This place is not too far from work now that we have the zippy new toll road. Has a good rating on Yelp so thought it might be something special. Not so much. It’s not terrible, but it’s not worth a special trip by any stretch.
I got the combo meal deal. Two patties with cheese, fries and a drink. No cheddar available, so I skipped the cheese. No Coke, Pepsi.
Burger was not bad, just a decent griddle burger.
Fries were run-of-the-mill forgettable frozen fries.
The woman taking my order seemed a bit grumpy.
Ketchup was bad–too sweet.
Atmosphere was kind of dingy.
So, overall, the burger is decent, fries are OK, place at least has some character (but not much charm). I don’t anticipate going back, but if you happen to go, you’ll do OK with the burger.
Tommy Ates
8:52 pm on December 24, 2009 Permalink
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White collar workers beware! Somehow, I think Little Red Wagon hamburgers is Texas old school. It doesn’t care about Austin glitz and glamour to sell a burger.
Popped in to Elevation for lunch today. Got the meal deal at $6.99 for cheeseburger, fries and a drink. I like the Elevation burger–it’s juicy, tastes fresh and comes with real cheddar. Fries are very good also. The burger is nothing amazing, but it’s a solid griddle burger.
Imagine eating one of these with 10x the meat and cheese…see previous post for contest details.
Disagree with veggies down under...but good burger nonetheless
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.
* 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.
I second that – burgers are quite ho-hum. Fries just terrible (how about a fry that tastes like oh, I don’t know – potato?) Took exactly 20 minutes to get my order during the noon hour.
I miss Bear Rock! OK that ssaid, they have the best bfast taco your gonna find. And the price is just awesome at $1.65 or something like that, and they are HUGE. I got 3 on a buy 2 get 1 free deal and gave the third away, and was stuffed til well beyond lunchtime. As far as the BBQ I’ll get back to that after today. I’m picking some up on the way home.
Noticed this place recently so decided to give it a try. There are only two Austin-area locations, both way up north, and both opened earlier this year. I went to the one near the 1890 Ranch development in Cedar Park. Looks like a standard fast food box, and is just that for the most part. Freddy’s attempts to invoke the 50′s diner vibe with predictable decor and music. There are scratchy black and white photos of “Freddy” in various stages of his life throughout the restaurant. All of which is kind of funny since they started operations in 2002 according to their website.
Anyway, all that cosmetic stuff aside, Freddy’s offers up a pretty tasty fast food burger combo, especially for a national chain. They serve paper-thin patties and super-thin fries. The patties are smashed to a few mil thick on the griddle. Their regular combo meal (#1) consists of two patties, which equals about one regular burger anywhere else. I got the #1 combo and it’s a reasonable deal coming in around $6.
Patties are cooked until kind of crispy on the edges and are cooked to order. No heat lamps here. So the burger tastes pretty good. Fries are super thin and good enough. No cheese options (only American). No Coke, Pepsi. And they seem to be pimping their fresh custard as well (much like Culver’s, another pretty decent fast food burger), but I did not give it a try.
Oh, they also suffer from the Dry Bun Syndrome, which will be expounded upon in a future post.
I read online this morning that the drive through at Hat Creek’s new location on Burnet (in the home of the old Arby’s) was open for business. Have been looking forward to checking them out. They have a trailer near campus, but I’m rarely down there so have never tried their burgers, and have been awaiting the opening of this new location. It did not disappoint today.
Service was quick, no sign that they aren’t even fully open yet. I opted for the “Big Creek Burger”, which consists of two of their 1/5 lb patties. Burger was extremely juicy and tasty. Fries were great. All-in-all, a delicious burger combo. Looking forward to the full opening.
Hamburglar
4:37 pm on November 1, 2009 Permalink
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Had the same as pictured above. Agree that the burger is quite tasty, although it does not travel so well. By the time the burger arrived home, the lettuce had become flat and limp, same with the meager slice of onion. The pickles held up well, were good, and of an appropriate quantity. The cheddar added a nice sharpness to the overall burger taste. Don’t recall much detail about the bun, other than it seemed to hold up well throughout the meal. All and all a good burger that is probably better enjoyed hot and fresh on the premises.
The standout to the meal were the french fries. Thin sliced, with plenty of evidence of the skins being left on, they were perfectly crisp on the outside. Unlike the burger, they traveled well and were still in great condition upon arrival at home. Only complaint would be the average size of each fry, as we tended to end up with many small pieces that were not as conducive to ketchup dipping.
Hat Creek would become a go to burger stop if not for the stiff competition of both Hillbert’s and Top Notch, both of whom are less than a mile from the house. Hat Creek’s burger does not stand out enough to have me go the extra mile past the above mentioned burger joints. I will surely drop in from time to time, but location and proximity of other burger favorites will preclude me from becoming a Hat Creek regular.
Tommy Ates 8:52 pm on December 24, 2009 Permalink |
White collar workers beware! Somehow, I think Little Red Wagon hamburgers is Texas old school. It doesn’t care about Austin glitz and glamour to sell a burger.