Hoon Park

There are so many food carts, trucks and trailers here in Austin, and they get a lot of attention (and rightfully so). However, let's not forget about the great burger stands in town, too. Downtown Burgers is one such burger stand.

Downtown Burgers is located right across the street from the Austin Convention Center. Open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner, it can get pretty crowded depending on what convention is in town.

But, if you stick out the possible long lines, you'll be rewarded with one of the best burger deals in town! Their signature combo meal (with a ¼ Pound Burger) is only $5.95 and well worth it. On this day, I went with a little bigger burger: a ½ Pound Burger with bacon and cheese. I normally don't add bacon and cheese, but at 50 cents for each, it makes the deal even better.

The burger was huge! By the end of my meal, I was definitely stuffed. To make a ½ pound, you get two ¼ patties, but they were so big, I wouldn't be surprised if they were even bigger than the name suggests. The meat was grilled well, light on seasonings, and allowed the flavor of the meat to come through. It's not fancy, but it's still very good.

The highlight of the burger is definitely the toppings: full leaves of iceberg lettuce (instead of shredded lettuce that get messy), really fresh and large slices of tomato, 6 big slices of dill pickle (meaning no bites without any pickle), a thick ring of red onion, and free (!) pickled jalapenos. You can tell all of the veggies are very fresh and full of flavor. Add in melted cheddar cheese and lots of extra crispy bacon and you have the makings of a great burger. It's not fancy, but it's definitely a great, simple burger.

Everything is sandwiched between a lightly toasted sesame seed bun with your choice of ketchup, mustard, and/or mayo. The bun is ample, but not very firm, so it fell apart somewhat while I was eating the burger, but does the job.

I've been to Downtown Burgers before and had been disappointed with the soft, mushy fries. This time, I was very pleasantly surprised to see a much improved recipe. The fries were thin, fast-food style, crispy, very gently salted, and most importantly, GOOD. The combo meal is rounded out with your choice of drink in 12 oz. cans.

I've always been served by the stand's owner, Steve, who is always very friendly and eager to please. Having cheese or bacon added as a free extra is not uncommon, and there's a frequent buyer card for a free burger after so many visits. Because of its location, it can get very busy if there's a conference in town, but be patient and you will be rewarded.

As of 4/2011:
¼ Pound Burger Combo (Fries and Drink) - $5.95
¼ Pound Burger only - $3.95
½ Pound Burger Combo - $7.95
½ Burger Only - $5.95


Related links:
Downtown Burgers on Yelp
Downtown Burgers website
Downtown Burgers on Twitter


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If you have driven around Austin much, I guarantee you've driven past a Short Stop. Most of them look like an old, one-hour photo building in the middle of the parking lot for a strip mall. I bet you drive by one or two of them every day on your commute to work. It may not look like much from the outside, but one evening, think about stopping by on your way home and picking up a couple of some tasty burgers.

Short Stop serves a fast food burger. On the menu, there are four burgers to choose from: 1/4 lb burger, bacon cheeseburger, double meat double cheese, and a chili cheese burger. Except for the chili cheese burger, they come with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo, mustard and ketchup. Yes, that's mayo, mustard and ketchup. The three combine to make what I like to call the Short Stop Sauce, and it's great.

Plus, do you remember when fast food restaurants used to "super-size" your order, but then got scared off by that Morgan Spulock movie? Short Stop knows what it is and gives you what you want... feel free to Super Size your Short Stop!

The beef at Short Stop isn't super fancy, but it's straight up good and tastes like a hamburger should. There's no overpowering seasonings, and it's not super greasy, either. The condiments are straight fast food. Lettuce is chopped iceberg, pickles are dill, onions are white and diced, cheese is American, and the bacon is nice and crispy. The lightly toasted white hamburger buns hold everything together.

Make sure to add a side of fries to your order. It's likely to be some of the best fast food fries you've had. Each fry is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Every time I've had their fries, they're always fresh and hot. I appreciate the very light salt added to the fries, since I can always add more salt if I want. But, I've never felt the fries were lacking in any way. Also, I really like the lack of grease. Fries are served in a paper bag, and there's very little grease in the paper even after several minutes on the drive home.

There are two drive-throughs (one on each side of the building), and service is always very fast. Short Stop now accepts credit cards (except AMEX), so there's no excuse to give them a try. To top it off, Wednesdays and Saturdays offer a combo meal (1/4 lb burger, fries and a drink) for under four bucks! That's the best deal in town!

