# 1 - Dai Due – Dry-Aged Wagyu Cheeseburger $20.00
Photo Credit: Ruth Lim
A seemingly simple burger…just a bun, meat, cheese, pickles and onions. HOWEVER…this is THE quintessential cheeseburger!! No frills, no surprises…just the best cheeseburger of your life!! If you live in Texas then you need to make the pilgrimage to Dai Due to try this ASAP! Sweeping declaration…this may be the best burger I've ever had!
A seemingly simple burger…just a bun, meat, cheese, pickles and onions. HOWEVER…this is THE quintessential cheeseburger!! No frills, no surprises…just the best cheeseburger of your life!! If you live in Texas then you need to make the pilgrimage to Dai Due to try this ASAP! Sweeping declaration…this may be the best burger I've ever had!
Things You Should Know
- This burger is only available on Tuesday evenings, and until supplies run out. Advice...arrive as close to 5pm (opening) as you can to ensure getting a burger!
Wagyu cheeseburger with Stryk
Cheddar, Dill Pickles, Onion and Sauce Especial on a Sesame Bun
The Meat
This burger uses a combination of Wagyu Brisket and
Bacon. The chef recommends a cook to medium well which might throw you, as it
did me, but the longer cook time helps the fat in the wagyu beef and the bacon
to render just right throughout the meat.
Kelsey Kennedy
“If you’re in the dark about Wagyu beef (I was….), here’s why it’s so awesome: Wagyu is a Japanese beef cattle breed that produces highly marbled (aka extra fatty) beef. But it’s not just the amount of fat; it’s the type of fat that this beef contains. This fat has a higher melting point and higher mono-unsaturated to saturated fat ratio, meaning that it doesn’t just taste better….it’s also healthier! #winning. (Go to wagyu.org to read find out more about Wagyu than you’d ever care to know…)This meat is harder to find and more expensive than the typical ground beef you would find in a burger, so it’s a special treat that Dai Due is offering on Tuesdays! Everyone in Austin needs to try this burger.”
The Bun
Perhaps my favorite thing about this burger was the
crunchy fire char on the sesame bun. This is the only bun I tried this summer where
you could taste a textual difference from wood fire that creating a not at all
subtle char on the inside of the buns. At no point did the bun get soggy
throughout the eat!
The Accompaniment
Thick cut house made pickles with a tangy snap on the
bite. Onions were chopped with a brunoise
technique, and secured to the top of the bottom bun with a light spread of sauce
especial…which was some kind of yellow mustard goodness…and just the right
amount of cheddar locally sourced from Stryk
Jersey Farm.
Served With
Onion rings and a beet aioli.
#2 - Odd Duck – Burger $16.00
This burger has changed over the years, and will likely continue
to change, since the Odd Duck brick and mortar location first opened in 2013.
What places this burger so high on the list is also what makes this restaurant
my favorite in Austin...local and responsible sourcing of the best product...and
unmatched creativity!!! Check it...
Things You Should Know
- This burger is ONLY available during lunch (M-F).
- This burger has changed over the years and could change again before you get the chance to try it. Check the website…but either way…it will be incredible! http://oddduckaustin.com/food-drink
Pepper jack cheese, refried bean mayo, tostada, pico
The Meat
The beef is locally sourced from Richardson Farms, and uses a mixture of
chuck eye roll and brisket, ground and formed in to 7oz patties, and grilled
over a wood grill using post-oak…which you can find everywhere in Central
Texas. Post Oak is a really great wood that cooks long and slow and imparts a
very mild smoke. *This is also the type of wood Aaron Franklin uses at his BBQ
restaurant.
The Bun
“Potato flour is the ingredient I think is most critical
to this bun. It keeps the bun really moist and very light in texture.
Egg-washed, dipped in toasted sesame seeds and seasoned with Maldon
sea salt.” Mark Buley ~chef at Odd Duck. The burger as a whole did not affect
the bun the first time I went to OD, but when I went back at the end of the
summer, the burger was just a little too juicy and saucy and the bun started to
fall apart during the last few bites…not that it bothered me at all!
The Accompaniment
No burger in Austin comes close to the creativity of Odd
Duck! Including a corn fried tostada with a refried bean mayo, a flavorful pico
de gallo with fresh cilantro, and pepper jack cheese. Friends, this burger
is the real deal…and not at all surprising coming from these celebrated chefs,
Bryce Gilmore (5-Time James Beard Award Finalist- Best Chef Southwest) and Mark
Buley.
Served With
Nothing…no fries, no rings…just the burger!
#3 - Clark’s Oyster Bar – Pan Roasted Black Angus Hamburger $18.00
After two months of eating some of the best burgers in
Austin I finally made my way to the posh-casual New England style eatery,
Clark's Oyster Bar. We were seated outside, because there was already no room during
this very busy 3:50pm happy hour!! My advice, make a reservation!
