Bad, bad me!
Oops. It had been going so well, too.
After a small bit of polenta (which, by the way, is excellent. I always walked past it at the store meaning to try some, but never got around to it until now) after the gym, I was in a rush to head out the door Thursday to get to the Capital Macintosh photography Special Interest Group where they were gonna do a small talk on basic lighting. It was a pretty good talk, incidentally, but not the point. I thought I ate enough, but I hadn't.
Knowing that the fridge had nothing prepared in it, on my drive home, I had a hankering for cajun fries, so come 9pm, I stopped at Five Guys. This is where the first line of the blog comes from. It was late, I was hungry, so my will broke, and I had a burger and fries.
Trying to live healthy despite no job and no real motivation has its challenges, but all in all I've done well so far. I've discovered the pure, unadulterated joy of cooking (along with the pure, unadulterated agony of doing the dishes and pans). The Newflower Farmers Market up the road is becoming a favorite spot of mine to find really good, cheap, fresh vegetation, and in doing so, I'm eating more of it. Shocking, given my history of vegephobia.
I can try to justify the lapse in judgment by honestly going to the gym four days of the week now, but that would be dishonest. I wanted a big, greasy burger, so I got one. This is not to say I am a certified health-nut. Far from it. Rather than count calories, and reading every label on every bit of food I eat, I'm subscribing to the school of thought of just being mindful of what and how much. Sure, it's easier to screw up and take advantage of a system like that, but if you have a lifestyle you're aiming for, you find ways to do it right. As the old cliche states, you're only cheating yourself - and in this case, it actually is true, unlike most of the situations you heard of growing up.
So, on the menu tonight, is a chicken noodle soup made from the stuff I bought at Newflower and Costco. No cans. It may turn out great, and it might not. Thus is the adventure of cooking for one.
As Horace puts it, mens sana in corpore sano. Or as Stephen Fry puts it, mens' sauna offers corporal punishment. Good night.
Review: Five Guys Burger and Fries, has my search come to an end?
The actual storefront is shrouded in trees, but the sign under the eaves is easy to see
You remember at the end of Gone With the Wind, when Scarlett says to Rhett, "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" and Rhett says to Scarlett, "My dear, I don't give a damn"? Certainly, he could have been referring to quite a number of things, but not, I repeat, NOT to one of Austin's number of quality burger places, of which I have so far tasted and tested three of note. In a foul mood, I decided to head out and try Five Guys Burger and Fries that, I could have sworn, my neighbor recommended to me, but apparently he didn't, and I just dreamed it out of no where. It is amazing, absolutely A-MA-ZING how a good tasting burger speaks to the soul and lifts the spirits. There are two locations in town, but in the interest of not being hounded by crazy lines near campus on Game Day, I headed up to The Arboretum, where I found the Five Guys storefront being where the old Sharper Image was. Splendid. Easy to find.
The staff is friendly, though with only two registers, I think peak times could be a bit hectic. Like Mooyah Burgers, there is a list of toppings, all of which you are free to add to your burger for no extra cost. I really like this model, so you can pretty much try a different taste every time you visit, and you know exactly how much it's going to cost every time. More places should do this! I ordered a cheeseburger ($5.19) with lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms, regular-sized regular-style, as opposed to their cajun-style they have, fries ($2.59), and a regular drink ($1.79) for a total of $10.36 after tax. This is more than the previous two places I've gone to, and initially I was a bit disappointed that it would drop on value, but that would pretty much immediately go out the window. As it turns out, a regular (cheese)burger is a two-patty affair, so if you're only interested in a single slab of meat, you have to order the "Little," which is about a dollar cheaper. I didn't know this, so went ahead with the regular, and hey, why not... I was told it would be about a seven minute wait, and took a table along with a look around.
Bags of potatoes
The place definitely looks and feels like a burger diner. Lots of red checkerboard around the place, and there's enough room to be kid-friendly. One thing I noticed was that they have bags of potatoes sitting around (like at Mighty Fine) labeled "FIVE GUYS, SPECIALLY SELECTED FOR FRENCH FRIES." Hmm, they seem to take their fries seriously. Furthermore, by the pickup counter, there's a small sign reading "Today's potatoes are from Sugar City, Idaho" so you get some idea of the locality of what you're eating. Nice touch. All in all, it seems a nice restaurant.
Order #71 was called, and I found my food in a nondescript brown paper bag on the counter, with spots of greasy goodness already showing. As Homer's weight training said, "If whatever you rub turns clear, it's your window to weight gain!" Not that that's what I'm after... As you can see from the photo below, I couldn't figure out how to access the food without making an absolute mess of the place, so I just tore the bag in half. This may actually be the best way to do it, if you don't intend on taking your food with you to go. There were a lot of fries. A LOT. Of fries. At its core, the fries were being kept in a styrofoam coffee cup, but I think that was just a friendly gesture. Really, the fries were just scooped and dumped in the bag - not rude, but by design. They mean to give you a ton of fries. And this was a "regular" order. I cannot, and don't want to, imagine what a large would have been. We're talking Man Vs. Food portions of fries here. More on the fries later.