As of 4/2011:
1/4 lb Burger (or combo w/ fries/drink) - $2.99 ($4.89)
Double Meat Double Cheese - $4.69 ($6.49)
Bacon Cheeseburger - $4.19 ($5.59)


Related links:
Short Stop


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Tucked away in the back of a drugstore is a lunch counter with a sizzling griddle and soda fountain that will fill you with nostalgia. It's very likely to be exactly the way it was back in 1951 when Nau's opened, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

After walking in to what appears to be an ordinary neighborhood drugstore, I ventured to the back to find several counter seats and a few tables and chairs. It was late on Saturday afternoon, but nearly every seat at the counter was taken. That was a good sign. Sensing my hesitation, a very friendly local tapped me on the arm and informed me to have a seat anywhere I like.

The menu was filled with so many possibilities, but I came here for the burger. They come in small (1/4 pound) and large (1/2 pound) with mayo, a few slices of tomato, crinkle cut pickles, chopped onions, and a massive pile of shredded iceberg lettuce. I went with the large. For an extra buck, I added a slice of american cheese and thick-cut bacon that sprawled from my burger like the appendages of a Daddy Long Legs spider. All of this was contained in a toasted sesame seed bun.

The beef was well-seasoned, probably simply with salt and pepper, and had so much flavor. With a patty that was obviously hand-formed, it wouldn't surprise me if it was actually larger than half a pound. The patties are cooked on a griddle that is probably older than the building where it resides, and the flavor it imparts is the proof.

My burger was wrapped in some parchment paper that came in handy since it was quite literally bursting at the seams. The ample heaping of shredded lettuce provided a nice crunchy texture to the soft, tender beef. There was so much bacon, it nearly overpowered the flavor of the cheese (I barely knew it was there), but provided a great punch of added flavor. All in all, a fantastic burger!

Nau's does not serve fries or really any sort of sides to speak of, but the burger is so big, you probably won't miss them. Besides, you will want to save room for one of their ice cream sodas. And if you fill up on too many burgers and ice cream, I'm sure the drugstore will have something for that. Add in the fantastic service, friendly locals, and a really great burger and Nau's is worth giving a try.

As of 9/2010:
Small Hamburger (Large) - $4.00 ($4.75)
Cheeseburger - $4.50 ($5.50)
Baconburger - $4.75 ($5.75)
Bacon Cheeseburger - $4.85 ($5.85)


Related links:
Nau's Enfield Drug


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Roaring Fork is the type of restaurant that you might visit to celebrate a special occasion with friends. You're not necessarily trying to impress but just simply wanting to have good food and good conversation. In the midst of unique dishes like a cheese fondue pot with lamb chops, Dr Pepper baby back ribs, and a tuna tartare is the Big Ass Burger, and it is aptly named. Coming in at Number 30 on Texas Monthly's 50 Best Burgers in Texas is actually the BAB's little brother, the Half Ass Burger, which is identical to its bigger counterpart in nearly every way. The only difference is 1/2 pound of ground chuck versus 3/4 pound. Before I dined, I first had to answer a very important question: Are you a Big Ass or a Half Ass? I chose Big and I chose wisely.

Stacked high onto the Big Ass Chuck Patty was longhorn cheddar cheese that didn't overpower the flavors of the beef and the other toppings. Three full strips of bacon (with lots of pepper), thick slices of tomato, a bunch of red onion, pickles, and a leaf of green leaf lettuce rest atop the cheese. All of the toppings were extremely fresh and had a lot of flavor with no blandness. The lone condiment was a chipotle mayonnaise, served on the side, that had a decent amount of chipotle flavor.

The patty itself, besides being huge, had a large amount of char even though I had it cooked medium. It was a bit too much char for my liking, but if you like char, this had some of the most I've ever had on a burger. The patty was very juicy and the meat juices gushed forth with every bite, literally soaking the bottom bun completely through. By the time I got to the end, there was no bottom bun left, and I used a fork for the last few bites. When the bun was there, it was thick, hearty, and grilled. I really enjoy the taste of grilled or toasted bread.

With all of the toppings stacked neatly on top of the huge patty, the Big Ass Burger looks great on the plate. It comes with thin, crispy fries served in a black cauldron. The fries were nice and hot with just a touch of seasoning. Together with the burger, it makes for an attractive meal. If you just want to try the burger, consider visiting the downtown restaurant during happy hour when they shave a few bucks off the price.

As of 2/2010:
Big Ass Burger (with fries) - $13
Big Ass Burger (with fries) happy hour - $9
Half Ass Burger (with fries) - $10

Related links:
Roaring Fork on Yelp
Roaring Fork website
Roaring Fork on Twitter
Roaring Fork on Facebook


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The Jackalope is a self-proclaimed dive bar on 6th Street, and that's exactly what the decor, atmosphere, seating, artwork, amenities, and bartenders exude. There will usually be either a crazy or offensive movie playing on the TV. This time, Kevin Smith's "Clerks" (a movie originally rated NC-17 due to language alone) was airing with subtitles! No matter for The Jackalope...

