50 Burger Challenge

Rayzor - Crown & Anchor Pub - austin, tx - burger #41

Mushroom Swiss Burger. This place has always made an excellent burger. 8/10.

Rayzor - Wild Bubba's Wild Game Grill - elroy, tx - burger #40

Elk Burger. Elk was flavorful but a little gristly. Supposedly yak is a good one to try. 6/10.

Rayzor - Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Slaughter Lane - austin, tx - burger #39

Avocado & Pesto Hamburger. Got the best picture I could :-). Burger was surprisingly good, 8/10.

Rayzor - Zax Restaurant and Bar - austin, tx - burger #38

Blues Burger. Onion rings were an interesting touch, but otherwise the burger wasn't outstanding. 6/10.

Rayzor - Opal Divine's Austin Grill Penn Field - austin, tx - burger #37

Hatch Chile Burger, 7/10.

Rayzor - Plucker's Wing Bar S. Lamar - austin, tx - burger #36

The Bypass Burger. Burgers are not the thing to get here. 5/10.

Rayzor - Phil's Icehouse S. Lamar - austin, tx - burger #35

78704. Not bad, but I usually have to get it to go because of all the screaming children :-). 7/10.

Rayzor - Peached Tortilla truck - austin, tx - burger #34

Jam Jam burger. Really good, but REALLY messy. 9/10.

Rayzor - Waterloo Ice House Circle C - austin, tx - burger #33

Mushroom Swiss Burger. It was alright, tater tots are always good. 6/10.

Rayzor - Jack Allen's Kitchen Oak Hill - austin, tx - burger #32

Green Chile Cheeseburger. Another thick juicy burger, 9/10.

Rayzor - Bar Louie - austin, tx - burger #31

Blue Louie. Decent burger, a bit overcooked, but you can't go wrong with buffalo blue cheese. 7/10.

Rayzor - North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery - austin, tx - burger #30

Angus beef burger w/Huntsman cheese. Great juicy burger, good bun. 9/10.

Rayzor - Mettle - Austin, tx - burger #29

Cheeseburger, medium rare. Very good burger, properly cooked. 9/10.

Rayzor - Logan's Roadhouse - wichita falls, tx - burger #28

Picture lost when phone died.

Mushroom & Swiss burger. This is a chain found all over the south, so it's a good go-to for a decent burger: 8/10.

Rayzor - Top Notch Hamburger - austin, tx - burger #27

Picture lost when phone died.

Double Cheeseburger w/jalapenos. Old school Austin, very smokey-tasting patties. Pretty good overall, 6/10.

Rayzor - Jungle Burger - greenville, tx - burger #26

Picture lost when phone died.

The Jungle Burger, another messy one. 7/10.

Rayzor - The Texas Cuban - austin, tx - burger #25

Picture lost when phone died.

Cuban Cheeseburger, on Cuban bread. Big and messy, but pretty good. 7/10.

nutsandboltons - In N Out - Round Rock, TX - SH50

I've been waiting for these guys to get here for a long time. When they finally opened, it was two weeks before the queue was short enough to justify the wait. Double-double animal style with animal-style fries. The fries themselves were a bit disappointing - I don't think they changed the oil from the previous day. the burger was exactly what I was looking for, though. 7/10.

nutsandboltons - Gourdoughs Public House - Austin - SH49

Chili burger on a donut bun? Sign me up! The chips are pretty good, but really kind of unnecessary. The burger is big enough to stand on its own. Actually, it's a bit too big, so I'm docking a point. The chili's solid, though, and the burger's good. The donut bun is a lot more subdued and bread-like than I was expecting, which is a good thing. A sweet glazed donut would have ruined the experience. 7/10.

nutsandboltons - Austin Ale House - Austin - SH28

Burger was pretty good. Fries were just ok. Service was sub-par. 5/10

Biliruben - Dan's - ATX - #50

7 / 10

Name: Large Cheeseburger
Toppings: LTOC(A)Mu
Patty: 1/3 med. well
Taste: The patty is seasoned nicely and the buns toasted and buttered. Definitely not one to miss. But more importantly, it's number 50 and I'm done!

