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I <3 New York...BURGERS! A quick break to New York last week afforded me the lifetime opportunity of inhaling burgers made by those dang yankees.

My first burger stop was a chain that is expanding wildly and tastily. Five Guys Burger and Fries is the proprietor of one of my favorite burgers (Slagosaurus, we were gonna get married and make out all the time together, but then i ate him) and although the San Antonio Five Guys at the Quarry was a bit of a disappointment, I still had fond memories. As my first burger in New York, I give it thumbs up up up and up. Twas delicious and I stand by my recommendation to one and all.

Shake Shack. A burger place that has it’s own iPhone app, deserves it. This burger felt great going down, fresh, organic, and simple. In a big concrete town, this burger makes you feel at home. Crinkle cut fries are absolutely delicious. Shake Shack gets thumbs up, hands down, it’s too legit.

And here comes another fast food chain lounge, wait, what? Lounge? Pop Burger is the answer to your need to be too New York cool and still satisfy my burger craving needs. Why? Because it’s a pop culture cool lounge that serves drinks and gets freaky, and it also serves little pops of burgers. I say watch out, those onion rings are not right. But every other poppin’ thing is just that- POP! Burger!

And now a New York upper east side establishment that keeps the yups on a comin’, J.G. Melon. The first thing I smelt in this place, the bar-b-que sauce. It smelt like sex. I infact twittered, while waiting the 45 minute wait in the ultra-cramp spaced: “Waiting@ jg melon for a table. Burgers smell like bacon/cheese/BBQ sauce & beef met @ a gay club and got weird w/ eachother. In a good way.” And it did! And all the tight warm space and the suits and the ritz and whatever else was totally worth it because that burger was sooooo rad. Added a side bbq sauce and got busy. Yelp has it listed as a $$ ( that’s a double chaching), and i guess it is, but man that sauce was spectacular and this burger in this fine New York establishment won my heartbelly.

Other than the burgers there wasn’t too many great things in New York and so I’d really suggest just going for the burgers. YEAH RIGHT. Go to New York and EAT IT in that glorious beautiful awesome place! or else.

thedeathkid Cheeseburger bacon, Barbecue, barbecue sauce, burger, cheese, Cheeseburger, eat it, five guys, fries, jg melon, ketchup, lettuce, mushrooms, New York, pickles, popburger, shake shack, Slagosaurus, tomato

Greetings burgermeisters! Let’s address the counter culture revolution, an American symbol of the working man, of coffee and pie, of darn good food being made on a time-seasoned grill.  My Austin burger review comes from a cafe that now inhabits one of Austin’s former legendary diners, now simply named, Counter Cafe. And trust me, it’s just that, a counter and a few tables, this tiny place open daily from 8am-4pm embodies the hole-in-the-wall-dive-joint entirely.  However tiny, patrons definitely don’t mind a wait to try some of the home diner style menu with a very refreshing gourmet twist. This place was brought to my attention by UT student by day, Lauren Miller, and her Aggie boyfriend, Sergio Guerrero, who highly recommended the burger and suggested staying away from the extra $3 bacon.

Counter Cafe, right off of Lamar and Sixth (across from Book People), is easy to miss.  But the tiny atmosphere creates an interesting warm feel, sometimes double sitting tables for need of the room (thanks to Austin and Texas hospitality, this wasn’t very awkward). Fast-moving and turning tables very quickly the diner definitely gives you an idea of the quick counter culture of Americana. In most restaurants the condiments are kept down to the standard mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper, and napkins always positioned in a clean and organized manner when turning tables.  Counter Cafe moves too fast to worry about these details and while the tables are clean, the array of sirracha, mayo, mustard, coarse sea salt, and ground pepper are all splayed about and ready to be used.

