Leslie's husband Jesse is from southern California. He had a lot more freedom to roam around in his youth than Leslie and Janie did, and rumor has it he could always be found near a hamburger joint with a Pepsi. Similarly, Janie's husband Todd was a freelancing bottle rocket commando in the burbs of Nashville, sun up to sun down. Janie and Leslie weren't allowed to ride a half mile down their rural country road unless they had a camp whistle to blow if someone tried to grab them. (They resent Jesse and Todd greatly for this.) Nothing makes Jesse happier than a good burger, so he fancies himself an afficianado. Leslie thinks he can't know what he's talking about because of a huge road block--he doesn't like mayonnaise!
When Leslie met Jesse in Austin, it wasn't long before he was pining for an In-N-Out Burger (http://www.in-n-out.com/). Leslie, not a big burger fan, couldn't imagine what all the fuss was about. At least not until she experienced the fresh, no freezer, no heat lamp, made-to-order joy of In-N-Out Burgers one Thanksgiving in L.A. Still family owned, the empire is expanding, and according to Katie's dad, maybe we'll have one someday, too. Oh, and if you make it to an In-N-Out, don't expect to have anything but a burger, or fries, or a shake. There are no veggie burgers or chicken sandwiches, and you won't care anyway. If you want to sound cool, try and order like this: http://www.tiburon-belvedere.com/cgi/home.cgi?c=In_N_Out Jesse likes the standard "Double Double", and Leslie likes the "Protein Style" if it's the start of a new eating plan on a Monday, and the "Double Double" if not. (HA!)
The best, and only, burger in Leslie and Janie's small town was the DQ Burger at Dairy Queen. That was also the best place to get, umm, fast food thanks to the forward thinking and always trendy Royce family. Imagine when we moved to TX and learned how cool we'd always been to have had a DQ, as there's one in every small town here. YEE HAW we had our finger on the pulse of America. Dairy Queen has great burger names (BeltBuster, FlameThrower), but who knows about the burgers.
A real live "Gus Burger".
Ever heard of a one-eyed hamburger? Every region has it's take on things, and in Charlottesville, Virginia, a cheeseburger with a fried egg on top was consider a delicacy called the Gus Burger. Jesse just never could get it, and even Leslie's dad pronounced it a failure one visit. http://www.foodhistory.com/foodnotes/road/va/ch/wh/01/
What the heck are water burgers? When Leslie moved to Texas, co-workers and acquaintances could often be overheard speaking in cryptic whispers about "waterburger", and she just couldn't figure out what they were talking about. Turns out it was Whataburger. It's OK late at night, but we'll explore some local family owned operations instead.
Oh, and ever since Leslie read Fast Food Nation, she always thinks of machines scraping bovine carcasses to get every last speck of nervouse tissue and meat to feed our country's burger addiction. When she can compartmentalize that thought, she and Janie feel confident recommending:
Top Notch (as recommeded by Katie's mom) http://austin.about.com/cs/restaurants/gr/topnotch.htm
Moonie's Burger House in CP
http://www.yelp.com/biz/moonies-burger-house-cedar-park
Fran's Hamburgers--only the Congress location!
http://austin.about.com/cs/restaurants/a/frans.htm
Might we recommend the bacon cheeseburger with jalapenos?
Hut's
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~russell/students/spr06/huts2/aboutus.html
too crowded most of the time . . .
Phil's (owned by Amy's Ice Cream)
http://www.philsicehouse.com/
great, busy, outdoor eating and a playscape for the kids . . .with Amy's next door for dessert. Janie recommends the 78704 or the Violet Crown.
Jesse also recommends: Texas Star Kitchen in Lakeway
1602 RR 620 S 402-2222
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:218391
Enjoy!
