An Average Joe in San Antonio

Do you truly like to have a burger your way?  And by your way, I mean not only with just the lettuce, onion, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, and ketchup?  What if you wanted some grilled seranos? Or capers? Or artichoke hearts?  You would think you would need a place that was part burger joint and part supermarket, but you would be wrong.  What you really would need is Order Up.

Order Up is a popular restaurant near my place of employment and the menu is remarkably simple: Pizza, Burger, Taco, Soup, and Salad.  What makes it amazing is the level of customization that the consumer has over each of those items with an assortment of cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and sauces.

They have a terrific soup and salad combo, but this time I decided to opt for a hamburger.  When I go to Order Up, my goal is to make the most ridiculous hamburger that I can possibly create.  I don’t know why, I guess it is because I view the hamburger as my canvas, the options as my paint, and myself as the artist.  With so many possibilities, I feel like I cannot just create an ordinary burger but a masterpiece.

This time I opted to create a hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, grilled seranos, grilled mushrooms, and grilled pineapple.  The heat of the pepper really mixed nicely with the sweet of the pineapple.  The other thing that I like is that the meat is always good from Order Up; it is never overly greasy, but the little amount of grease that it does have gives the burger a nice flavor.

That is a highly customizable burger!

Lastly, be sure to park either in front or behind the main façade of the restaurant.  If you park in the lot on the side of it, you will be harangued by a female security guard, who will aggressively tell you that if you leave you car there you will be towed.  Just a thought.

Value: 8/10 (the base models (pizza and hamburgers) are reasonable, but it can get pricey adding on all the different toppings)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (I am amazed at how good I feel upon entering the restaurant; it has a lot of windows and the atmosphere feels as fresh as the food)
Service: 8/10 (friendly folks behind the register)
Taste: 9/10 (I enjoy the fresh taste of all the food)

Location is at I-10 and Wurzbach in the Colonnade

Two things I can really say about Murf’s: (1) seems weird that you would call your restaurant the “Better Burger” because it automatically implies that someone out there can be a “Best Burger” and therefore better than you are, and (2) this review will be about as memorable as the meal I had.

A fairly unremarkable burger, but it at least didn't taste bad.

Value: 7/10 (gets Double Deluxe, fries, and a big drink for about $6.50; no tip jar so no need to tip)
Atmosphere: 7/10 (like the throwback restaurant and drive in)
Service: 7/10 (friendly but not overly helpful)
Taste: 6/10 (Murf’s Better Burger is better than average, but just barely)
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Biff Buzby’s Burgers may be a tongue twister to say, but will you be glad that you said it when your friend asks where you want to go grab some grub?

Located off of Topperwein and I-35 on the NE side of San Antone and in/near the little city of Live Oak is a burger joint that makes you recall the days of old.  I happened on this restaurant off of a suggestion from a friend; I decided to go on a Friday night when I was over in that part of town.

When I arrived to the restaurant I noticed that it was packed and was almost tempted to turn around.  I’m glad I didn’t because it turns out that every Friday Night (weather permitting) is an impromptu car show complete with a DJ spinning some tunes outside.  You see everything from 30s model Ford coupes, old hot rod pickups, 60s/70s muscle cars, on up to the recently released and redesigned Chevy Camaro.  There is a booth set up outside that sells beer, so you can drink while admiring some classic cars.

I definitely advise you going on a Friday night to see the cars, and need to pass on the following piece of info: it costs $5 to park, but don’t fret, you are given a $5 coupon to be put towards the cost of your meal at the restaurant.  As long as you are eating, it essentially doesn’t cost you anything.

The inside of the restaurant is really retro with a lot of the yellow and blue neon; the checkered table cloths complete the feel and you are transported back to the days when rock was young.  On this night, there was a special of a 1/2 pound Philly burger (came with cheese, grilled onions and peppers) with fries for $8.00 (there was a smaller sized burger that ran $6.50) so both my friend and I got this burger and a beer and were out only $10 for dinner.

The amazing Philly Burger; I really thought the fries were holding the burger back, but you may like them

The fries are incredibly disappointing; they are those “steak fries” look like you are eating planks.  I am assuming that they are not fresh cut, and this is unfortunate, because of how good the burger was…

The burger was nothing short of spectacular; the onions were caramelized just right and the patty was nice and thick.  The item that stole the show was the bun; it was really fluffy, hot, and had a nice sweet taste to it.  I am not sure if it is homemade or not, but it is a hamburger bun that I don’t think I have ever tasted.  The meat was excellent too and had a nice taste.  I would suggest putting a little bit of salt on the burger because it really brings out all the different flavors (in particular the onions).

