Nothing like having a holiday to celebrate hamburgers, amiright?
Today is National Burger Day, aka National Hamburger Day, and Fri-Yay. A burger and the start of the weekend. What could be better?
There are numerous places around Austin where you can find a delicious, juicy burger, made to order, but we have our favorites. Here are 8 recommended burger joints perfect for a Friday night out.
With four locations, you can get your burger craving met with friendly service. We like to visit their restaurant in Marble Falls with an outside eating area. There are many good items on the menu, but if not sure, start with Moonie’s Classic Burger. However, my fave is the Blue Moon with smoked bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. And don’t forget their onion rings – they are highly recommended.
Jack Allen’s Kitchen
With only fresh, locally sourced food, this will be a delight for your taste buds. Their Southwestern cuisine infused with Southern-inspired flavors are available at their four locations around Austin. For a burger recommendation, go for the Fat Jack Burger, with hickory sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, onion, dill pickles, and jalapeno mayo with your choice of russet or sweet potato fries. If you intend to stop by, call in advance for reservations.
When their sign says Big. Fat. Donuts, how can you not try it?
They not only serve a delicious glazed donut, but their donut burgers are to die for. I recommend the Cheezy Buns: Angus beef, applewood smoked bacon, fried onion strings, tomato, cilantro, fried egg, garlic mayo, and stuffed between two grilled cheese buns. Leave room for dessert. Donuts, remember?
Top-Notch Burgers
Famous for being featured in the movie Dazed and Confused, many have recommended this restaurant for their hand-battered onion rings and the double meat Longhorn Special.
Hopdoddy
Their “irresistible food is prepared in-house daily from freshly sourced ingredients for quality you can taste.” Burgers are served with Piedmontese meat, which has high protein, less fat, and few calories per ounce and is all-natural. Get your burger on one of three types of buns baked daily in their restaurant.
At Hopdoddy, go with their Classic House Burger topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and Doddy Mayo. Elevate it with cheddar cheese, steakhouse bacon, or other options. A must is the parmesan truffle fries to accompany your burger of choice.
Outside Austin:
All-Star Burger
Just outside of Austin in Bee Cave is where you’ll find All-Star Burger in the Hill Country Galleria. Their menu has 13 incredible specialty burgers, including a bison, veggie, and venison option. My favorite is the Pacific Coast Beef Burger, with Monterey jack cheese, red leaf lettuce, avocado, sprouts, and creamy mustard. Oh, and sweet potato fries, please.
You can get anything you want on your hand-crafted burger, made with only premium gold pure country Angus beef. I’m sorry for the cows, but my stomach always comes away happy.
Vivel in Lakeway takes pride in using the best ingredients available and helping other small businesses in the community. Most of their products are free-range, organic, or fair trade, and only the finest naturally raised beef is used for their burgers. The Rancher is highly favored, with a char-grilled beef patty, merguez beef sausage, fried egg, sauteed onions, mixed greens, and swiss cheese. And yes, their crepes are a-ma-zing, so leave room for dessert and treat yourself to the Nutella sweet crepe.
The Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge
In Spicewood, this is the place for dinner if you want to start the weekend with dinner on the deck, a fabulous drink, and a view of Lake Travis. (See photo above) A favorite spot among the lake-goers, the Lighthouse offers a BYOBurger and a plant-based burger with an optional gluten-free bun. For some added spice, try their Guacamole Burger, a hand-pressed patty, guacamole, pico, pepper jack cheese, and a fried jalapeno on top.
If the kids are with you, there is a kids menu with meals called “I don’t know” (chicken tenders), “I don’t care” (burger with fries), “Nothing” (grilled cheese), and “Whatever” (mac and cheese). They definitely know kids.
Bonus:
Road Trip Favorite: Alamo Springs Café
Ready for a road trip? In that case, Fredericksburg is about 75 miles from Austin and has excellent shopping, historical places to visit . . . and the Alamo Springs Café. Featured on the cover of Texas Monthly, the Café is the place of the beloved Half-Pound Burger. You get a pick of bun: Sheila Partin sourdough, jalapeno cheese, wheat, or gluten-free. If you want unique toppings besides the norm (for an additional charge), they offer chili, bacon, avocado, fried egg, roasted garlic, and more! Be sure to add their homemade chips or hand-cut fries on the side.
2 responses to “Celebrate National Burger Day — These 8 Burgers Around Austin are Delish”
What a great list of burgers. That's some burger from Gourdough's! I forgot it was National Burger Day, we had grilled hotdogs today!
Next time I go to Austin, I will have to hit a few of these places!