Finally Tried P. Terry’s

Finally made it to P. Terry’s.  Now that they have the location north of the river, it’s somewhat convenient.  P. Terry’s, to their credit, was one of the first (if not the first) local joints to go au naturel with the fresh hormone-free, antibiotic-free etc. beef.  Nowadays that’s the norm it seems for new burger places (see TerraBurger, Hat Creek, Elevation).  Everyone is touting their grass-fed french fries and other Earth-friendly ingreendients (I just made that up).

So, made my way into the retro-stylish building on Lamar.  Here’s the upshot:

Pros: cheap cheap cheap!  Combo meal comes in under $5.  Fries are GREAT.

Cons: burger ho hum and dry.  No cheddar.

Patties look quite juicy sizzling on the griddle, but by the time they arrive at the table they somehow lose all that luster (they also seem to be impregnated with birdseed–see photo below).  Mine was dry.  Fairly close to the harsh description given by one poster on Chowhound–“gray, flavorless hockey pucks,” although I thought the burger did evidence some decent flavor.  But overall it was pretty much a ho hum burger.

Loved the fries–fresh cut, crispy, well-cooked.  Very tasty.

Lastly, what’s up with their food pix online?  The burger photo on their website looks like they are trying to emulate the generic corporate mass-produced fast food burger look, with the airbrushed bun and the perfectly stacked components.  Frankly, it looks awful.

So, overall I was not impressed with the P. Terry’s burger, but would definitely stop in again for fries if in the vicinity.

http://www.pterrys.com/
3303 North Lamar Blvd.

No exterior bun toasting

P. Terry's Burger

Uh oh, Dry Bun Syndrome. Parched patty fissure forming.

P. Terry's Burger

Cross section--note squished bun and dry patty, as well as inverted veggie placement

P. Terry's Burger Patty

No crust to speak of, but lots of speckles

P. Terry's Burger Patty Detail

Patty surface detail. Looks like birdseed. Not sure what is up here. Must be some secret seasoning (their website states that they "inspect and season each patty in our store").

P. Terry's Fries

Loved the fries

P. Terry's Interior

Funky fresh interior

P. Terry's

Funky fresh exterior

P. Terry's Sign

Cool sign