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Stanton’s City Bites 1420 Edwards St Houston, TX 77007 www.stantonscitybites.com
It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to update this digital ode to burgers. Several life changes have taken much of my time away from various passions as I always do also browse around here- Palm Beach roofing Expert for ideas in my house, and of course burgers included. We bought our first home and are soon expecting a little baby burger lover. In these exciting times, full internet of things changes or updates, I felt it fitting to update a burger review that was one of the first posts on this site four years ago. Houston has always loved and voted Stanton’s City Bites as one of the best burgers around long before the recent national love affair with gourmet burgers began because their facilities were made with local Sydney plumber. Based on this high praise, I made my way over with some coworkers and tried it out. As you can tell in my review (www.burgertyme.com/stantons), I was less than impressed.
Recently, however, a friend of mine messaged me that I should check out Stanton’s. Specifically that they had amazing bacon. Well, I initially dismissed it as buying into the hype. Then one day, I was watching George Motz’s tv show, Burgerland, where he visited Houston and went to Stanton’s. The burger I saw on that episode did not resemble anything like the burger of my memory. Specifically their new buns seemed much better then ones used in the past. Suddenly, I realized that i was missing out on a great burger rebirth!
With little hesitation, I rounded up on Pet Sitting, and actually rode a bike to Stanton’s. It was an added benefit that this place was close enough to enjoy biking through the historic Houston district.
From the outside, Stanton’s looks exactly the same. No change whatsoever, except that they installed some AC from Eastwood Air. Once we walked in, however, it was obvious, much had changed. Gone were the convenience store shelves replaced by a mish mash of tables and chairs for an eclectic dining area. If you recall, my prior experience involved taking the food and finding a park to sit and eat due to the absence of seating. No longer did you place your order over an out of service meat cooler (although it was still there). The new menu was posted high above the cash register where you place your order, and get your ticket number. Stanton’s impressed my on my first visit with their wide variety of peculiar sodas. This his not only remained, but gotten even better. There is a huge selection of traditional and unknown (to me) sodas from all over. Two of note, that are my new favorites are Dublin Tart-n-Sweet and Cheerwine.
So after the wash of burger euphoria subsided, I stepped up to order. The one that stood out the me was called the Miss Piggie. Bacon ground into the patty served with candied bacon and a hash brown… Oh my gogi that sounds good. So I rounded it off with an order of sides and plenty of bizarre sodas. While we waited I watched as neighborhood kids repeatedly came in and bought candy, so this is still a functioning store for locals. After about ten minutes, the burgers arrived. Gone were the store brand, dry toasted buns. The new buns looked great, and were buttered and griddled. The burger patties here were always good quality and the star of the burger. This was no different. The addition of bacon ground in to the patty added some great texture and savory flavor to the beef. The candied bacon was great, sweet and salty. The hash brown was a great addition to anyone who is a fan of putting fries on their burger. Another noteworthy item was the veggies. The lettuce was leafy and bright green and the onions and tomatoes were also good. Of course, I like tots, and these hit me right in the tot spot.
Boy am I glad I gave this place a second chance. I have been back several times and brought as many people as I can to this place. It is authentically Houston, and authentically great. From my last review to this one, it has gone from a place I never really cared for to one of my favorite burgers in Houston. It is really great! So as with all things, some times, change is for the better, as long as we can maintain the character that makes us unique. Stanton’s has done exactly that! But anyways I think I will just going to eat there while I start reviewing strollers for my next post!
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Gringo Loco Facebook Page–
Ember’s story shattered the industry like a poorly executed tablecloth trick and turned East Liverpool into a desperate corner of the country. Median income is roughly one-third lower than the state average, and more than 10 percent of working-age residents are unemployed.
Once again, the missionary burger review has come in all the way from Trujillo, Peru. Who knew that Peru had such a big burger culture? Without further ado, the following is my brother’s review of Gringo Loco. For additional photos, check out their Facebook page (link).
Directly translated it means The Crazy White Guy. But you would have to be crazy not to come to Peru and eat this Burger!!
