Fletcher's

Fletcher's
Mid-October

With some out of town guests to entertain, few things beat hanging out at the park of The Pearl with its great food and drink options.  The Bur-gal and I brought Bergman, Seth, and Stacy to the Bottling Plant food court, where 3 burgers, a hotdog, and ramen where consumed.

Service and Setting
Despite being a Wednesday night, The Pearl had its typical high energy.  Kids running through the fountains.  Sound Cream blasting bubble trance.  Southerleigh pop-up bar pouring its best IPAs.  Lots of friendly dogs on walks.  The whole thing is rather idyllic.  Inside the Bottling Plant, one orders and pays at the counter and gets a pager to notify him or her when food is ready.  The tables are clean.  The restrooms are a little inconvenient being outside.

Menu

Bottling Plant is a food court offering not only burgers, but ramen, southern rotisserie, doughnuts, and a healthy concept food counter which I think serves things with kale and quinoa.  Fletcher's does hoity-toity burgers, dogs, fries, and shakes.  Burgers start at just $7.95, with add on cheese and bacon options.  They have specialty and a rotating burgers as well, but we all went with the classic cheese burger.  I added a hot dog since I was hungry.

Beverage

Shakes and cane-sugar sodas are at the counter.   Keep in mind a full bar is immediately opposite Fletchers, as are several other options including Southerleigh's pop-up bar with their microbrews - I think I had a delicious "Lawnchair vampire" IPA with this meal.  Side note: I went to Southerleigh for my birthday last month and asked pretty-please to have the lunch-menu hamburger for dinner; they declined.  I'm not sure if I can review the burger without bias after such a spiteful rejection.  I will continue to enjoy their fine beers however.

Sides
Fries had a pretty good fill of soft potato inside.  Maybe not quite crisp enough for fans of a thinner fry.  It held ketchup well, but I would have appreciated more sauce options.  They have smoked-spicy ketchup, on some of the other burgers.  In retrospect, I should have requested a side to replace the Heinz.

Patty
The burger is a blend of short rib, chuck, and brisket.  They cook it to order appropriately.  It keeps good moisture.  Despite the high pedigree, the table was unanimous that is was a little low on flavor and the texture is off.  I think it comes down to too fine of a grind in the meat, so you end up with kind of a smooth texture instead of a crumbling one.

Dress and Bun
Served on a very nice brioche but what did a good job keeping a reasonably messy burger in line.  I'm not sure I could pick Fletcher's sauce out of a line up - it seemed a bit timid.  I have no qualms with the produce.  The American cheese and pickles were good.

Bonus hotdog review:  I liked the dog significantly more than the burger. An Akaushi Texas 100% beef dog on a brioche bun with crispy onions were delicious.  It even pleases my Chicago-hotdog-trained palate.

The Verdict

The Pearl really is the gemstone of San Antonio's oyster.  The dining, drinking, activities and atmosphere are as high a density as anywhere in the city.  Fletcher's serves a decent burger in an excellent setting.  If you're in the area and in the mood, go for it.  It certainly is a better value than JAZZ TX.  Cured and Southerleigh have good options, but only available on lunch/brunch menus.  Fletcher's classic burger earns a respectable 3 spurs.