Feast

Feast

Mid August

Audrey and I headed to Southtown mostly for Boozys Ice Cream, and Feast seemed like a good warm-up for dessert.

Service and Setting

Situated on Alamo St in King William, Feast sits among several good dining options.  Parking can be difficult, but with all of those new scooters around, maybe it would be best to park far away and take a $2 scooter ride to dinner.  The restaurant is decked out with white tables and clear chairs with blue icicle lights in the trees.  It's a little tacky, but about as cool as things get in San Antonio.

Menu
Self-described mediterranean-inspired American.  It's small menu of small plates.  The last item on the menu is the burger.

Beverage
A hoight-toighty beer list with some unique options that appeal to a hipster like me.  Great national craft selections that can match about any taste.  A good and reasonably priced cocktail list as well.

Sides
Here's a picture of the eggplant croquettes which were delicious.  I guess I shouldn't call them a side-item per se, but we ate them immediately prior to the burger.  The fries were only decent, but the house-made ketchup was awesome.  Great tomato flavor with a little bit of heat on the back end.

Patty
Quarter pound patty offered in single and double options. A thin girdle patty of premium 44 Farms beef.  They boast 44 Farms Beef, and for good reason.  It had a great savory quality.  Juice level was appropriate, and mopped up by a generous bun.

Dress and Bun

At first glance, we were concerned this sesame coated, burnt potato bun would over power the burger beneath.  We were pleasantly proved wrong.  It was soft and fluffy and held up to the mess of the American cheese and burger juice.  The pickles were very good.  The house sauce was probably the weak point.  It was a bit of a strange sweet sauce.  Probably like the Szechuan sauce popularized by Rick and Morty.  There are monster strips of bacon barely contained by the plate.  The pickles and cheese were generous and rounded out the flavor profile well.

The Verdict
Feast does just about everything well, and the burger is no exception.  A super-savory burger that even goes well after tuna tartare or eggplant croquets or whatever high-class small plate preceded it.  I would recommend ordering it without the house sauce.  A very respectable 4 out of 5 spurs.

Longhorn Cafe

Longhorn Cafe
Mid August

Long-time supporter of the blog, Clay, has been asking about when I'm going to eat at Longhorn since it's inception.  While I don't trust his taste in music, I thought I should give his palate the benefit of the doubt.  A good cast of characters came out for burgers including Geoff, Audrey, Graham, Matt, Rachel, Dani and Clay.

Service and Setting

It looks like they have about 8 locations across South Texas, making it the largest chain we have visited.  It is a counter operation with the kitchen and grill on full display.  They have a lot of picnic tables inside and on the patio.  Easily the most dangerous playground we have seen.  It's a 4 foot tall wooden ramp that ends with a 3.5 foot wide by 7 foot long piece sheet metal that they propose is a slide.  It looks like it could double as the griddle, but I would venture to guess in the summer sun it would be too hot for burgers, nonetheless children's' thighs.  You pick up your food after being called over a PA that would make Dane Cook (when he was funny) proud.

Menu

We went for The Original Big Juicy, but they have just about every burger option for which one could pine: mushroom & Swiss, bacon, guac, bean, chili and jalapeno.  They have a good selection of vegetarian burgers options, though still no vegetarian reviewers volunteered for this trip.  The rest of the menu has a selection of other hot sandwiches, chicken and dinner plates.  Very affordable prices.

Beverage

They have a a wide array of domestic bottles including every Bud Light lime/orange/band-aid flavor you never wanted.  A few beers on tap as well.  Coke products in the soda fountain.  I think I missed the milkshake on the menu, but I didn't see anyone drinking one.

Sides

A full line-up of your fried favorites from fries and rings to pickles and poppers to tots and Texas toothpicks.  I could have gone for a few extra sauce options beyond ketchup and ranch, but they were all satisfactory.

Patty

You can go original, double patty or 1/2lb-er.  They boast fresh, never frozen beef.  The 1/3lb patty comes out very thin to cover the area of the bun.  Difficult to discern the taste among the other ingredients.  Had good enough juice to run onto the wax paper if for some unthinkable reason you smashed it down like Graham did.

Dress and Bun

I could have eaten the bun by itself as an appetizer.  Think garlic bread without the garlic or a mom's grilled cheese without the Kraft single.  Wonderful toast on it with a good butter coating.  In respect to veg, they were a little heavy handed with the lettuce, but otherwise had the right crispness and surface area to capture all of the co-mingling flavors.  We have had better pickles, but I did like the quantity.  The guacamole portion was stingy, but those eating jalapeno and mushroom & Swiss toppings had good servings. They have gluten free and wheat bun options to which I am more strongly opposed than Clay's terrible music.

Geoff's take: "Next time I’m looking for a burger on 1604, I’ll pass Longhorn and go to Bigz."