Value: 9/10 (pretty solid value of getting a 1/2 pound burger and beer for $10 at dinner)
Atmosphere: 10/10 (the inside has a throwback feel and if you go on Friday you are treated to a classic car show with a beer booth outside)
Service: 9/10 (very friendly and prompt at getting tables cleaned)
Taste: 9/10 (so if all you get is a hamburger, then the restaurant is by far a 10/10 and probably the best burger in San Antonio; unfortunately the fries bring it down a bit)

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I don’t know if you noticed, but with the exception of Thursday (because a coworker was moving on to a different job) I pretty much ate burgers for lunch the entire week! We came up with the concept of burger week where we wrote down ten burger joints, put them in a bag, and randomly drew out the name each day. To conclude the week, and my assault on my heart, we ended up going to Texas Hamburger Company off of Huebner Road.  Would lady luck treat us right to the conclusion of burger week?

From what I understand, Texas Hamburger Company has been flipping burgers on the North West side for some time now.  Often times, the owner is right in the kitchen making sure that everything is going according to plan, and I think this has a direct impact on the food.

The atmosphere is a little odd — with all the wood panelling and a high pitch roof, you almost feel as if you are in some skiing lodge instead of San Antonio.  Very strange.

What is lacking in atmosphere is made up in the food.  Instead of going for a soda, I paired my cheeseburger and tater tots with a homemade chocolate shake (made with Blue Bell Ice Cream) and my ticket came out to $10.  There was no tip jar, so what you see is what you pay; I imagine if you opted for a soda you are right at the $8 range.

Each of my friends got a different side, and I have to say that the fries win at this place.  The onion rings are good, but as a matter of taste I like the more flakey onion rings whereas the onion rings here were more of the bumpy batter type (which was the delite to half of the table).  If you are with a couple of people, split your basket of fries because they are more than enough and can save you a little extra money.

The seasoning of the burger really shone through and the shake is worth the price.

As luck would have it, todays hamburger was the best that we got to taste all week.  In fact, I think that each day our hamburgers got better and better and Texas Hamburger Company capped off the experience.  It had the right amount of grease and of all the burgers we tried, the manner in which the meat was seasoned really resonated with this burger.  In fact, of all the burgers we tried, the seasoning of this one stood out head and shoulders above the rest.

The chocolate shake was nothing short of amazing as they somehow found the miraculous consistency that allows a shake to be thick but still able to travel through a straw.  At only $3, I think that this shake is well worth it.

Value: 9/10 (not many places to get an amazing burger, fries, and shake for $10)
Atmosphere: 6/10 (feels like a ski lodge instead of a burger joint)
Service: 10/10 (move through the lunch line rush very quickly and the order came out soon after that)
Taste: 10/10 (The best tasting burger of Burger Week v.1 with the right amount of grease and seasoning of the patty pushing it over the edge)

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Inside loop 1604 on Blanco road, the area has a feel of big city that folds into the country. Around one of those country bends lies Longhorn Cafe. Don’t drive too fast, because you might miss it; however, if you drop by during lunch, just pull over where you see a lot of cars.

Often times the line at lunch is out the door; once you get inside you will see the offerings on the wall, but plan on getting the Big and Juicy lunch combo. You can get a cheese burger with a drink and your choice of fries, tots, or onion rings for less than $8 (including the tip that you should leave at the register).

If you are a Coca Cola fan, you will be happy as they have regular, diet, zero, and cherry; all they need is vanilla and all the bases would be covered. The accoutrement that you should select to go with your burger has to be a toss up between the onion rings and tots; the fries just don’t bring it at Longhorn.  This is not necessarily a bad thing because (1) how many places can you go to and get tater tots for lunch and (2) either the tots or the onion rings can be had at no extra charge!  I typically opt for the tots namely so I can quote Napoleon Dynamite by saying “Are you gonna eat your tot’s?”, however, after eating the onion rings I might have to change my point of view.

Burger with a sample of the sides you can select.

I get the burger with everything on it, and I feel it is the mayo that really makes the burger at Longhorn.  Typically, the burger is very juicy and has a nice amount of grease on it, so you will want to have plenty of napkins at your disposal.  Oddly enough, this last time I went the burger was not as juicy.  This could be from the fact that I caught them on an off day or that I have had my fill of burger week.

Overall, I feel that this is the best burger deal in San Antonio (from my experience to date), even though they might have been a little off on the last visit.  You get a great burger, great sides, and a drink for a terrific value.  Heck, you know it has to be good because typically a Red Raider won’t be caught dead near anything with Longhorn in the name.

Value: 10/10 (the best deal in town; cheeseburger, drink, and your choice of fries, tots, or onion rings (with no extra charges) all for $7, but be nice and through a $1 in the jar)
Atmosphere: 9/10 (I enjoy the patio, but as a Red Raider can’t give a 10/10 for a place with all that Longhorn stuff…)
Service: 10/10 (they are quick, helpful, and friendly)
Taste: 9/10 (My, that’s a tasty burger!  At no extra charge, go for the onion rings!)

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