Saturday, November 10, 2007

Lunch Report: SA Burger

I am constantly looking for a better burger place to add to my list of potential dining selections for times that I might need to grab a bite away from my desk at work or firing up my own grill at home. Wednesday, the stars aligned and we had a rare opportunity for my wife and I to meet up with both of our kids for lunch. Since we were coming from different directions, I looked in the back of the Taste section of the Express-News and found an address for SA Burger on SW Military Drive right at I-35.

I have often found that some of the best food you can find comes from the hole in the wall type place, or the greasy little kitchen off the side of a bar; I wonder if this is what the SA Burger folks had in mind.
Located in one of the those strip center places next to the Mayan Movie Theater, you get the immediate feeling that you are about to enter a bar. That isn't a bad thing I suppose, but some of the signs on the door didn't necessarily give me that, "Welcome to Applebees, You Neighborhood Bar and Grill" sort of feeling.But, the last thing I am is snobby! My goal was a good burger and fast! Once inside, the place did look like the owner wasn't sure if they were going for a bar or a restaurant. There used to be a TV commercial where it showed a corner business. At the start of the commercial, the business is a coffee shop of sorts. Then, as the morning fades, the shop is transformed into a clothing store or something - the coffee pots magically fold up and shelves with clothes fold out. Even later, the clothing store transforms into a restaurant or bar. I don't even recall what the commercial was about, but the idea was using the same space for multiple users at different times. SA Burger didn't see that commercial. Half the place looks like a restaurant and the other half looks like it may have previously been a bar, or maybe after we left, it transformed; I don't know.

Okay, the only thing you should take from all this is, this is not a good place to impress your date or a snobby client. But if you want a big burger, read on.
The menu is boldly posted right at the register so you place your order then find a seat. I love this type of set-up because if you can't figure out what you want, you can step aside and let someone in line behind you order. A very important thing to understand: You can dress your burger yourself at the fixins bar, so don't get all wrapped around the axle about what comes on each burger, like I did.I ordered the El Rancho burger: A huge burger with Jack cheese, topped with grilled jalapeno halves and avocado slices. I added some mayo, BBQ sauce, pickles and onions and I'm gonna tell you, it was darn tasty. My son ordered the SA Burger with cheese. This is basically a slab of burger with cheese and it is left up to you to dress it however you'd like. Quite a good deal. And of course, there are other selections like sandwiches, and such. My daughter opted to try the fried chicken tenders. She took a few bites then announced us all that through careful evaluation of her taste buds, she was able to discern for her self the chef's secret ingredients for the chicken tenders. She then stated, "I shall now give you the list of ingredients used t prepare this chicken: Flour." I guess that would be a no-go on the chicken tenders.So wrapping up here, I can't say anything really negative about SA Burger. I was very pleased with my burger and honestly, the burgers are huge and the steak fries were just fried right. Oh, big bonus: They serve beer on draft and in bottles and they had a few TV's on with sports if you are looking for that sort of atmosphere.They should perhaps hire an interior decorator or have one of those reality home design show people come in and give the place the once over. But as a take out place, or if you are just looking for a place to grab a burger, go fort it.

Two Tasty Treats...

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