Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Mighty Fine

The wife and I just ate at Mighty Fine Burgers and Shakes, a new burger joint in Austin that is similar to restaurants of the “In and Out" burger chain.

The first decision that you must make, upon being asked for your order, is what size patty you desire, half pound or quarter pound? Next, how do you want your burger dressed? The "Yellow" burger is dressed with mustard, the "Red" with ketchup and the "White" with mayonnaise, and of course any combination of the three is possible. Now, do you want cheese, bacon or jalapeños, or all three? Your not done yet. You have a choice of the usual trimmings - onion, pickle, tomato and lettuce.

The lettuce is not whole leaf (as at In and Out) but shredded, which I believe to be a mistake, but more on that later.

Bottled soda, fountain drinks and handmade shakes are also offered.

I stepped up to the counter and ordered the half pound burger dressed in white, with all the trimmings, fries and lemonade. My wife ordered the quarter pound burger dressed with all colors and trimmings and a vanilla shake. Each order was written on a small white paper bag, along with our names. I was handed my lemonade before I left the counter.

We found two seats in the very busy (it was lunch time) large dining room at one of the many long community tables all with folding metal chairs. My wife’s name was called quickly and she was handed her shake. In about five minutes we were handed our orders in the white bags with our names still on the outside.

The sandwich was tightly wrapped, something that is important to a quality burger because it helps retain heat. The bun of my burger was very ordinary and instead of adding flavor and texture to the overall product, it contributed little.

The patty, large as expected, had little flavor as a result of the low fat content of the beef and a general lack of seasoning. The low fat content also resulted in a crumbly texture in the mouth, and a lack of chewiness; problems shared with the patties served at Fuddruckers and In and Out. The lack of seasoning was no doubt deliberate since there was seasoning salt on the table for the diner to apply as may be desired and a liberal dose of seasoning made much improvement. Next time I will know to season before taking a bite.

The tomato, pickle and onion did their job adding flavor, texture and bite while the shredded lettuce added nothing. A single whole leaf of iceberg lettuce would have added the contrast of cold to the patty’s heat and crunch to the softness of the bun.

The shake was rich and creamy, had a wonderful vanilla flavor and was absolutely spectacular.

The burgers served at Mighty Fine are certainly as good as those served at In and Out.


3 comments:

Mommy said...

Have you tried 5 Guys yet? I think they are a chain out of Maryland or DC but they have a few here in the Philadelphia area now and beyond being fabulous, hand made patties with the right fat content, they use whole leaf iceberg lettuce. They remind me of the frying pan hamburgers you made us growing up.

Love,
Poppie's daughter (Mommy)

RoadFoodMaven said...

See Jan 18, 2008 posting.

SFBart said...

You are using my photo of Mighty Fine Burgers without attribution. Please remove it.