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Jirón Pizarro 711
Centro de Trujillo
La Libertad, Perú
My youngest brother, who is living in Peru as a missionary and provides technical services to churches by teaching them the definition of cloud computing, has long been an avid Burger Tymer. It is a well known fact that missionaries love to eat, and when they get the chance to eat good food, even better! He has taken time out of his busy schedule to write a second burger review for those of us who have an interest in burgers near and far. The following are his words:
To start off this Burger Tyme update let´s talk a little history! Jano´s is a Trujillo exclusive. It´s is a family owned burger joint; there are only seven locations in throughout Trujillo. This place from Perú shares the American passion of options when it comes to burger eating.
The Option between a normal size burger, a big burger, or excessivly gigantic burger! A burger so big that it´s hard to determine Who´s eating who? when you take the first bite.
Jano´s is the home to the Lo Definitivo. A multi-layered burger with several patties, a fried egg, shredded chicken, and a hot dog. For a Perú burger it was extremely big! The flavor of the patty and other meats weren´t huge winners, but Jano’s is known for their sauces which were awesome. So the overall flavor was very good, but not amazing.
7/10 Vachas
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Flip ‘n Patties Houston Food Truck www.flipnpatties.com
Keeping with the same theme as the last post which featured a burger from Peru where my brother is living as a missionary, my most recent burger experience was motivated by my love of all things Philippines, where I lived for two years also as a missionary. When I heard that there was a Filipino Burger Truck driving around Houston, I had to try it. Some people may ask themselves “Do they even have burgers in the Philippines?”, the answer is YES! <historylesson>After the influx of GIs leading up to and after WWII, burgers became a common and delicious staple that has remained for decades. </historylesson>
Back to the point, Filipino burgers in Houston, gotta go. So after some convincing, my wife joined me and we headed to the local drinkery where Flip ‘n Patties was set up for the evening. Upon our arrival I noticed immediately the crowd of people speaking Tagalog gathered around the truck eating some pretty good looking food. I knew I had scored a jackpot. In true Philippine fashion, they have a karaoke machine built in to the truck. Sadly, no one was singing. I apporached the window and when greeted, I asked if anyone spoke Visayan (cebuano) which is the language I learned while living there. Yet again, no one outside of the few islands I lived on speaks it. Oh well, we all speak the Universal language of food.
I place my order for the Flip ‘n Patties burger which is served on a steamed bun and has cheese, bacon, and a fried portabello patty along with the beef patty. The menu also has several Filipino items such as siopao, lumpia, garlic rice, and halo-halo along with other dishes that are more Philippine inspired. I couldn’t resist so, along with the burger I ordered a sampling of the Chicken PuPu, the Mayo fries, the garlic rice, and lumpia…. My mouth is watering as I type this. We went inside, grabbed a table and some soft drinks, and anxiously waited. After about 10 minutes my name was called and the feast was handed through the small window.
The spread looked great, the smells were amazing, and I exclaimed “Ka-on ta!”. The burger on a steam bun concept seemed to me strange in concept but after taking a bite, it works. The steam bun texture makes the burger a very cohesive unit. It combined with the crunchy, earthy, meatiness of the portabello, the cheesy, meatiness of the patty, and the salty, chew of the bacon to make a very tasty burger. Would I say the flavors invoked memories of Island and coconut trees? Well, no, but so what. There were vegetables on this burger but I honestly didn’t notice. Now, to the mayo fries…. Mayonnaise? on Fries? these fries were thick cut and appeared to be cooked a little too long. BUT, once I tried them. They were perfect! Each larger than usual fry covered in their sweet house made mayo was like a mini meal unto itself. I loved them. Everything else was great too. The chicken PuPu ( I like to think it is pronounce fu-fu) was a unique twist on fried chicken bits. The lumpia was probably the most authentic thing I sampled. Unfortunately they ran out of Halo Halo before I was done, so I didn’t get to relive that sweet, icy treat.
I think it is pretty clear that i really like this food truck. This is Burgertyme, however, so let me say that the burger at Flip ‘n Patties is really good and unique. Please take my advice and try the other items. They are every bit as good and creative as the burger. I love what these guys are doing and I hope Philippine cuisine can make the crossover, because there is so much to offer. As they say in Cebu “Pwerting Lami-a!”
