Keep Austin, and its Burgers, Weird |
There are a lot of great burgers to choose from in Austin. But when I visit the city I don’t eat them because they’ve already been covered on Burger Weekly and I endeavor to bring you news of the best burgers you haven’t heard of. Enter El Sapo, an East Austin restaurant that has a huge burger menu, many of which dress in the costume of other cuisine. What do I mean by that?
Burgers Ordered: El San Antonio and the Chalupa Burger
The Taste: Mexican restaurants sometimes season their beef to make their patties taste more in line with taco beef. I am not a fan of that technique. I much prefer what happens at El Sapo. The thin beef patty is seasoned traditionally (and tastes great), and the Mexican pastiche is exhibited through the burger’s toppings. El San Antonio was described to me as a seven layer bean dip on top of a burger, and that turned out to be pretty accurate. It was topped with a tostada, black bean refritos, fire-roasted jalapeños, jack cheese, pico, lettuce, guacamole & crema. I thought the tostada was a bit of overkill and I think, as always, that beans don’t really belong on a burger, but aside from that I was kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed the burger.
The Chalupa Burger was almost the same burger, but the tostadas replaced the buns on this one, rather than being sandwiched within. If you’re trying to decide between the two, I’d go with El San Antonio because it was more structurally sound. That said, the Chalupa Burger is a good option for people with gluten phobias.
The Verdict: This is a really fun approach to the Mexican burger. Keep the patty classic, and dress it up however you like.
El Sapo is located at 1900 Manor Road in Austin, Texas.
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