Not thinking twice about it I ordered the burger, sans bacon. My comrade however, a definite sucker for bacon in all its glory, went straight for the nitrate-free three dollar bacon. Ingredients are all natural, organic, and locally sourced when available.  You can order a wheat or white bun, sweet potato fries, cup of soup, seasonal fruit cup, or house salad.  I opted for a wheat bun and sweet potato fries, which Lauren highly recommended. I’ll tell you, as tiny as the place is and as gourmet as some of the other menu items are, they sure now how to make a simple, delicious burger.  I was amazed at how well it was cooked, the buttered and toasted bun, the fresh ingredients, and the interesting choice of bibb lettuce.  Pulling the ketchup and mayo from the condiment array and splattering them on the burger made it amazing.  The sweet potato fries had a perfect balance, not too sweet and seasoned with sea salt.  I devoured this baby whole, forced myself to go on to that one last delectable bite.  The Austin burger scene can be proud to add this to repertoire.  Although there was a bit of wait for the burger, you can see there are only two cooks in the kitchen with little more than elbow room. You can also openly see the care put into the food in as quick a manner as possible.

The reviews for this place in Texas Monthly’s issue of the 50 best burgers in Texas, Yelp, and the Austin Chronicle praise this little cafe. Going to give this swell joint an 8.5 and insist that you shove it in your mouth and EAT IT.

The Counter Cafe
626 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78703
(512) 708-8800
Hours: 8AM – 4PM Daily

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger, Texas Austin, bacon, cheese, lettuce, onions, sweet potato fries, Texas, tomato

This week’s burger establishment takes it name perhaps from that inarticulate sentence that rumbles out of my mouth in the most desperate and dire of burger times: Crave Burger. A sentence that beat out “Me want food,” Crave Burger is up on the podium for burger scrutiny, or love.

Located in San Antonio, Tx off of 410, Urbanspoon voters give it an average rating of an impressive 89% while Yelp reviews have Crave Burger carrying 5 delicious stars.  The reviews left me wondering what the star to jalapeño ratio was and whether I had enough thumbs to review this hit burgerium. From the parking lot the smell of a grill at work gets patrons mouths salivating. Practically running through the door, I  met with a well sized restaurant that uses the space wisely to sit a plentiful amount of guests.  The kitchen area, grill etc are all placed directly behind the counter putting guests at ease, and placing that mouthwatering aroma all around.  Big Red on tap, three different buns, that sexy fried egg option, Crave Burger definitely wants patrons to create a unique burger for their unique palettes.

My burger of choice was the island burger: grilled pineapple, bacon, lettuce, tomato on top of a fresh all beef patty. It said aloha in all the right ways.  Placed between the wheat bun option, my burger walked that sweet burger line. This burger was a gut buster i never wanted to stop masticating. Thick cut bacon on top of a juicy patty and a sweet thick cut pineapple created an ensemble that definitely put me in a tropical mind set. Unfortunately, the tater tots left a little something to be desired, seasoned salt perhaps, some seasoning at least, but the fries were your standard issue tasty.

The staff was amazingly nice and assisted with all my burger queries. Football on the flat screens and what seemed to be a pretty cool kids ipod hooked up to the stereo the atmosphere made my burger experience pretty swell.  Over all I give Crave Burger a fine 7.5. I will be back to try the tempting Chalupa Burger and I recommend you EAT IT.

Crave Burger
4263 NW Loop 410, Ste 100
San Antonio, TX 78229
(210) 592-1539

thedeathkid Cheeseburger, San Antonio, Texas 7.5, bacon, Cheeseburger, lettuce, pineapple, San Antonio, Texas, tomato

This review is on my first burger of 2010 at the Elevation Burger on Great Hills Trail in Austin, Texas. This burgery is a purpose driven establishment that brings the burger back to the basics: Quality Food.  Elevation takes its business seriously, and burgers are its business. With an organic label on their ingredients and a commitment to the environment that is exhibited in their environmental structure the promise of a delicious burger is there. However, behind all these feel good, green, trendy notions could be a burger that doesn’t live up to it’s marketing genius, maybe.

