Here is my second crazy creation, dubbed the “Rise and Shine,” which includes: hamburger, cheddar cheese, bacon, fried egg over easy, and pico de gallo. Go order one up today!
The "Rise and Shine" Burger
Wow! Order up is featuring my burger through November 15!
If you go in between now and that time and ask for “The Epic” you will get the burger that was listed in this post; they accidentally left out that sun dried tomatoes, but you still get a pretty awesome burger!
I look forward to creating another monstrosity in the near future, so stay tuned!
Here is there announcement:
With football season in full force, it’s time to get your game faces on and get pumped up Orderup style.
Stop by and get a 50% Discount on any of the following game day favorites.*
Sausage Pizza – created and loved by David, Orderup customer.
Fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, Italian sausage, black olives, and sliced onions.
Steak Nachos – created and loved by Kim, Orderup Server.
Hand-cut chips, cheddar cheese, beans, grilled jalapenos, and grilled steak.
The Epic Burger – created and loved by Garrett, Orderup customer.
Hand-pressed patty, guacamole, bacon, Jack cheese, grilled Serranos, grilled onions, and garlic.
Orderup proudly supports the San Antonio Arts Community by offering live local music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. To find out who’s playing, view our Listenup schedule.
*Mention this e-mail to receive the discount. Offer good one time only. Price includes only toppings listed in this e-mail. Valid at all three locations: Lincoln Heights, Colonnade and Stone Ridge. Offer good through 11/15/09.
I enjoy going to Order Up and making ridiculous burgers. I thought I should keep a running tally of some of the epic ones that I have made, so here is the first installment:
Jack Cheese, Bacon, Guacamole, Grilled Serranos, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Garlic
There is a saying that good things come in small packages, but would this prove true at Kong’s Burgers and Wings whose slogan is “Little Place, Big Taste”? The restaurant is situated across the street from the old Windsor Park Mall off of Walzem Highway in a tiny brick building that doesn’t have any indoor seating; don’t worry, if it is cold, you can just drive through.
The Kong Burger (the namesake of the restaurant) was billed at a full pound of beef; I wasn’t exactly all that hungry, so I opted for the smaller half pound burger and dressed it up with cheese, bacon, and avocado. I think that the burger had a base price of $3.99 and each of the items that I added were $0.70/item.
When I picked up my burger, I was shocked by how heavy the little bag was; I knew in spite of being the ½ Kong that this burger wasn’t going to be playing around. First off, let me talk about the bun. I have never had a bun quite like this one as it was incredibly dense and the bottom was toasted to perfection. Similar to Biff Buzby’s, the bun was sweet, but it was so thick it could have been a standalone meal all by itself! By saying the bottom was toasted, doesn’t really do it justice as it was more kind of a fried because it was pretty crispy. You will just have to order it because it is a beast unto its own!
That bun is a thing of beauty...
The bacon was a nice add-on and they got it right where it was crispy but still had a nice amount of grease. The avocado was more of a guacamole that was spread on the bottom and had a great flavor. In fact, I would advise getting these two add-ons along with the cheese.
The burger itself had a nice flavor and was seasoned right. Instead of spreading the ½ pound of meat in a big patty, it was more concentrated and was pretty thick. Napkins were definitely in order because it had a little bit of grease to it. Overall, all the ingredients worked well in concert with each other nicely and the burger just had an amazing taste to it!
I was with one of my friends who participated in burger week a few months ago, and we both agreed that had we ventured to Kong’s Burgers and Wings that this burger would have been given the top prize. In fact, this has to be the best burger that I have had in the city of San Antonio (maybe the world!)!
Value: 9/10 (you can get a ½ pound burger for like $4)
Atmosphere: 5/10 (there’s not really atmosphere; you sit on a picnic bench!)
Service: 9/10 (the lady at the window is incredibly nice and friendly)
Taste: 10/10 (NOW THAT’S A TASTY BURGER; the best one I have found in SA, maybe even the world; go just to experience the bun)
(Google Maps does not have them listed just yet, but if you go to the below location, you should see the restaurant across Walzem from the old Windsor Park Mall)
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So you say that you have a car that needs cleaning, and you really need to get some laundry done before work tomorrow, but you would like to go grab a beer and listen to some live music and keep tabs on your child playing outside while you eat an organically acceptable burger? Wow, I have the place for you then!
Located in Five Points (the place in San Antonio where five streets come together), is the Cove and they fit the bill for everything mentioned above. Recently hailed by Texas Monthly as having one of the best burgers in the state, I had to go check them out.
I went on a Friday night, and let me just say that the place was absolutely jumpin’! The restaurant is separated into three unique areas: (1) the place where you order (you can see through to the people at the Laundromat), (2) a bar area where you can eat and listen to live music, and (3) an outside area with a playground that made my inner 7 year old jealous! The line was pretty long and you have to wait in it a while before getting to order your food; it winds inside this little room where you finally get to order your food. That and the fact that your soda refills are also in that little room would be my only knock on the place.
After getting finally getting to order, I opted for the SOB Burger which has Grilled Ham, Avacado, Jack Cheese, and Spicy Mustard. I didn’t know if they replaced the burger with the grilled ham, or if they just added it on top, but in either case, I asked them to hold that off my hamburger. I got a side of organic sweet potato fries for a buck more. While waiting in line, I saw this organic soda fountain that made their sodas with real imperial sugar instead of corn syrup. I knew that I absolutely had to try this out, so I got a cup and filled it up with the Black Cherry soda. I highly recommend this as it was the perfect drink to quench your thirst after a hot summer day.
We went to find a place to sit, but the bar area was absolutely bumpin’ it (read: it was packed!)! There was absolutely no place for us to sit, so while some band was covering Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street,” we made our way outside to the picnic tables. You could still hear the band and it was a nice area to sit and talk.
The burger was pretty good, the avocado and spicy mustard blended together to make a really good sauce. While it wasn’t all that greasy, it did have a nice taste to it. But what really stole the show were the sweet potato fries! I really really really love sweet potato fries and they are always a treat when you can find some good ones! Normally, I like them with a brown sugar type sauce, but they had a different sauce that complimented them nicely. I also had to fight my way through the line to get another refill of my Black Cherry soda 
Lastly, I would like to talk about the randomness of people who were there: you had young people, old people, middle aged people, and little kids; there were straight laced folks and the new rockabilly crowd that were tatted up; there were healthy eaters and those just looking for a good burger; the one commonality was that people were there for a good time and most were sitting side by side. The Cove is almost like a little utopia of humanity.
This is a great venue for food and fun; next time your car has “Wash Me” written on it, grab some quarters for the car wash and an appetite for some good food.
Value: 7/10 (the organic stuff gets a little expensive, but $12 (sans beer) for dinner is not outrageous)
Atmosphere: 10/10 (if you go outside and see the playground, you’ll wish you were a kid again (don’t worry there are some ping pong tables for the big kids); if you stay inside your ear will be treated to some good tunes; and how can you knock a place where you see people doing laundry as you order?)
Service: 9/10 (I think that the service was spectacular, however, I think that they need to get their whole ordering process ironed out – expect to wait in line for a while instead of ordering at your table)
Taste: 8.5/10 (burgers were good but not slap your mama, the sweet potato fries and imperial sugar fountain drinks really brought it through)
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