My monster of a burger
After picking off and eating the fries that were laying on and over the foil packet that was my burger, I was finally get to the meat (har har) of the matter. The burger. Now, I realize this place is a nation-wide (though privately owned) chain, and that may take away from the down-home'dness that I am somewhat looking for, I must say this burger is rather good. Actually, it's downright delicious. Maybe not individual ingredients, but how it all comes together, they've got a pretty good formula.
It starts with the bread, which is so not a regular hamburger bun. It's almost like a sweet dinner roll. It's soft and fluffy, and has a decidedly sweet roll taste. Not something I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise. This may also contribute to the weight of the burger. It was oddly lightweight for something that... filled. Maybe a roll type bread is lighter than a standard bun? I've no idea, but it won't stay lightweight after being eaten. All of Five Guys burgers are cooked, in their words, "juicy and well done," and this is pretty accurate of what I got. It's a darker burger for sure, but not dry at all and had plenty of beefy taste. The lettuce was a bit of a disappointment, and it wouldn't have made a difference had I gotten it or not. It just didn't add or detract from the taste of this burger. The tomatoes were alright (the P Terry's and Top Notch veggies were better), but the grilled onions and mushrooms were awesome. My one big disappointment with the burger, and I guess this could extend to other cheeseburgers as well, is the propagation and insistence on using American Cheese. It's not cheese. It is so not cheese. It's just melty, oily cheese product. If I had the option of cheddar, it would have made a world of difference. Come on, people! I suppose the best way to describe the Five Guys burger is that it feels like what you would make at a backyard barbeque with some game on in the background, and plenty of people around, except they make hundreds and thousands of them all day, every day. Backyard taste, but mass produced.
Most of the fries were actually lying somewhere else in the bag
Back to those fries. I am fairly particular about my fries, and seeing a sign saying they were voted best fries from some place in Kookamunga, gave me hope that they would be something special. The quantity alone is something special. Like Mooyah, they just throw loads and loads of fries into your bag for you to pick at at your leisure. For $2.59, you get more fries per order than you could ever want. The potatoes are of a good stock, I think. They are thick, square-cut fries, filled with fluffy potato. A good fry, but I wouldn't say it was zomg so amazing. Actually, they kind of remind of Mooyah fries in terms of taste, too. Like most restaurants these days trying to market something healthy, Five Guys touts their food as being Trans Fat-free, but one look at the food, and they're not foolin' anyone. It's comfort food, and the fries are comfort fries. The burger may be light to hold, but it fills you up good (grammar be damned, local colloquialisms rule here).
So, is my search over in Austin, for the ultimate in burger places? Naaaah, brah. Don't get me wrong, Five Guys is very, very good. Arguably the best I've had so far, BUT, I still think there's something else out there that can and will top it. I mean, really, what fun would it be if I found the best place up front, and had no more excuses to go out and eat at Austin's choice joints? That said, I wholly recommend folks add Five Guys to their list of burger places to frequent. You may want to bring your own bag if you plan on taking stuff with you and end up ripping the bag in half, as I had.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
3208 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78703
512-452-4300
10000 Research Blvd, #142
Austin, TX 78759
512-338-0300
Dining room
A cuppa. Fries were thick, square cut potatoes.
Review: P Terry’s, Austin’s reply to In-n-Out
P Terry's Hamburger stand on Wm Cannon
My next destination in my quest to visit as many hamburger joints in Austin saw me to the brand new, tags-still-on P. Terry's on Wm Cannon, just west of MoPac. The first thing that strikes me is the vibe of the place - it's very similar in feel to In-n-Out, which is a good thing, because we don't have those in Texas. P Terry's is a dedicated hamburger place.
The restaurant itself is tiny, with seating enough only for a few, so during lunch time, it was standing room only (and not even very comfortable standing room) for people waiting for their orders. I'm guessing only about 40 people could find seats at any one time. The kitchen looks very much like I-n-O, too, with its stainless griddles and fryers. It almost makes me think they are run by the same people, but a look at the website shows that it's all local. Their mantra for all-fresh ingredients is also encouraging.
