Hopdoddy Burger Bar - Austin, TX

In my last post I discussed the Austin "big burger" scene and pronounced Hopdoddy to be tops in town.  Even though Hopdoddy is very far from where I live it's good enough that I agreed to go one weekend afternoon with the wife (and I try not to go anywhere on weekend afternoons).  Hopdoddy has 11 different burgers to choose from, but I don't find any of the specialty burgers to be quite right so I always go for a "Classic burger" - Beef, Red Leaf Lettuce, White Onion, Ripe Beef Steak Tomato with mayo and mustard (taken directly from their menu).

Hopdoddy Classic Burger with pepperjack

One thing I loved about Hopdoddy right off the bat was the default inclusion of mayo and mustard on the burger, exactly like I make at home.  I knew I wouldn't be waiting another 15 minutes after I got my burger because the waitress didn't remember my side condiments.

Firstly, the Hopdoddy bun, which they make in house, is a thing of beauty.  I don't care for hamburger buns very much.  I grew up eating burgers on plain wheat bread and have always found that better than cheap white buns most places offer, or even the sickeningly sweet Sheila Parlin buns from the dreadful Phil's Icehouse.  Hopdoddy buns aren't sweet or spongy, and have the right amount of wheaty sweetness to not overpower the whole burger.  They arrive with that perfect sheen from the griddle that says "I will be tasty".

The beef is well seasoned and not so thick that the middle part of the patty is tasteless.  The tomatoes are juicy and the onions add a nice crunchy sweetness.  Luckily for people like me who hate dry foods there is plenty of extra mayo and mustard available at the table.  I'm not a potato guy, but their fries are good enough that I'll order them, and I don't always order fries.  I'm sorry, but that's my only fry criteria.

Hopdoddy Classic Burger with cheddar

My wife ordered the Classic Burger with cheddar cheese and hers was the superior burger (and the picture of hers shows better evidence of caramelization from the flat top).  This is not a problem not relegated to Hopdoddy, but to all burger places.  Ordering a burger with pepper jack is a losing bet right from the start.  No place puts on a thick enough slice of pepper jack in order to get enough of the pepper jack flavor, and unlike cheddar, jack cheese isn't salty enough to add flavor to the burger on its own.  I'll be sticking to cheddar when eating out from now on, and saving pepper jack for home.

Hopdoddy has a strange seating set up where you get in line, then are given a table number based on how many are in your party.  You have to remember the table number (which you get before you order), and then search the restaurant for the correct table (huh?).  I have not had a problem with it, but I could see that it might rub some people the wrong way.  They must have a reason behind this style of seating, but I would think there's an easier, workable method of seating.

Now that I have declared Hopdoddy Austin's best "Big Burger", I eagerly await an opening of a Hopdoddy in  NW (Arboretum) area Austin so that I can go more often.

Two more views of my pepper jack burger:
Picture 1, Picture 2

Chris Madrid's - San Antonio, TX, August 14, 2010

Chris Madrid’s is all that is right with San Antonio food. Visiting SA without hitting Chris Madrid's or Henry's Puffy Tacos can seem like a waste. Unfortunately I’m now past the age of being able to eat a “Macho”, and can only eat a regular sized burger if I want to be able to stay out of the hospital.

The bun comes out shimmering with goodness from the grill. It sits on top of a wonderfully seasoned patty covered in melted cheddar cheese that has been adorned with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, onions, pickles, and yellow mustard. Of course like most food in SA, vegetables are ancillary to the discussion. I’ve tried many times at home to duplicate the seasonings of the patty, but have never come close to getting the mix right.

I was particularly gluttonous on this trip. My aunt ordered nachos for our table of seven diners. Halfway through my Regular Cheddar Cheezy I noticed that no one had touched the nachos so I proceeded to stuff the nacho quarters into what was left of my burger creating my own Tostada Burger. My idea was inspired and terrible at the same time. Satisfied with my expanding waistline and constricting arteries I made the drive back home knowing that no burger in Austin can come even close to Chris Madrid’s.  Then again, I've never had any burger better than Chris Madrid's.

