Eating Our Way Through the Ace Hotel, Pt. II: The Breslin Burger

The burger pantheon now includes two: Father’s Office and the Breslin Burger. That’s all that needs to be said here. That and the fact that we ate a combined total of five of these in three days.

Okay, I’ll say a little more. Having eaten several of these, I’m amazed at how consistently awesome they are. It’s kind of like with a McDonald’s hamburger: you know exactly what you’re going to get. Except instead of feeling shame, you get the urge to start writing love letters.

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The ‘Burger Bar’ Arrives in Austin: Hopdoddy’s

Our New Year’s Eve was pretty tame this year. We stayed in for the evening, but we did manage to get out early in the day and try Hopdoddy, Austin’s answer to the unstoppable high-end burger trend.

While walking past Hopdoddy’s entrance a few weeks ago, I actually overheard someone say “This place is Austin’s first burger bar.” Maybe I missed something, but isn’t pretty much any bar that serves food a “burger bar”?

Not that I’m going to judge the place on marketing or aesthetics. What I care about is the food. But before we get to that, it is worth pointing out that the ordering process is a little strange here. Without getting into details, I’ll say that it worked surprisingly well given the large crowd they had.

OK, I really don’t want to digress about their marketing, but come on: t-shirts with puns? I’m starting to feel like I’m in Applebee’s.

So what about the burgers? They’re great. Even better, the basic burger comes at the more than reasonable price of $5, a buck extra for cheese. And like Burger Tex, they even bake their own buns. Look at that beauty.

I find that some of these high-end burger places have buns that are a little too airy and fluffy, but as you can see, Hopdoddy’s buns compress nicely in your hand. They also make milkshakes with homemade ice cream, obviously a can’t-lose proposition.

The people behind Hopdoddy have clearly put a lot of thought into the place. And no matter what you call it, I’ll be going back for more.

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Freddy’s

I’ve always heard that the Mexican food in San Antonio is great. Unfortunately, most of my San Antonio meals happen on the trip between there and Austin. Recently, some co-workers and I found a location of midwesten burger chain Freddy’s Frozen Custard just off I-35.

I went with the patty melt. It was a good choice.

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The Inevitable: Burger Tex

I’ve lived in Texas for about four years, and I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two things Texans love more than anything else: naming stuff after Texas, and wordplay. So we have Texpresso for coffee, Texadelphia for cheese steaks, and burgers from Burger Tex. Every time I drive by one of these places, I hear Jon Stewart’s George W Bush impression in my head, “See, it’s like regular burgers, but we’re in TEXAS! He-heh.”

Eliza and I have been debating Austin burgers for a while, with neither of us landing on a single favorite. I’ve heard more than one friend call Burger Tex their favorite, so we figured it was high time to check ’em out. A quest for the best makes a great excuse to eat burgers, after all, so consider this the beginning of a long journey. We’re in search of the truth.

Burger Tex’s claim to fame is their fresh buns, which they bake on site every day. Hence, “the freshest hamburgers in town.”

They also have a self-serve fixins bar, where I naturally overdosed on mayo. Sweet, delicious mayo.

It’s just a bad idea to put me within arm’s reach of this much mayonaise. I’m sure to overdo it. And I did. It all just reaffirms my conviction that when eating out, I’m not a fan of DIY. That’s why I can’t stand Mongolian BBQ. Cooking (or in this case, condiment squirting) is best left to the pros.

The onion rings were excellent.

Eliza had hers with fried okra.

It’s a fine burger, without a doubt. But if you go, take it easy on the mayo. And Texas: take it easy on the puns.

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Phil’s Ice House

Two things probably determine whether or not you enjoy Phil’s: your feelings about Kolache buns and your tolerance of children. I’m okay with both, so I like the place.

I always get the 78704. I’m not normally one for hamburgers that involve any kind of toppings outside the basics (believe it or not, I don’t even like bacon on burgers), but the 78704 is a topping-laden burger that I love: Jack cheese, jalapenos, grilled onions, sliced avocado and chipotle mayo on a toasted jalapeno cheese bun.

On this particular trip, Eliza went with a corn dog.

Having an Amy’s Ice Cream next door is a bonus. I think I ate both of these. Eliza might have had a bite or two.

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