"Searchin' every which a-way" (1957; The Coasters)

Guess what?  Austin is a much better place [than El Paso] to search for great burgers!  But, then I imagine you already knew that, didn't you?  Wednesday last, accompanied by three of my lovely granddaughters, I went to Hut's, on West Sixth Street.  I had been there years ago, and my son, AD, reminded of their great Wednesday special just the day before our visit.  The problem is that AD, who introduced me to Hut's many years ago, only said that Wednesday is two for one.  He did not mention, and I "forgot to remember" (anybody know why I put those three words in quotes?) that it is a happy hour sort of thing, from 6PM to 10PM, only.

Well, that's OK.  Hut's is an old place that has been in business for more than 75 years.  They offer twenty different burgers, showing they appreciate a good thing.  They then show their seriousness by including this suggestion on the menu:  "If you would like your burger Well Done, please notify your server."  You can see their complete menu, with a nice little history of the place here:  http://hutsfrankandangies.com/extra/hutsmenu.pdf

They even offer malted milk shakes, which was something of a mystery to my grandkids.  Apparently milk shakes are a no-no for kids these days.  What a shame.

Well, our order showed we have some imagination at least:  a plain, lettuce only, burger for one girl (that she promptly smothered in Ketchup), a Milner's Mushroom Burger for another, and the last one (and I) had the Mr. Blue.  I recommended that they all follow the suggestion on the menu to not say anything about how they wanted their burgers cooked, since I figured the cooks know what they are doing.  We got one order of fries for the table, and then, we also asked for a Alan Freed Burger and an All American Buddy Holly Burger (hold the onions; hold the mayo) to go.

These are good burgers!  The service was quick and efficient, the fries are pretty much old school, as in fresh cut, and fried to a golden brown.  The chocolate malt that I had was great.  In my ongoing search for a great burger, Hut's has to rate very high on the scale.

As for atmosphere, Hut's also is special, because there is no question as to the age of the place, with old photos on the walls, and old advertising posters, and logos all over the place.  In spite of the patina of age, it is also clean, so don't worry about finding dim lighting, or a layer of dirt over everything.  It is not that kind of old.

I'd say, if you're in the ATX, don't pass up any chance to try this place.

The Best Burger Quest Goes On The Road.

Well, I finally got to Casino El Camino, on 6th Street (near Red River) in the ATX. Gotta tell ya, they do make a good burger, BUT!
According to their web site, they are "NOW PROUDLY SERVING ALL NATURAL SUGAR SODAS, INCLUDING GENUINE MEXICAN COKE!" So, when the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, I said I'd love to have a Mexican Coke, and I think she thought I was asking for cocaine! She said, "We only have normal cokes." I pointed out what their web site says, and she tried to say that must be their other location, on Ben White. (Their web site only mentions one location. This one). 

We did notice that they will, upon request, make you a smaller burger than the 3/4 pounder featured on the menu, so we all three asked for smaller burgers. We still got big damn burgers, and I have no idea what size they might have been, or what they cost. They did not present me with an itemized bill, only the credit slip for my signature. I find that, together with their false advertising, to be big negatives. Their burger does rate a 9, but their failure to provide a proper bill, and their wait staff's ignorance of their own advertising bring their total rating way down, in my little book.

My Burger was their Chicago Burger, and I forgot to ask for either a ciabatta or a foccacia bun.  My mistake.  The pretty regular bun I got did a fair job of holding things together, but this burger is so juicy, and so greasey (grease is good, folks), that it did literally drip onto the table and my tray.   The bun got soaked, but did hold together pretty well.  The burger had a great, meaty taste, and the romaine lettuce was plentiful.  I also got tomato, and I had asked for Mayo, and the proper amount was there.  Kudos to the guys in the kitchen, because they do a great job.  And, let's keep in mind that this is a BAR!  It is not a restaurant.  They added bar food on their own, but the food is secondary to the bar.

Overall, as I said, the burger gets a 9, but the other problems I encountered make the rating for this place about a 7.