My visit on January 1st was one filled with apprehension and high hopes.  The restaurant is located across from the Arboretum, a rather pleasant and moneycentric side of town.  The kind of place where you could market the green good life trends to yuppies and they’d eat it all up.  On my visit I tried to keep an eye on the locals and the staffing, and I was surprised and pleased with both.  This restaurant serves to the conscious Austin burger eater, a patron that believes in a better self as well as a better world in which the way to both are within our grasps. The staff was extremely nice and very helpful with all our burger questions and they seemed genuinely happy to be helping people and working hard. The actual experience of the restaurant was great. But all of that could fall through if the burger didn’t deliver.

The wait was decent, considering my burger was being made fresh from meat ground on the premises. When our burgers arrived I saw a perfectly sized burger that had a P. Terry’sesque feel to it.  Infact, the burger does resemble the Austin chain in several ways. Mainly because of the quality, organic seal on the ingredients and the simplicity of the burger.  This burger was amazing.  It was delicious and perfectly sized, not the kind of burger that has your gut evicting other organs for need of space. The patty, the fresh vegetables, the Elevation sauce (not Thousand Island but a sort of creamy tomato concoction), the simply stated bun all compiled an ensemble that made my taste buds fall into that deep burger LOVE. The fries, although were a bit too toasted, were impossible to stop devouring. All in all, my Elevation burger was a great to start to 2010. Environmentally friendly, health conscience, and enjoyable in just about every way possible I’m happy Elevation started my year off.

I highly, highly recommend Elevation Burger to anyone looking for a delicious feel good treat. Rated on a scale of 1-10 this burger gets a highly deserved 9 and you absolutely must EAT IT.

Elevation Burger
9828 Great Hills Trail
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 608-4054

Hours of Operation:
Sun-Thurs: 11am-9pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-10pm

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger 9.0, Austin, cheese, Cheeseburger, fresh, fries, lettuce, natural, organic, Texas, tomato

I did it, meatandcheesebetweentwobunslovers, I am going to, after most likely much too long, graduate from Texas State University! GO BOBCATS! Moving on, to celebrate this moment I headed to Bigz Burger Joint right off of 1604 and Huebner here in San Antonio, Texas. This burger barn on the side of the way arouses mouth juices from the parking lot. There’s an aroma of tasty that made me want to run to the door.

At Bigz the patties are a ½ lb, which is decently sized. And the cheeses offered are American, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Swiss, and Blue Cheese. Certain toppings cost extra like beer braised onions, avocado, pineapple, etc. I went for a single knowing it’d be filling. I went with American cheese because I was feeling pretty classic, until I saw that you can “Make it Dirty,” and then I did! At Bigz Burger Joint “making it dirty” means they’ll fry an egg and slap that sexy baby on your burger. Who could say no to that?

Sipping on my Dr. Pepper I enjoyed the barnesque décor and fair-like seating. There’s outdoor seating available during permitting weather and what seemed to be a pretty rad Party Barn as well as a small basketball court. This place seemed to be on the up and up. Then I got my burger, after I accidentally tried to steal this guy Clayton’s burger (sorry! and thanks for being cool about it), and things got juicy. And disappointing. Bigz does toast their buns, offer some fresh vegetable toppings, and fry a pretty mean egg. Bigz does NOT seem to season their patty much. Everything around the area was pretty swell, but the main act was pretty lame. Soooooo, what’s that about Bigz? Although, I did hear the Applewood Bacon is pretty tasty and “making it dirty” is only an extra dollar, I’m gonna need some burger seasoning on my meat (that’s what he said?)

Do I recommend Bigz, meh. The atmosphere is pretty cool and the pricing is pretty pretty decent, but it was pretty cold in that huge space. It’s not my favorite and I probably won’t be back for awhile, I’ll just try and “make it dirty” elsewhere. EAT IT if you must, sigh.

