Austin Burger News

J & J Barbeque & Burgers

This place replaced the Bear Rock Cafe, on Parmer.  Just learned that it is the second location of a Cedar Park outfit.  The main focus seems to be BBQ, but they do have “burgers” in their name, so had to give it a try.  I was intrigued to see some crazy signage re “the cheddar pour” as I pulled into the parking lot.

Hmmmmmm

I only just recently learned of this technique via a video I found online, wherein it is referred to as a “cheese skirt“.  The Squeeze Inn in Sacramento has been doing it for 30+ years.

The Squeeze Inn cheese skirt looks a bit more appetizing than J & J’s, because it still has the bun and you can eat it like a normal burger, more or less (watch the video).  Also, the name “cheese skirt” just sounds a bit less raw than “cheddar pour”.  The guy at the counter at J & J explained how they make their version — pile tons of cheddar on the patty as it is cooking on the griddle, throw some ice on the griddle and cover, just like the Squeeze Inn does.  But they don’t serve it with a bun* (in spite of the signage on the truck above, which does show a bun), and it looks like theirs ends up with quite a bit more skirt to deal with.  He said he likes to fold the skirt up over the meat and eat it that way.  The J & J cheddar pour looks like too much cheese for me, so I opted for the regular cheeseburger.

Burger was just ok, nothing special.  It was much heftier overall (with all the toppings and whatnot) than the 1/4 lb patty size would make you think, and I did get a bit of a cheese skirt on there, which was a definite bonus.  The flavor of the burger was pretty bland.  Fries were actually quite bad, covered with some kind of breading.  So all in all, not a great burger.  The cheese miniskirt was the most appealing part, and I will give them kudos for piling on the veggies, and for the whole cheddar pour idea, as well as the insane amount of signage at the place.  It’s certainly a unique place, and they do offer BBQ and breakfast, which might be worth a try.

Vitals:

J & J Barbeque & Burgers
4005 W Parmer Ln
http://www.jj-bbq.com/ (pretty horrendous website, warning: obnoxious music will play when you visit)

* Cheddar Pour Update: have found a few references online to J&J’s cheddar pour, and they appear with a bun on the burger, so not sure if the counter guy was right.  This blog post includes a photo, and there’s a nice flickr photo of a cheddar pour burger here.

Was not tempted to try this

Note inverted burger, as delivered from kitchen

Strangely Inverted burger

Burger came with a cheese miniskirt!

Cheese miniskirt detail

Fry detail--not very tasty

They are fond of signage

I think they're open!

Do you dare?