Best burgers aren’t
Once again a food critic with a national reputation takes a look at Austin offerings, this time in search of “The Best Burger.” Raymond Sokolov includes us in his cross-country itinerary, mentions two outfits here, and moves on. For him, the best burgers aren’t in Austin. He liked Dirty’s in 1971 and now doesn’t seem to understand why he did. He likes the P. Terry’s product better. The long WSJ article on the 2007 burger odyssey (March 10-11, pages P1, 4) slights us. I continue to believe that the two best burgers in Austin aren’t burgers at all. They completely transcend mere burgerdom, although ground beef is involved. My personal pick is the Top Chop’t from the Frisco Shop; others believe that it’s the eponymous Frisco itself. Those selecting the Frisco may be unduly influenced by the accompanying slaw. Our visitors, if they dine there once, always ask to return to 5819 Burnet Road (459-6279). They love the food, including the biscuits and the pies, and find the people-watching to be excellent. It’s the farthest thing from tourist Austin and the closest to the Austin disappearing before our very eyes. I don’t know why the Frisco comes to the table in a little sack other than that it always has. The return visit has already been requested by this year’s Austin newcomers.
I have to agree. Austin’s food in general isn’t that great. When I find a place with good food I’m always surprised.
At least, when it comes to the high-priced pretentious places to eat, the out-of-pocket expense in Austin doesn’t come close to what’s paid for the equivalent sort of pretentious bad meal in, say, Santa Fe or Boulder.
My burger choice in town is usually Sandy’s on a Thursday … it’s good, it’s cheap, and invariably it’s followed with custard. But regionally, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better burger than the one they cook up at the Kendalia Store (aka the Kendalia Post Office).
Pok-e-Jos on 5th St. runs a close second to all the usual suspects – too bad, coz they’re gone come March 19 to make way for a new development.
Pok-E-Jos supposedly has a reserved spot in the new building – but they won’t have the outdoor area they do now.
I heard that mentioned somewhere but they’re not advertising that for now, instead referring customers to their other locations. They had a farewell party with some bands last Friday. Guess nothing’s for certain until they sign a new lease, which could be a year or two away.
Pok-e-jo’s wouldn’t be the first place that I would associate with a good burger. I’ll have to try one instead of the BBQ next time I’m at one.
The Amarillo Burger at Casino El Camino is the one for me, but you might want to hold off on trying one until this SXSW thing blows over. You’ll end up waiting even longer than the usual 30-45 minutes. Mmmmm…serranos.
People will never agree about patties of ground beef. There’s fat versus thin, cut of beef, frozen versus never frozen (the latter are less common than people think), seasoned versus un-, dough vehicle, accompaniments, degree of doneness, and on and on and on. I used to like the ones at Babe’s. The local daily weighs in just today:
The Great Burger-tech Hunt
My true favorites are made from round of beef ground right in front of me and pan-broiled at home in a very hot cast-iron frying pan.
The Frisco Shop has the best onion rings in the history of that food item, and that’s not hyperbole.
Go see for yourself, before the place turns into a Walgreens.
Discussing burger joints in Austin without even mentioning Hut’s is sorta like reviewing St. Louis tourist attractions and not mentioning the Arch. C’mon, folks….don’t overlook the obvious first-string stops.
I don’t understand the popularity with greasy patty burgers in this town. I’ll stick with Casino or Phil’s Ice House or Billy’s.