Enter The Cove. Organic. Fresh. Real. Buying from local growers, The Cove makes gourmet food that is real. Located not far from the San Antonio burger institution Chris Madrid’s, which feeds off artery pollution, The Cove takes a fresh modern stand on food production. That stand has garnered attention from the Food Network’s Guy Fieri and was declared the best burger in San Antonio, 5th in the state by Texas Monthly.

So what’d doublecheese think of the SOL ( sustainable/organic/local) revolution that includes serving soda containing no high fructose corn syrup. Yum. Yum. Yes. And yum. A taste of the 09er burger has doublecheese reeling in delight for a goodness definable in every bite as a bite of the all natural product of people who do things conscience of the balance of nature. The burger selection is constructed thoughtfully, putting inconsideration the gourmet and still evading the pretention that can tag along in these matters. The patty is juicy and cooked with skill. Sweet potato and potato fries are available and savory. The sauce that accompanied my burger, although never defined, had an interesting zest that was spiced perfectly and made my sweet potato fries inhalable.

Something that also needs to be mentioned is the environment. Compared to an Austin dive, The Cove does have something fun about it. Maybe it’s the ping-pong table, the kid playground, the live music or the offer to do your laundry and wash your car their if you need to- that’s right maybe The Cove does have it all. Every 2nd Thursday is wine-tasting Thursday. Every 3rd Thursday is beer tasting Thursday and the fees for these events are decent.

My qualm with The Cove is the pricing. The menu is awesome with a seriously awesome shrimp taco under it’s belt and several other items on the menu that demand several lip-licking moments. But a ten dollar burger has never been my dream pricing. Maybe it’s telling of the economic times and maybe it’s just the price of buying local and dealing with growers who are hurting in the food inc times. While doublecheese has yet to return to Smashburger, for the deliciously over-priced, doublecheese definitely will be returning for the feel good burger revolution.

Now, the final count. Ideals, taste and price combined, doublecheese is compelled to give The Cove a 9. The burger is great. They are one of the best burgers in the San Antonio area. I say: Eat it and it local.

The Cove
606 W Cypress St
San Antonio, TX 78212
(210) 227-2683

The Apple Store is your burger home away from home. Nestled next to Love Creek Orchards, The Apple Store serves up a lazy good burger. I don’t mean to say every worker there was lacking around, but this isn’t the place to go if you’re in a rush. Nevermind the detour, the Apple Store wants you to relax and take it easy and not check your emails every ten minutes to see if the world is actually falling apart without you. This burgertorium makes no apologies for taking it easy and for definitely not being fast food.

And is it worth it? All that god forbidden non-21st century analog undownloaded sit there?! Could it possibly be more burger zen than a good game of tap tap revenge and angry birds?

Yeah. ‘Cause it’s hot. And you’re in the middle of apple, Tx. So, whatever, relax. The decorum is as mom and pop apple pie as you can get- for reeeeeeeeelz. But you want it. And when your burger does show up you’ve soaked in a good two and a half decades of too adorable for words.

Now to the beef, right? I’ll admit, the bun’s a sweetie. If you’re ordering the the Spicy Pepper Jack burger then I definitely recommend going ” all the way” (wink) with the spicy jalapeño bun (even more awkward wink) which is actually the Sheila Partin’s jalapeño bun. Sure, Sheila. But really. The meat is crazy fresh, crazy delish, and crazy awesome. Your choice of cheese that comes nicely melted and a bag of chips and bam, a summer treat have you! Although you have to order the fries separate, the seasoning on those fried papas makes the separate order worth it. Beverages are free lemonade refills as well as tea and sodas available by the can.

So doublecheese says, sweet bun and awesome adventure warrant a nice plump 7.5. That sweet bun was a little tiresome, though, but Doublecheese will be returning for some more of that sweet country EAT IT.

Love Creek Orchards
State Highway 16 North
Medina, Texas 78055

Enter Willie’s Icehouse and Grill. A Dallas rooted chain that flowers fried greasy whatever. Willie’s has opened a nice burger and icehouse out in Leon Valley, not far from the original Rudy’s Bar-B-Que. Placed on the access road of I-10, Willie’s does an amazing job of blocking out the world. You can sit on the decently sized patio for hours and feel only the same pressure the man selling peaches from the back of his pick-up might feel.

