The Burger Guys!

While looking through a site for a truck to hit the other day, I came across these guys. I am unsure of why or how they got on a site that is supposed to be for food trucks because the guy there told me that they have never had a food truck but anyways, I'm glad they were there. I had seen the place before because it's fairly close to my place and right next to the 24 hr Shipley's I've been to on occasion :) Never really paid much attention to the place because the location is rather nondescript. It's in the middle of a strip center on Westheimer near Dairy Ashford. Their sign is rather small and the strip center just looks so plain that I can't say that I would naturally want to stop there if I was passing by on the street. Anyways, the food definitely does not disappoint. Here's the menu breakdown:

The have a menu consisting of burgers, hot dogs, sides, drinks and shakes. The burgers are 1/2 kobe beef cooked to order on a flat top grill. I'm not sure how they are seasoned but I believe it was no more than salt & pepper. There are 13 different specialty burgers and 5 specialty hot dogs to chose from. The burger combinations have choices such as the Perigord: onion bacon jam, gastrique, foie gras, toasted garlic aioli) and the Dublin: dublin dr. pepper bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, raw onions, dill pickles. I had The "Hatch": chipotle aioli, queso blanco, hatch chile magic. Mine is the one on the left which I added a fried egg to. It came out perfectly cooked medium and was absolutely delicious. The egg also was done perfect also. I've had burgers at other places with a fried egg on top and it often comes out fried a bit too long. I believe that egg should be right about over easy. It adds some extra flavor and makes it a little gooey. You can add a fried egg to anything for an extra dollar or two dollars for a duck egg. The burger on the right is the Texan: Applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, jalapenos, lawnmower ale mustard with a fried egg added. The burgers come served exactly as listed and have no added topping i.e. lettuce, tomato, etc. The fries are hand cut and are fried in duckfat. Never had anything fried in duckfat so I'm not sure if this is common but nonetheless, fries taste good coming out of them. Very tasty just as is. 

You get a choice of two house made sauces to go with your fries if you wish. Since it was my first time in, the guy was kind enough to give us a bit of all of the sauces. They are shown below clockwise from the top left: Three herb ranch, cilantro aioli, blue cheese, cilantro jalapeno, red hot aioli and balsamic vinegar. I really liked the cilantro jalapeno and the ketchup in particular. The is no regular/plain ketchup and/or mayo in the house at all. That is just not what they do. He actually told me a funny story about a guy who had come in earlier in the week who said that he was supposedly might not come back in because they didn't carry regular ketchup. He told him ok :) They are BYOB with respect to regular ketchup and/or mayo so you can still have it, just bring it yourself if you want it that badly! I respect the fact that he realizes that he cannot make everyone happy but insists on sticking to doing what they well that makes them unique and different in an industry saturated with places that are practically carbon copies of each other. 

You can also get the fries done a couple of different ways: Salted Caramel: hand-cut fries seasoned  with caramel, Tomatillo Salsa: hand-cut fries seasoned with tomatillo salsa or you can also get onion strings seasoned with buttermilk and tabasco. I'm sure you can't see the sodas really but all of the sodas are made with pure cane sugar and come in the usual variety of flavors just not the big name brand (coke, dr p, etc..).

 I did get to taste some of the fresh house made ice cream as they were making up some while I was there and it was very good also so I will make my way back soon just for a milkshake. Burger guys is not cheap (We spent about $30 for the two burgers, one order of fries that was big enough to share, and two drinks) so don't think you are coming away with anything near McDonald prices but it is well worth it if you are in the market for a more upscale burger experience. Anyways, another nice night traveling around the city looking for the best eats around town is in the books. Check these guys out at your earliest opportunity. Live to eat!

http://theburgerguys.com/

Johnny

Monster PBJ!

Today I went and saw the guys of the Monster PBJ truck for their Meatless Monday stop at the Firkin & Phoenix bar on Westheimer in between Shepherd & Dunleavy. The first thing that struck me was the look of their truck. Bright colors and a very cool design with a big purple monster stands out and makes it easy to find. The guys told me that the owner of the truck is a graphic designer so he came up with the design himself. Definitely the best looking truck I've seen so far. Anyways, on to the food!

Monster PBJ has an all vegetarian vegan friendly menu. You create your own huge or "monsterlicious" PB&J sandwich with fresh-ground nut butters, sliced fruit and fresh local jams. The nut butters are made from roasted nuts with nothing extra added. Here's the breakdown of the menu: You get a paper bag that lists all of the choices you have available for the creation of your sandwich. First, pick your type (junior - 1 slice cut in half & stacked, classic - 2 slices/stacked, monster - 3 slices/stacked) second, you pick your bread (white, wheat, gluten-free white, third, nut butter (almond, cashew, peanut), fourth, 1 or 2 of the fresh fruits (sliced apples, bananas, strawberries) and jams (apple, blueberry, strawberry) and lastly, a sweetener (agave, honey, nutella). Once you've created your sandwich, you also have a couple of additional choices left. You can have the sandwich grilled (panini style) and for you people scared of the crust, they will even cut the crust off for you! That is not all though! You even get the option of having your sandwich cut not one, not two, but three different ways(halved-vertical, halved-diagonal, halved in fours)! Cool deal! Here is what I came up with:

 Monster, grilled on white with almond & cashew butter, apple jam, sliced apples and agave. I have to say that I always kinda liked PB&J but after having their sandwich, I love PB&J! The guys suggested getting it grilled and they were so right! This was my first time having either almond or cashew butter but I will say that they had a nice creamy texture and the flavors blended well together and neither overpowered the other. The sliced apples (no skin) are a great addition that add a nice crisp crunch and freshness. I'm not a fan of very sweet things so I was not sure what to expect from the agave but, I found the sweetness to be just right. I can't say enough about the grill. If you get one, you have to get it grilled. Grilling adds that nice kinda smokey taste and extra crispness to the bread. The monster is a great big helping and was more than enough to satisfy my hunger for dinner. Anyways, cool trip and good food. You guys have to check them out. Right now, they are regularly at Firkin & Phoenix on Mondays but you can also find out where they are daily by checking out their website. Live To Eat!

Johnny 

http://www.monsterpbj.com/