Early June
One of my coworkers, Chris, has been trying to spark a tradition of a monthly work outing for mental health (read: drink beer). Looking for a good spot for groups, an impressive beer list, and food, we ended up at The Cove for a weeknight outing.
Service and Setting
This place is to restaurants what Kordell Stewart was to the NFL. I would venture to say that this has to be in the top 3 car wash/laundromat/beer garden/organic restaurants in the country. I would say it’s the best, but I assume somewhere in the country there is a challenger. If you can find another two, I would take it as a personal challenge to visit and rank them. Anyway, the place is a cacophony of sound between live music, children skinning their knees on the playground equipment, and the 2 birthday parties you’re likely sitting between. You’ll order at the counter and take your number to an open table. I think 2 out of the 4 times I’ve been here I’ve sat next to a bathroom.
Menu
Boasting their “SOL” food menu (sustainable-organic-local), the menu should be able to satisfy the most socially-conscious salad eater among your work friends. They offer an array of well-curated burgers, some tacos, and vegetarian options. They boast that their fries are gluten free which has never influenced an eating decision for me.
Beverage
Serviced by not one but two bars! The Texas bar in back has an impressive draft list, and isn’t unfriendly to sampling for the indecisive. Their soda machine dispenses Stubborn Soda which uses cane sugar to trick people into thinking it's somehow healthier. They also have the (ubiquitous in San Antonio) 500ml glass bottle classic sodas (Coke/Sprite/Fanta). I was unsurprised to see a co-worker's 13 year old son, Connor, run in circles for an hour straight after drinking conservatively 100g of sugar.
Patty
On to the burgers. Geoff and I went halfsies on the Texas burger and the Bison burger. We weren't asked how we wanted it cooked, and they came out cooked through. There was no burger juices running out the back. they were on the dry side and over-cooked. The Texas burger had equal parts refried beans to beef, and the bison was overpowered by bleu cheese. While they brag about the things that aren't in their burgers (hormone and antibiotic free), they seem to have missed the things that are supposed to be in the burger (flavor and juices).
Dress and Bun
Served on a wheat bun without sesame seeds. It tastes healthy instead of good. As far as toppings, the grilled onions and avocado were good on the Texan. The corn chips where stale and didn't add much. The refried beans were tasty, but on bites were more prevalent than the beef. As mentioned before, the bison was strong on the bleu cheese.
Sides
Got both the regular and sweet potato fries. Sweet potato is definitely the way to go. Good texture and flavor with a side of siracha mayo. The regular fries were under crisped and under salted.
Geoff's Take: "I would come back, but not for the burger."
The Verdict
The venue and beer selection are great. The burgers look and sound better than they taste. When I'm eating a hamburger, I'm not going to sell myself a story that it's somehow healthy. When you compare a wheat bun to white, hormone-free to typical beef, and coke to cane-sugar soda you're not talking about adding years to your life - in fact, the calories of all these foods are the same. Sure, they are health conscious decisions that we should probably consider for everyday dining in our homes, but when I'm out for a burger, I want something that tastes good first and foremost. For that, the burger only earns 2 spurs.