Matt's take: "I came to watch children play on the sticky slide but was disappointed."

Matt's take 2: "I had the ‘Big Juice’ classic  with all the toppings, great toasted bun not too soggy despite quantity of toppings, filled me up despite being 1/3 lb."

The Verdict

Longhorn served a quality griddle burger with some great flavors.  I think the 1/3lb patty gets pounded out a little thin to cover that large bun, and I think things would have blended together a little nicer with a slightly smaller bun and thicker patty.  The pickles and special toppings were good but not great.  Overall, the group was very happy with their burgers, and I think just a few tweaks could make take it into rare air.  For now, we give it a very respectable 4 spurs.

The Broadway 5050

The Broadway 5050

Late July

After a great day of fun in the sun and swimming in San Pedro Springs Pool with our trusty co-diners Geoff and Allie, we worked up an appetite for burgers.  Looking for something within biking distance and open on a Sunday for dinner, we pedaled to Alamo Heights to 5050 Broadway Street.

Service and Setting

Conveniently named after its street address, The Broadway 5050 carries a lot of history with it.  One of the oldest restaurants in San Antonio, it has operated under several different iterations.  To say it is eclectically decorated would be putting it mildly: It looks more like a dorm room decorated by 2 teenagers with conflicting tastes. There are skateboards, Star Wars murals, and Green Bay Packers paraphernalia.  They have two Pulp Fiction homage items, though nothing else in the bar would tip off they are Tarantino fans.  Despite the clash, it has that nice comfortable dive bar feel.

Menu

Pretty standard bar food.  Some adventurous items like the Diablo Chicken which consists of jalapeños wrapped in chicken wrapped in bacon.  Otherwise lots of fried appetizers, a figuratively healthy list of burgers and other sandwiches.  Cheeseburger with fries will set you back only $9.

Beverage

It's a full-bar first and a restaurant second.  They have a respectable draft list along with a wider selection of bottles and cans.  It seems that if you stick to the specials you can get out of there for pretty cheap.

Sides

Pretty good fries.  Great crisp.  A few different hot sauce options and good seasoning salt on the table.  You can sub tots, rings or sweet potato fries for a dollar.

Patty

Probably just under a half pound burger. The waitress asked how we wanted our burgers done, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to factor into the cook's decision.  We ordered three medium-rare burgers, and two were over cooked.  It had good flavor.  I could have had it a little juicier as there was no burger run-off, but the meat avoided being dry.

Dress and Bun

The cheeseburger was straightforward.  I added an egg, but it was just a tad overcooked.  When I think fried egg, I want the a biblical yolk "runneth over" my burger.  This fell short.  The "09'er Eleven" had ghost-pepper cheese, pickled jalapeño and a fried egg.  We were assured by our waitress that it was less than a 3 of 5 on the Thai heat scale.  I am not the heat-seeker I used to be, as I aim to avoid the "Ring-of-Fire" as much as possible.  Perhaps I should give this review the scrutiny of 24 hours of digestion to ensure I don't get burned in the end (literally and figuratively), but we will forge ahead.  Flavors on the 09'er were really well matched, and not over powered by burn.  The bun was one of the best we have had in SA.  Fresh, buttery and delicious - almost like a Hawaiian roll.  A little over matched for the burger, but enjoyable in every bite.

Geoff's Take

"The ghost burger was great. The people were friendly. They had interesting stuff on the walls. But then it took a long time to pay the bill, which should not happen."

The Verdict

The Broadway 5050 has been open for 77 years and collected a lot of character over that time.  The burger has a very good flavor and a delicious bun.  Maybe even a better day for the chef executing the burger and fried egg could have put this burger over the top.  For now, the "09'er Eleven" burger earns a very respectable 4 spurs.

 

Zinc Bistro & Wine Bar

Zinc Bistro & Wine Bar

July 2018

Geoff and Allie were nice enough watch over our dog, Coco Theobroma, while we were out of town for a wedding.  In my book, they are owed at least a meal as a thank you.  I think I first heard of this place on the San Antonio Magazine Top 50 Texas burgers.  We headed downtown for Zinc.

Service and Setting

On a Saturday night, the only immediate seating was at the bar. Our wives appreciated the purse cubby beneath the bar.  It had just been raining, otherwise the back patio looked like a great spot for a cool night.  Service was attentive even at the bar, and food came out quickly.  While the restaurant was full, it never felt overcrowded or too loud.

Menu
The menu features two burgers - the classic Zinc burger and the Lamb burger.  While the menu is small, it is diverse with several seafood and meat options.  It is french-inspired, but not overly francophilic.  Great prices for downtown: the burger with fries will only set you back $10.  We got both the Zinc burger and the Lamb burger.