There are three different menus to choose from, depending on what time of day you're there: a grill menu (with the burgers), pizza, and "Beelzebun's Gourmet Street Food". I ordered a Chipotle Bacon Cheeseburger off the grill menu with a side of waffle fries.

All burgers at The Jackalope are 1/2 pound patties cooked to order. If you don't state how you want it cooked, the default seems to be medium which is exactly how I like mine cooked. For a buck less, you can have your burger downsized to a "slim" version which reduces it to 1/3 pound. I found the patty to be just slightly juicy and a little bit drier than I expected a medium-cooked burger to be. Smoked peppers and chipotle mayonnaise provided a good smoked flavor. The mayo was placed below the patty which combined with its juices to form a meaty flavored sauce. I personally like having mayo on the bottom, but it does make the bottom bun moist.

A large amount of chopped pieces of bacon sit atop the patty as well. But, the most notable thing about this burger is the huge amount of cheddar cheese that completely smothers the peppers and bacon. Cheddar cheese lovers will thoroughly enjoy it, but it seemed to overpower the burger. Despite what the picture may suggest, the burger was not overly messy. This may be because of the size and sturdiness of the whole wheat bun. The top bun was very ample in size and thickness. I could have easily eaten the bread by itself. I would have preferred a thicker bottom bun, especially with the mayo under the patty and the sheer amount of cheese.

On the side were a half dozen or so sandwich pickle slices. Also, to accompany the burger was a large side of waffle fries which were very hot and crispy. The fries were excellent and tasted great both with ketchup and with some excess cheddar from the sides of my burger. I could have eaten simply an order of fries and felt satisfied.

With seven different types of burgers at a very good price (especially considering the so-called "slims") and great happy hour prices and items (don't miss 2-for-1 burger nights on Wednesdays), I'm sure there will be more trips to The Jackalope to be made.

As of 2/2010:
Chipotle Bacon Cheeseburger - $5.95
  add fries and a drink - $1.95
Chipotle Bacon Cheeseburger (slim) - $4.95

Five Guys opened its first location in Virginia in 1986. Over the next fifteen years, five more locations opened in the Washington, DC area. Less than ten years later, there are over 450 locations across the country. There are two in Austin: one in the Arboretum (where the Sharper Image used to be before its demise) and one in north campus.

Five Guys prides itself on serving fresh, never frozen, beef and toppings, as there are no freezers. Another thing you will notice as soon as you walk in the door are the peanuts. There are boxes of peanuts throughout the dining room. These make for a tasty snack before and after your meal.

There are two sizes for the hamburger: the regular "Hamburger" has two patties and the "Little Hamburger" has one. Each patty is slightly less than 1/4 pound, so the Hamburger is between 1/3 and 1/2 pound. Every burger at Five Guys is cooked well done, but the patties remain very juicy. When I unwrapped my burger, it was suitably nice and greasy.

One thing I did not like about my burger was its assembly. It appeared to be very haphazardly put together and required me to take it nearly completely apart to put it back together. The photograph here was after I re-stacked my burger. I anticipated getting my fingers nice and greasy anyway, but putting the burger together made things even messier.

The most impressive thing about the Five Guys burger was the freshness and variety of toppings. Also, other than cheese and bacon, all of the toppings and condiments were included with the cost of the burger. I ordered my burger "with everything." This included a small leaf of green leaf lettuce, several large slices of tomato, a bunch of thick pickle slices, grilled onions and mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, AND mayonnaise. All of the toppings were very fresh and their flavors came through even though there were so many toppings. I felt having all three condiments was a bit much as they soaked through the bun. In the future, I would stick with the one you like best (ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise). Speaking of the sesame seed bun, it was relatively unremarkable compared to the rest of the burger, and it seemed undersized for the two patties it attempted to contain.

A regular order of fries is probably enough for two people. Ignore the sizes that you see on the menu board. My fry cup was completely full of fries and contained probably only half of all my fries. The rest had overflowed and spilled out into my bag. I tried the Cajun variety and found them to be extremely over-seasoned. I tried some of the regular "Five Guys Style" and found those to be very crispy and tasty. I would only go with Cajun if you really love Cajun seasoning.

Related links:
Five Guys on Yelp
Five Guys website and menu
Five Guys on Twitter
Five Guys on Facebook


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