The menu is small, with a choice of just three different burgers, a chicken burger, and a veggie burger (and, of course, fries). They also have shakes, as any good old-fashioned burger shop should have. As with my In-n-Out tradition, I went with a double with cheese and fries. The similarity to I-n-O continues with the burgers themselves. They are small, compact, and dense. And drippy. Very drippy. The 'special sauce' that comes on the burgers is pretty tasty, and I'm guessing it's a variant on Thousand Island dressing, as they so often seem to be, but I can't be sure. Whatever. It tasted good. The angus patties are much more seasoned with black pepper than your average burger, and provides a good, spiced taste to the meat. They use fresh tomatoes, too, and the taste of fresh tomatoes cannot be understated. You hardly taste the other vegetables in there, because the peppered beef, cheese, and tomato rule supreme. The burgers are tasty, but surprisingly filling for something so physically small.
They are also physically small on your wallet! The standard hamburger costs only $2.00, and the most expensive item, the chicken burger, is a meager $3.80. Hurrah for that!
The menu and kitchen. Looks almost identical to the In-n-Out in Vegas on Sahara Blvd
The fries, however, are a crashing disappointment to me. They remind me very much of softer, squishier versions of French's Potato Sticks snack foods. They're thin, straw-like potatoes, and fried squishily. Normally, I like soft fries, but only when they are thick-cut, and filled with fluffy potato-matter. The thin sticks, just aren't my taste. Luckily they aren't overly salted, or that'd be another mark against their fries. I'm sure somebody likes this style, or they wouldn't sell them, but not me. No, sir.
I decided to pass on a shake, because I got my order to go and was going to make a smoothie at home anyway, but from what I saw of other people's shakes, they looked delicious and thick.
All in all, another option for burgers in our fair town. West-coast atmosphere at a discounted rate. The peppered angus beef is a good selling point to set their burgers apart from the others. At the moment, I wish they weren't quite so greasy, but that may just be the afterglow of Top Notch the other day. It's about on par with what one imagines from a burger restaurant. It is a fun place to eat with the family, though, so props to them for creating ambience.
They have a few locations in town, including S Lamar at Barton Springs, and N Lamar at 32nd St. From what I can tell, the S Lamar location is drive-thru only or very limited seating.
P Terry's
http://www.pterrys.com/
4228 W Wm Cannon Dr
Austin, TX 78749
Open 11a-11p
The P Terry's double with cheese
Review: Casino el Camino
Image used with thanks to Steve and Sara of flickr and the creative commons license
I have heard rumor of this place. This legend. This home of the huge hamburger. As much as I hate driving down 6th St, there was a reason to go today. That is to say, Joe and Terri's friends Richard and Jenny were in town, and Top Notch Burger, our original destination, was closed on Sundays. Damn the luck, but that will be another review, for another day. Anyway, the burgers there have been described to me as "THIS" big (I'm pantomiming holding a large burger right now, you'll have to use your imagination), "big as yo' face" big, and of course "I had to split it with someone" big. My, that sounds like a big burger. In this regard, the burgers do not disappoint. They are big. Three-quarters of a pound is the base amount of meat for your $7.25 or $7.50. That's 12-ozs of ground beef to start the burger. You may, of course, ask for less meat, but you get charged the same amount for your burger, and you get pointed at and called a pansy. Not by the staff, but by your judgmental and overbearing friends who have no doubt come along to engorge their faces with a beefburger.
They have a small list of burgers that you choose from, named after cities where you might find such combinations of ingredients. I went for the K.C., or "Kansas City" (Mizzeruh or Kansas, I'm not sure) burger. This hunk o' lunk is described on their menu in the following way:
| The K.C. Burger | |
| Smokey BBQ sauce, grilled onion and cheddar cheese | |
Simple, elegant burger with some bbq sauce. I see now why Casino el Carmino has won the award for best bar food and atmosphere in Austin. Well, not for why it has the best atmosphere, but why it has the best bar food. The burgers are good. Very, very good. The best burger I've ever had? No, but it's up there. The bun is a pleasure, their grilled onions are plentiful, and the cheddar cheese is properly melty around the sides of the giant (did we mention there's a lot of meat?) slab of beef. I'll have to try the L.A., or "Los Angeles" burger next time, since it's got more vegetation in it, and in this hopped up world, we're all looking to eat a little more healthy. Actually, I just thought the burgers would have a baseline of lettuce and tomato, but I guess they take their descriptions literally, and there weren't any. No biggie. My mistake.
I'm not sure if this following bit was due to my recent illness, but I finished off the burger without any problems, and ate some fries on the side as well, without breaking a sweat. I even walked up the street to my car, and got all the way home, before I fell asleep on my bed. Had I been in top form, however, I probably would have felt full somewhere in there.
Check this tiny (and I mean small) place out if you find yourself on 6th St, and feeling a bit peckish for a burger. It's good stuff, and worth eating at again. You'll find it on 6th St between Neches and Red River. Just mind the gargoyles.
517 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX. 78701-3741
Phone: (512) 469-9330
Fax: (512) 441-5281
Email: info@casinoelcamino.net
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