Beverage

No beer on tap, but for a place with  "& Wine Bar" in their name, I suppose one should expect as much.  It is indeed an extensive wine list. They had enough beers in can and bottle for us to find something that paired well with burgers.  Cocktails were reasonably priced as well, but we did not imbibe.

Patty
We were indeed asked how we wanted our burgers cooked.  We each went with medium-rare, but I would say both came out closer to rare.  For the zinc burger, the patty was its strongest feature.  A nice juicy and flavorful patty, that despite its size held together well.  The lamb burger was actually even better.  They avoided the obvious route and held off on the mediterranean spices as places often do with lamb.  It still manages to be a meaty burger instead of a gyro-burger.

Dress and Bun
Buns had an oatmeal sprinkle on top and were soft and fresh.  I'd say a good bun-to-burger ratio, but my last bit on each burger half was entirely bread.  The zinc burger has cheese two ways - a slice of cheddar on top, and a parmesan crustinni thing on the bottom.  Neither cheese had me too excited.  I appreciated the extra crunch from the crustini, but I could have just as easily done without.  I only tasted their tomato aioli on a few bites.  The bib lettuce was visually overpowering (on arrival you see only green on the burger), but taste wise went well.  The lamb burger was certainly the star.  Fig jam, brie, and sweet grilled onions complemented the lamb superbly.  That great sweetness of the figs and onions balanced by the brie buttered all of the flavors over my palate.  I think both burgers suffered from some topping distribution problems, and certain bites were outright plain compared to others.

Sides

The home fries were uninspired.  The sweet potato fries were thin and crispy - clearly the superior of the two but nothing to write home about.  Other sandwiches came with a very nice salad, and it may be worth asking for the substitution.  A pro-tip is to ask for the secret house ketchup.  I think they had a house-made Siracha with it, and it is far superior to the typical fancy ketchup.

The Verdict
Geoff and I battled on this one.   While both burgers were good, I didn't think either was worth a trip downtown to crawl through traffic and pay $10 to park.  The Zinc burger was satisfactory and worth ordering if you find yourself at the restaurant.  I was pretty set on 3 spurs, but Geoff swore by the lamb burger.  I agree they did do some special things with that burger, and ultimately succumbed to peer pressure. Outvoted by Geoff and our wives, I rounded up to 4 spurs on the lamb burger.

Esquire Tavern

Esquire Tavern

Early June

Looking to entertain an out of town guest, we decided to scale up this operation.  Geoff and I were joined by his wife and father for a sweaty, Sunday afternoon burger feast.  Fortunately, everyone was in a sharing mood, so we got to try several burger options.

Service and Setting
A prohibition-style bar situated on the Riverwalk, it is an easy recommendation for a tourist, and worth the trip downtown for a San Antonian.  Paneled with velvety wall paper and lit with Edison bulbs, this bar maintains a pretty swanky vibe. Service was attentive.  Water glasses were laughably petite, and kept our server busy refilling them.

Menu

It’s a good menu with lots of choices for proteins – from bologna to lamb to bison to beef.  Good range on their flavors, and they are certainly proud of the local purveyors whom are featured prominently in the dish descriptions and at the end of the menu.  Prices are in line with most of downtown dining, that is to say, expensive.  A cheeseburger with egg and fries will set you back $18.

Beverage

I had first heard of Esquire in mentions of the city’s best cocktail bars.  I had previously been to their downstairs parlor on a weekend night, and it is indeed a great prohibition-era bar.  Their cocktail list is city renowned with reason.  They also have a good list of Texas beers on draft.

Patty

Among the group, we got the cheeseburger, lamb burger, and bison burger.  This is the first restaurant to ask our burger doneness – we all went with medium.  I started with the bison burger.  It had that great lean flavor you expect from a bison burger.  Really one of the best tasting patties I have had in a long time.  The lamb had good spice and was well-balanced by the tzatziki sauce, but was a bit thin.  The burger had good flavor as well, and was cooked appropriately.  For the bad, the most glaring feature of all three burgers was that there was no puddle of burger juices on any of our plates at the end of the meal.  All three were just a little dry and missing juiciness.  I added an egg and the other sauces helped with some of that necessary wetness, but did not fully compensate.

Dress and Bun

The house-made sesame bun had great flavor and the freshness really showed.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too thick, especially for a burger that is lacking in juice.

Sides

Chili-salt fries were very good, nice a crisp with a good amount of potato skin.  They were good enough to eat without ketchup, which would be a shame since the ketchup tasted house made as well and was very good.

The Verdict

We argued on this one.  After my first bite of the bison burger, I was ready to bestow the elusive 5-spur rating.  As the meal continued though, the issues of dryness and expense teetered us back to a 4-spur.  This was a great meal in a great restaurant, and I will be back. I think a few small changes to make a juicier burger on a smaller bun would put it in a category worth traveling from outside city limits.  For now, we give it

4 spurs.