for the burger lover.

Where else could you learn that Gene’s Hamburger Harbor in Gordonville offers The Biggun, with one full pound of meat? Or that the Hole in the Wall Cafe in Newcastle offers burgers named The Piglet, The Wild Pig, The Hog and The Wild Hog? What other reference tells you that the Dirty Love Burger is available only at the Love Shack in Fort Worth?

Rick, a Lubbock-based photographer and writer, is known for his Texas-themed photographic montages. He has shot everything from signs featuring Texas’ name to Texas stars, Texas spurs, Texas wildflowers and Texas windmills.

Some of his collections have resulted in books, others in posters.

A few years ago, some friends

suggested a Texas burger montage. The idea was embraced by the folks in Athens, Texas, which proudly claims to be the home of the hamburger. That claim is contested by other places across the country, which you can also read about in the book.

At any rate, the Athenians loved Rick’s plan to honor Texas burger joints. The town’s movers and shakers named him “hambassador” and commissioned him to travel across the state shooting photos for a burger poster.

They also helped him get the word out to tourism officials, county extension agents and hundreds of other burger fans across the state, asking for their nominations for the best burger in Texas.

“The flow of replies did not slow for better than two weeks,” Rick said. More than 700 burger joints were recommended, in nearly all of Texas’ 254 counties. “The flow of replies did not slow for better than two weeks,” Rick said.

The folks at the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau were among the “hamburger helpers” who suggested restaurants for consideration.

Since we’re blessed with great burger joints in the Heart of Texas, they had plenty to recommend, and Rick mentions several local establishments in the book — Double R, Health Camp, Kupps, George’s, the Elite Circle Cafe and Grille and yes, Fat Ho Burgers.

Eleven thousand miles, hundreds of interviews and 223 pages later, Rick will cheerfully tell you that hamburgers are much like chili, racehorses and members of the opposite sex in that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

“Go ahead, grill me all you want, I’ll never divulge which burger is my favorite,” he says. “I typically say that my favorite Texas hamburger is likely to be my next one.”

Thankfully, Texas has plenty of great burger joints to provide that “next one,” with each promising to leave burger lovers weak in the knees.

I hope to see you at the counter of one soon. If you get there first, go ahead and order for me, would you?

Make mine a cheeseburger, medium-rare, with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and extra onions.

Tell the cook to spread yellow mustard on the bottom half of the lightly toasted poppyseed bun where the mustard touches the meat and mayonnaise on the top piece of bread where it touches the veggies, then wrap the whole thing in paper so the juices can mingle. And yes, I’ll have fries with that. Extra crispy, please.

It’s the best burger in Texas, I tell you.

Donnis Baggett is publisher and editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald . His email address is dbaggett@wacotrib.com. His mailing address is P.O. Box 2588, Waco, Texas, 76702-2588.