Big’z Burger Joint
2303 N. Loop 1604 W.
San Antonio, Texas 78258

thedeathkid Cheeseburger, San Antonio 5.0, bigz, cheese, dirty, egg, hamburger, lettuce, onions, pickles, San Antonio, tomato

Alas the doublecheeseblogger returns from the busy nothing of life! Everyone listen to me, today in the soggy drip of the day I headed to Freddy’s the frozen custard and steakburger fast food dive on Potranco. I would like to give you a delicious report on the tasty steakburger, however I was a little disappointed in the thinness of the patty. I could barely taste the ground beef surrounded by all the toppings. I had ordered the California Burger combo, a single patty (bad decision) with onions, tomato, lettuce, Freddy’s special sauce (tasted like thousand island), and cheese. All those ingredients overpowered the thin patty. I think it was delicious, in a double patty burger I’m pretty sure it would be great, however the burger in a single number is no bueno.

The fries are anorexic thin but darn it they aren’t addictive. Throw some seasoned salt on those skinny little potato bits or don’t you’ll find yourself inhaling them all. Would I go back, I guess. I’d definitely try a bigger burger and add some bacon, but it’s not the first burger chain to come to mind when I’m jonesing for some cheesy beef goodness. Eat it? I guess.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
8843 Potranco
San Antonio, TX 78245
(210) 520-2436

thedeathkid Cheeseburger burger, cheese, Cheeseburger, eat it, freddy's, lettuce, onion, potranco, San Antonio, single, special sauce, Texas, tomoato

There isn’t much new I can tell you about Top Notch on Burnet Rd in Austin, TX. Nothing has really changed there since the 70s. However, why would you want to change something that is so right. Charbroiled burgers, golden onion rings that are not the least bit greasy, a steady amount of regular patrons that give the place its own Texas seasoning, and a decor to match your favorite Texas steakhouse three decades ago make Top Notch an interesting experience before you’ve even ordered your burger. The biggest impression is left by the sweet charbroil aroma that fills the atmosphere of the restaurant. Knowing that anything this place serves up is gonna be as delicious as it’s conviction to decor I ordered the Longhorn Special.

This double meat, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions (not on mine), and cheese burger, add bacon hit home. It had an all American feel. There was an amount of care and pride in the burger. The Stanish family has been running this business for decades and they love what they do and it shows. The cheese was melted perfectly and the bacon was cooked to perfection. The special sauce mingling with the lettuce and tomato gave the burger a fresh taste that let the two patties be delicious and not overwhelming. It has been said over a hundred times and I can only concur that Top Notch is serving one of the absolute best burgers in Austin. My onion rings were some of the best I’ve had. Not greasy, just golden and perfectly ketchup dippable.

Top Notch has had its share of celebrity. If you’ve ever seen the Linklater hit “Dazed and Confused” then you’ve seen Top Notch’s big screen debut. Local artists have also taken some inspiration from the diner such as Jennifer Balkan and George Boutwell. It is a staple in the Austin community. A place that values pride and Americana. James Stanish, who began working at Top Notch for 50 cents an hour as a bus boy when he was 12, took over the business after his father. Stanish sadly passed away this past November, however a legacy has been left behind of quality service and product. Please go EAT IT and enjoy a burger that is quite possibly burger perfection.

Top Notch Hamburgers
7525 Burnet Rd
Austin, TX 78757
(512) 452-2181

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger Austin, bacon, cheese, double, eat it, fries, lettuce, onion rings, special sauce, Texas, tomato

Rudy’s Bar-b-que has decided to branch off from the brisket and sausage game and make something else I could eat all day every day: burgers.  Mighty Fine: Burgers, Fries, and Shakes is into quality.  They ground and hand form their burgers in the store daily and cut and crinkle their potatoes to make fresh delicious crinkle fries.  Although the menu is pretty simple, the burgers pack an intersting and delicious taste.   