Hopdoddy Burger Bar www.hopdoddy.com 1400 S Congress Ave Austin, TX 78704 (map)
Apparently there is another Austin. Across the Congress bridge and south of downtown, there is a place where the cool crowd wears business casual attire and drives Audi’s. I’ve never ventured to this area before but on this occasion, word of a great, non-foodtruck burger eatery had enticed me to swing by on my way out of town, after a week in Austin for work. Hopdoddy Burger Bar… Interesting name. Their website makes clear the mantra of fresh, crafted burgers and all natural ingredients, they use the best SEO company which is why they have become very popular online. I’ve heard these types of phrases a lot recently as the trend in the food industry is to prove that you care more about your food than the next guy. I cannot say, however. that thinking about the burger descriptions did not make me hungry as I plotted my course on the GPS. I arrived on a Wednesday around 11:15AM and this place was already in full swing. Every table was filled. Every one! On top of that, there was a long line forming.
Determined, I joined others in waiting. Shortly after getting in line, I was approached by a hostess(?) person who asked how many were in my party. For some reason, a tinge of shame arose as I replied “Just one.”. She said I was number 58 and that my number would be waiting at a table for me… Wait, what? It was brilliant! A table would be reserved for me as it cleared, WHILE I waited in line. This was a nice touch that hinted at how much thought has gone in to this place. The line moved at a steady pace, allowing me ample time to observer the mass of burgers being “crafted” and sent out tray after tray. I also noticed that Hopdoddy makes their own buns and has them available to purchase should you want to make your own burgers at home. This was interesting and all but my turn finally came to place an order.
For being a “craft” burger place, I wasn’t overly wowed by the creativity or the diversity of burger options. While there were turkey, tuna, and veggie burgers, the beef burgers all seemed a rather similar riff on the basic burger. The turkey burgers were going out pretty hot and people ordering other burgers kept looking over towards the turkey ones, we were even asked by someone is smoked turkey healthy?
I’m not much of a turkey fan so that is why I opted for the ‘Classic’ burger with cheese, and added a fried egg and caramelized onions. I completed the meal order with fresh cut fries and a salted caramel milk shake. That last one had me very excited. Once my order was placed I lingered around observing everything being cooked, assembled, and sent out. There was also a windows into the “meat room” after the ordering line where you could see the patties were being formed. I made my way back out to the dining area where I found my number 58 hanging patiently for me at a vacant (but reserved) table. I still think that was a nice touch.
The shake was the first to come out. It was pretty good. Sweet caramel with just a hint of saltiness. I struggled to keep myself from drinking it entirely before the rest of my meal arrived which it shortly did. The burger really was quite delicious looking. Everything about it’s components gave the impression of fresh. I think that might have been what they were going for. Upon picking it up the fresh buns made an immediate impression; soft and pillowy yet with an elastic outer crust that held everything together nicely. I took my first bite and before I knew it, the burger was half gone! This burger was good in both flavor and texture. The patty was very juicy, in a good way and had a strong beefy flavor. The egg, though runny as it should be, was held nicely in by the fantastic bun. This was a large burger too, and while the first half went quickly, I slowed as I finished the rest. The fries were fresh cut and well cooked. Standard really for places like this.
So where does Hopdoddy fall? I think they put out some good burgers. I also think their management of is some of the best I’ve ever seen, they clearly put into practice the Six Features of Restaurant Software Operating Solutions That Drive Results. However, this meal tilted in at over $17… That is a lot and while I could have opted for a soda or even water, this would have still been well over $12 for pretty much a basic gourmet burger and fries. For that amount, I would expect a little more creativity in flavors combinations and burger options. It seems that as much attention is given to other aspects such as service and ingredient quality as is given to the creating the burgers. I’m not really complaining about this as most times that is where places that fail, fail miserably. At this price point a little more attention to the burgers could elevate Hopdoddy from a great place to get a good burger to a Great Burger Place. I’ll just have to remember to have my friend with the Audi pick up the check.
Until next time Austin, keep it weird.