Weekend of Food - August

So about once a month, I like to have me a Weekend of Food -- all out gluttonizing, indulging to the point of inducing food comas, usually trying some place new. It makes me happy and gives me something to live for during the rest of the month.

In early August, I took a Friday off from work along with the S.O. and went out for brunch. I'm not normally a brunch person. I have all sorts of issues over breakfast foods being eaten at non-a.m. hours of the day. But I sucked it up to try Stax, the new spot in the Little Italy area. The place was promising right from the start. They had Intelligentsia coffee, their own special brew made just for them by the company (Chicago's best coffee). AND the waitstaff walked around in shirts like this:

I like having things to read.

I couldn't make up my mind between the Banana Cakes and the Banana French Toast (stuffed with dulce de leche). Hey, I like banana. But with a name like Stax, how could I not order the pancakes, right? My banana cakes came with a macadamia nut crumble and were soooo good.

Moist, the perfect density. Real maple syrup at the table, not that fake crap you get at some places. A sprinkling of powdered sugar. And the macadamia nuts added this perfect crunch that I wouldn't have thought necessary. On a scale of "how full of saliva was my mouth as I looked at that plate?" -- it was a 4 out of 5.

On to lunch/dinner. If you're a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, you might have seen the episode where Guy Fieri visits Cemitas Puebla, this hole in the wall joint in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood serving up unique Mexican tortas that you can only find in Puebla, Mexico. If you've never seen it, here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYeeUUpPkks&feature=player_embedded

Holes in the wall are always fun. You never know what you're gonna get, just like Forrest's momma said. When the cashier saw that me and my plus one were taking too long to read the menu, she asked, "Have you been here before?" "No," we said, smiling. She seemed annoyed as she called out to the owner, a man I instantly wanted to call Welito. He led us to a table and brought over a cemita (sesame seed bread) and what looked to me to be a flour tortilla gone wrong. He told us we weren't there to have tacos or quesadillas. We were only to have the place's specialty: the cemitas and the tacos arabe. After he chastised Ray for not speaking Spanish, he gave us his dissertation on the cemita. The gist is this: It's made in Puebla. It's awesome. You gotta try it.

I ordered the cemita with carne enchilada. It's a pork chop marinated in chile guajillo slapped between two pieces of cemita bread slathered in avocado, topped with adobo chipotle peppers and doused with an excessive spread of Oaxacan cheese.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed that sandwich. I wound up taking out some of the cheese. It was too much even for me, who snacks on cheese the way other people snack on nuts, but Oaxacan cheese is pretty bland. The marinade and the chipotle peppers really gave the sandwich a great flavor. Ray insists it was the best sandwich ever. I give it an A for avocado.

The chalupas we had, which I ordered just for the hell of it, were sad. I could make those at home. Green sauce and red sauce over a tortilla with cheese? Please. The tortilla was soggy, too. This calls for a "PUES NO," (the Spanish equivalent of 'oh, hell no').

The next day I was in the mood for some cow on a bun. Chicago magazine recently did an issue that featured the "best burger" in the city. I've been trying to hit up the spots featured in that issue. I've knocked Hop Haus and DMK off the list, and since Kuma is impossible to get into, I went for Epic Burger, where the focus is on all-natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging. Holy cow, that was an amazing burger. They offered the fried egg as an optional topping to the burger, but I'm still not down with that idea. Why's it so popular? I just don't get it. Probably goes back to my breakfast foods issues. I went the plain route: all natural epic burger with epic sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickle with fresh cut fries seasoned only with sea salt.

We have a winner for best burger in Chicago...Epic, by far.

That night we tried this new brewery called Revolution Brewing. Tasty, tasty beer. My favorite was one called the Workingman Mild with hints of toffee and caramel. Man, I love toffee. But what I couldn't get enough of was the bacon popcorn. THAT should be what people snack on instead of nuts.

Yep, that's shaved parmesan up on top. Man, I drooled over that thing. Whoever invented that is a GENIUS.

So, there you have it. My August weekend of food. You should join me for my next one!!