Enough of the welcoming atmosphere. Now, the grub! My opener was Willie’s queso, specialized with taco meat, accompanied by a chunky salsa and thin, lightly salted chips. This appetizing cast, my friends, stole the show! Creamy queso and deliciously seasoned taco meat stand strongly alone. However, when you co-mingle the salsa, with the delicious other pair, you get an addictive dip. ADDICTIVE.

Into my second Blue Moon, poured in a fresh, frosted mug, my Hickory Burger arrived. The circumference on this burger was intimidating. The accenting BBQ sauce is definitely meant to be accented with a cold beer. The onions are cut and grilled to embrace both the sweet and sharp onion flavors. A strong taste that overtook all these flavors was the extremely well done patty. The center of the patty was cooked and tasted awesome, the outside tasted like the burnt crumble of meat that stayed on the grill all day.

The cheese, the beer, the queso- an amazingly deliciously meal. The burger, hard to enjoy. So, although I do recommend Willie’s for a peaceful patio and beer retreat, I need to say: make sure you request a medium well patty. So, the burger at a 5.7, I say Don’t Eat It! But feel free to drink and dip it all up!

Willie’s Grill & Icehouse
Leon Springs
24200 IH 10 W
Leon Springs, TX 78257
210-698-5337

The Malt House brings a tear to doublecheese’s eye and a thousand precious moments where Selena plays on a jukebox while burgers and black cows are inhaled. Thoughts of my Pa laughing and drinking beer, enjoying chips and salsa, enjoying the peoples and products of a 50 year tradition are still encompassed by this well known establishment. And although change is transforming this place, carhops are still running food out to parked cars and the latest trends can still be purchased from a lone vendor on the outside benches.

Situated on the cusp of the touristy San Antonio downtown area, with Mi Tierra’s and El Mercado blocks away and one of the few remaining operating Handy Andy’s a few blocks into the real heart of San Antonio, the Malt House is an icon to west San Antonians. An icon portrayed in Jesse Trevino’s recent exhibition on display at the Museo Alemada in 2009. The painter captures San Antonio’s distinct cultural flavor with simple honesty a restaurant that caters to the neighborhood it serves.

When you bite into a malt house burger you’ll want to compare it to a Whataburger, easy. But, a few bites in you’ll quickly realize the small differences. The cheese and mayo mingle so sweetly with the standard simple bun. The juices of the patty create a flavor that feels so classically cheeseburgery delicious. Adding ketchup to the jumbo cheeseburger gives the sweet mayo and cheese medley a hint of sour, a taste that highlights the patty in a new light.

Although you may go to a hundred chain burger restaurants and order the same burger, you’ll walk away with a different experience almost every time. The Malt House has been serving the same burger and experience for over 50 years. A diner experience of a waitress that may not speak English fluently. An experience peppered with live mariachis and street vendors selling bracelets decorated with saints or keychains hand braided with a note of a deaf person’s prayer. I recommend this eatery to true San Antonians who understand the culture of the hard working class.

The prices are unbelievably affordable in a time where a $10 burger is becoming the standard. The service is fast and friendly. Revisions have definitely changed the once brown and tan building, but carhops are still available if you “leave your lights on.” It may never be the best burger in town, but it will be the burger place for generations to come. The place where families can leave full for under $20 bucks. I give the burger a 7.5. However, because I was raised on this burger, it will always be a 10 to me. So, Eat It!

Malt House
115 S Zarzamora St
San Antonio, TX 78207
(210) 433-8441

Everyone burger it up into the wee hours of the night! It is National Burger Day!

and sigh.

Until finally all the world’s marvels and the full magical force of technology and peace came together to make something for which doublecheese rejoices in the golden spring sun with: pizza burger. tehehehee, it’s so simple, and soooooOOoo revolutionary, put the pizza IN the burger. And that, cheesefaces, is what Bobby J’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers on highway 18 in Helotes, TX does.

Although the menu does offer a large variety of delicious foods like chicken, fish, and shrimp, doublecheese only wanted a burger from a place that boasts making award-winning hamburgers. and as I browsed the array of tasty traditional and non-traditional burgers like the western burger, fiesta burger, or even the green chili burger, there at the bottom was a medical marvel, the find of this young century! And doublecheese ordered and waited in pure excitement for the best culinary worlds to meet in a burger in doublecheese’s mouth!

There’s plenty of shaded outdoor seating to enjoy your ice cold beer or Big Red (it’s on tap!) under. And the decor has a quaint Texas-something about it. Although the system for ordering is pen and pencil analog, the service is beyond friendly. Something they’ve had ten years to perfect. Opened by Bob Sfalos in 2000, Bobby liked to keep his secrets in the kitchen, especially his chili recipe. Even though Bob Sfalos passed away December 2009, his love for burgers goes on through his restaurant.