I ordered the Jr. Cheeseburger (one 1/4 patty) with yeller, red, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and no onions! I inhaled it and knew I need to order the double patty next time.  It was pretty darn good.  Nothing outrageously spectacualr just a nice little burger. Organized and not as messy as some of my favorite burgers (Five Guys), pleasant because it strives to do the best it can at all the simple and great things.  The flavors in the burger punch in an iconic burger component way.  Lettuce shows up fresh as ever.  Tomato is thick cut and ready to party.  Pickle is thick and sprinkled about each bite adding the extra sour kick.  I maybe could have used more cheese, but I’m a double cheese kid and can’ get enough of the stuff.  There are beverage troughs much like Rudy’s Bar-B-Que and the hand dipped shakes and fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade make it seem like a burger at your town summer fair.  The white and blue checkered table covers and the cafeteria seating are fun.  Mighty Fine has been getting business from all over Austin. And I can understand why, they’re simply delicious. EAT IT. 

Mighty Fine: Burgers, Fries, & Shakes
10515 N MO Pac Expy, Ste 105
Austin, TX 78759
(512) 524-2400

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger Austin, crinkle cut, eat it, fries, jalapenos, ketchup, lettuce, mustard, pickle, Texas, tomoato

Mooyah Burgers is a doppelganger of a burger joint. It teeters on being some alternate universe version of Five Guys. The concept is the same with a few minus and plus signs. The plus is that there are cheese options: swiss, American, and cheddar; and there are a few interesting sauces that come up. The minus is that there aren’t any green peppers. For some reason that’s a big minus for me. Another frightening thing is the intense freedom. The cheeses, the toppings, gaaaaah, i don’t know if I can take it.

And I couldn’t. I made a mistake. My burger idea was beautiful, it would have been the envy of all burgers. It was supposed to be a fresh concept with swiss cheese and lettuce, and (here it is) if i just had those green peppers maybe it would’ve worked, maybe. But instead, my swiss cheese and special sauce (thousand island) kind of made me feel weird. Sick weird. Another strange thing is that they go on about their special bun, but I don’t know if I noticed anything particulary special about it. I did get a strawberry shake with my burger that pleased me to every extent. But the swiss-special sauce thing made it weird. again. So I say go to Mooyah, the service there is pretty nice, and the shakes are delicious, all the ingredients are fresh. My only disclaimer is BEWARE of your decision making!!! and EAT IT.

Mooyah Burgers & Fries
9070 Research Blvd.
Suite 303
Austin, TX 78758
Phone: (512) 380-0990
Hours: 11am-10pm, 7 days a week

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger Austin, eat it, lettuce, milkshake, Research Blvd, special sauce, swiss, tomoato

As a burger joint should strive to be, Dan’s Hamburgers is a definite icon in Austin, TX. In big cities, like Austin and San Antonio, a good burger is usually hidden in the sprawl of the neighborhood. Slightly hidden to those not familiar with the area. Although word has spread about Dan’s, in the beginning it was a just a community burger joint. A place families went weekly, after a long day, after traffic and reports, school and work, Dan’s is there to be a burger oasis. A small business that means a big deal to a lot of people.

What you might see a lot is that Dan’s Hamburgers is a good burger but not the best. I’ll agree with this statement, but it was a damn good burger. Adequately sized, a did inhale the whole thing. I ate it all and didn’t have room or all the delicious onion rings. I loved the place, I loved the food, I loved the cafeteria like seating. The service is quick and the burgers have the taste of a well worked grill in them. The hickory sauce does not overwhelm the burger, just adds a nice hint of flavor. It reminded me a lot of my original burger love at the Malt House in San Antonio. They serve curly fries as well as regular fries, and onion rings that are pretty good. I dare say that Dan’s does make the best burgers list in Austin, and in a smaller town would be number one. The price for the taste is a deal in my eyes. And the feel of the community is a nice treat. I ate it, you should definitely EAT IT.

Dan’s Hamburgers
5602 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78751-1058
Phone: (512) 459-3239

thedeathkid Austin, Cheeseburger Austin, barbecue sauce, cheese, Cheeseburger, curly fries, lettuce, N Lamar, onion rings, pickle, Texas, tomato