Things You Should Know
- This burger is half price ($9.00) during happy hour! (M-F/3p-6p)
- Happy Hour at Clark’s is pretty crazy…even at 3pm when it starts! Make a reservation!
- Drizzle the pickle juice on top of the fries…AMAZE!
Sauce Gribiche, Gruyere with Clark’s Fries or Slaw
The Meat
This burger is pretty small which begs the question…is it
worth $18.00? Well…it is during happy hour for sure! What it lacks in size it
more than makes up for in flavor. The meat was about 7oz but thicker in height
than it was in width. Proportioned well but leaning to the meat…which was
impeccably cooked and quite juicy! If the burger had been any bigger the juice
would have soaked through the bun completely...but it held up well through the whole
eat.
The Bun
There were some really nice grill marks on the inside of
bun, but like most burgers (all except Dai Due) there is never enough bun char
to notice a textual difference. The bun was soft and sturdy and what I think
was a brioche or potato bun...but I couldn't find a description anywhere so I
could be wrong.
The Accompaniment
Such great depth in flavor from a seemingly simple
burger…just a bun, lots of melty gruyere, meat, and a sauce gribiche (a
mayonnaise like sauce where the yolks are cooked rather than raw...with a very
present onion taste on the back end). *I happen to love onions, but if you
don't then be forewarned...the menu did not mention onions. The pickles on the
side were delicious…thinly spiced with a great snap on the bite! I prefer a
thicker pickle but Daniel said they were the "star of the
meal."
Served With
Clark’s Fries or Slaw…I highly recommend the fries!! The
presentation is piled a mile high and is so much fun to see! Shoestring
cut…crispy, crunchy and full of flavor…but hard to grab. Best to eat a handful
at a time...no joke!
#4 - Bonhomie – Cheeseburger $10.95
Things You Should Know
- This burger is served with a lightly dressed arugula salad…Giada would be happy…but I prefer fries or onion rings.
- You can get fries for an additional $4.00 or rings for $5.00. Both were tasty BUT I have to say…the fries were on a different level of awesome!
- The bun is a traditional Japanese Milk Bun which I had never heard of...but not surprising that the two-time James Beard Award semi-finalist, Philip Speer, is at the helm of this creation. The texture was like a sturdy brioche...just perfection for a burger!
Menu Description
Double meat, cheese, onion, pickle, dijonnaise
#5 - June's All Day - Charbroiled Burger - $18.00
Menu Description
grilled onions and jalapenos, american cheese, pickles and french fries
#6 - Central Standard - The Cheeseburger $18.00
Things You Should Know
- This is a fantastic burger! I would probably have ranked it even higher, but this burger was just a little messy and hard to eat because there were so many accompaniments. I also believe that when a burger has lettuce it needs to be placed right above the bottom bun to keep the juice from getting the bun soggy.
- All in all Central Standard, along with the burger, is one of my new favorite restaurants in Austin! Definitely go and check this place out.
Cremini mushroom butter, cheddar, caramelized onion,
bacon, steak chips
#7 - Salt and Time – Butcher’s Burger {market price}
Things You Should Know
- Only served during dinner
- Best fries in Austin!! (Beef Fat Fries…mmmm)
Menu Description
1/2 lb Beef Patty of Daily Steak Trimmings with Aioli and Sour Pickles with Beef Fat French Fries.
1/2 lb Beef Patty of Daily Steak Trimmings with Aioli and Sour Pickles with Beef Fat French Fries.
#8 - Contigo – Burger $11.00
- You can order fries for an additional $4.00 (worth it!)
- 3rd Best Fries in Austin!!
- Challah bun
Menu Description
House-made challah bun
- add cheese...2
- add house-made bacon...2
House-made challah bun
- add cheese...2
- add house-made bacon...2
#9 - Jacoby’s – ½ Pound Cheeseburger & Fries $16.00
Menu Description
Family-Raised on the Jacoby Ranch, Hormone and Antibiotic Free, Dry-Aged 21-28 Days
#10 - Second Bar and Kitchen – Congress Burger $14.00
Menu Description
ground brisket + chuck * shallot confit * gruyere * greens * tomatoes * horseradish pickles
(add frites +3 / truffle frites +4 / seared foie gras +14 / over easy egg +3 / avocado +3 / crispy pork belly +4 / double meat double cheese +10)
Honorable Mentions
Holy Roller - Bombshell Burger $13.00
Menu Description
Shaved ham, american cheese, hashbrowns, house ketchup, fried egg
Other Places Worth Mentioning
*These places below were not a part of the judging for various reasons. Some of them might have received a mediocre write up, some were discouraged by word of mouth, and then some are just so new to the scene. However, everyone one of these places have been mentioned for having a fabulous burger!
- Eberly
- Justine’s Brasserie
- Swift’s Attic
- Nightcap