And that love does indeed shine on! The pizza burger was a mozzarella-pepperoni-ground beef love fest. A festival I added to by, true to Texan form, adding ranch dressing to the mix. I will say that it might be better to dip the burger in ranch instead of applying ranch directly to the burger. But ranch aside, the burger patty did stand well next to the pepperoni and pizza sauce. The cheese and buttered bun made a delicious Italian bread medley in my mouth. The onion rings were pretty darn delicious and breaded and fried to a golden but not greasy crisp.

in this nice spring weather I definitely recommend Bobby j’s and give it an innovative 8.5. You know what to do EAT IT, cheeseys!

Bobby J’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers
13247 Bandera Road
Helotes, TX 78023-3937
(210) 695-4941

My burger voyage will now take you to a trendy dive off Wurzbach and IH10, orderup^. This place markets itself as a fine pizzeria, taqueria, and burgeria, which is very cool until you say burgeria so many times that it sounds like something else -arrhea (sick, sick, sick).

Now walking into this hip little place makes guests feel free and new and excited. There’s a world of opportunity out there of Spanish/ Italian/ American choices. Choices that ultimately will cost you! Veggies climb as high as $1, Cheeses at 75 cents, and additional meats (including a fried egg) escalate to $1. So if we start with your basic burger at 4.95 for lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and a butter toasted seedless bun and want to grow from there- well just try and stay within your burger budget is all.

My resultant burger was expensively impressive. Add grilled peppers, guacamole, and jack cheese atop your basic burger foundation and voila a tres tastey very dressed up burger. Now, I kinda really liked this place. There’s mint to put in your tea or lemonade and you look so cool hanging out in a place in San Antonio that not only has live muic but also has an improv troupe perform there. But when I picked up my burger the bun was cold to the touch (gross) and yeah the guacamole was really awesome, but that was a large part of my driving to the end of the burger. Not the meat, or the (applied to liberally) grilled peppers. Infact, I even flipped the bun off my burger and fished out the guacamole with a chip (which was satisfying). The salsa was pretty friendly, not too spicy. The service was awesome, the restaurant is clean, and there’s a nice patio with outdoor seating.

I’ll probably go back and not order a burger. Pizza, perhaps, and the boy at the register highly recommended the tacos. But a burger, I’ll probably go a cheaperelsewhere. So, Orderup^ i give you a 6.0 and say pass on the eat it.

OrderUp
9873 IH-10 W
San Antonio, TX 78230
(210) 877-0007

After winning the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (The Blind Side) Sunday night at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony Sandra Bullock was quoted back stage stating ““I just want a burger and I just want some food. I want to sit down, take the shoes off. I want to eat and not sweat it and not worry the dress will bust open. I just want to relax and… I’d like a nap, too.” Pretty sexy cheesy words coming from the romantic comedy star who wore a perfectly fitted Marchesa gown. The only question I have is: how did the Oscar winner celebrate her Razzie award for Worst Actress the night before? Hopefully cheeseburger is still the answer.

Now Babe’s does have quite a menu with burgers, wings, and even pizza. Also, just by mentioning the place i get many a response in the line of “great fried pickles,” ” beer specials are pretty good there,” and “ah, the onion rings are great, ya gotta git em.” So it was definitely a contender for burger bliss.

I ordered the Guacamole Cheeseburger and the guac was pretty delicious. What wasn’t delicious was all that lettuce. I mean there was a lot that i had to shovel out. Once that matter was settled though, I must say this burger was pretty darn good. The bun was buttered and greasy, the patty was pretty juicy and over all everything came together pretty well on this burger. As good as it was, it was just that, good. Nothing jumped out too big about this burger. It is big. The onion rings were pretty darn scrumptious. Thin and seasoned so well, those onion rings at times out shined the burger. Fries were also a shining point of the meal. I couldn’t resist the shake and i don’t know if i ever will be able to because it was so darn good. Creamy, thick and picturesque, i’m ready for the summer with a shake like that.

Babe’s is a good stop for burger lovers. It’s got a sports/college atmosphere and the prices are pretty good, especially if you hit some of those lunch specials. I’m givin it a 7. Although not high on the list of eateries to return to I definitely suggest you EAT IT.

Babe’s Old Fashioned Food
4535 Fredericksburg Rd
San Antonio, TX
78201
210-732-6666