Slow Ride - on on to 2014 with fish and booze

Hi, folks, thanks for your indulgences while I did the kebabs-instead-of-burgers. Next year, I'm doing two on my own (one: fish and chips at least every 7 days and two: a different adult beverage every day...could be one of the thousands of ales, or a cocktail, a wine, but it has to be unique each day).

It has been fun, these last two years. Feel free to stop by for a visit if you find yourselves near Swindon (floor space if you want to crash for a night) or Oxford (to see what a modern chemistry lab looks like in a University that predates Columbus' voyage by 300+ years. And, we can go for a bit of a pub crawl while you're there.

Anyways, adios bitches. Stay in touch.

drSR,

send a comment to the blog, here, if you want to get in touch

Slow Ride - end of year summary

Notes here, but essentially:

1) I don't want to see a kebab for awhile

2) 2014 is a year of Fish and Chips for me (new place at least every 7 days)

3) Shooting for a different beverage each day in 2014, as well.

Happy New Year and best to all. Drop a line if y'all find yourselves in Oxford or Western England.

Slow Ride - Posh Nosh - Oxford - kebab #57

3/10 Last kebab of the year (maybe two years) deserves better than this...but the night was young. Review here: http://1pumplane.wordpress.com/2013/12/28/posh-nosh-oxford-kpw-for-week-53/

Animoul / Waffle House / Thornton, CO / #50

Cheeseburger: 10 / 10

pjtravels - Fuddrucker's - Cedar Park, TX - burger #49

5/10
Decent in a pinch. A bit overseasoned. Sweet potato fries were stale and uninspired.

Biliruben - Waterloo Ice House - ATX - #49

6 / 10

Name: Mushroom Swiss
Toppings: LTOC(s)MuMa
Patty: 1/4 med well
Taste: good burger. Tends to fall apart

pjtravels - Omni Hotel - Austin, TX - burger #48

7/10 Angus beef sliders at the company Christmas party - a nicely cooked burger ingeniously brightened by the pickled vegetables (like fatty banh mi cut with sweet/sour carrots and jicama).

Animoul / In-N-Out / Pacific Beach, CA / #49

Cheeseburger: 10 / 10

Slow Ride - Korky's - Swindon - kebab #56

4/10 Unremarkable but I needed ballast for the Xmas eve drinks. Review here:

JP - Snarf Burger - Lafayette - #51

Awesome burger!

Animoul / Slater's 50/50 / San Diego, CA / #48

Bacon burger: 10 / 10

Biliruben - Russell's Bistro - ATX - #48

7 / 10

Name: Capital Burger
Toppings: LTOC(c)MaP
Patty: 1/3 lb med
Taste: pretty tasty. The bun has a nice sweet taste with a toasted inside. Get it with the crab macaroni.

JP - Cafe Blue - Gunbarrel CO - #50

Bacon Cheesebuger

Beer: Dales Pale Ale

Animoul / Sea 'N Air Bowling / Coronado, CA / #47

Hamburger: 10 / 10

pjtravels - Bob's Place - Avon, CO - burger #47

4/10. Toppings were nice, but docked a point for dry bun and patty.

JP - Pinewood Social - Nashville - #49

Cheeseburger and a whiskey cocktail for breakfast....

Animoul / Board & Brew / Carlsbad, CA / #46

House burger: 10 / 10

pjtravels - McCoy's Cafe - Beaver Creek, CO - burger #46

6/10. Surprisingly good - I kinda liked the cold veggies on a warm burger.

Slow Ride - Kebab & Pizza House - Marlborough, Wiltshire - kebab #55

4/10 The lamb in this must have died from eating a truckload of salt blocks. Review here: http://1pumplane.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/kebab-and-pizza-house-marlborough-wiltshire-kpw-for-week-51/

pjtravels - Celtic Tavern - Denver, CO - burger #45

5/10. Chophouse had a long wait and many other places were closed for Christmas parties, so found the closest open restaurant. Bison burger was decent. Interestingly, the place allowed offsite betting.

Animoul / Roberto's / Del Mar, CA / #45

Carne Asada Torta: 10 / 10

pjtravels - Z'tejas - Austin, TX - burger #44

6/10z. They no longer offer my favorite salad, so I had to order a burger. Surprisingly tasty.

pjtravels - Bluefin - Austin, TX - burger #43

3/10. Somewhat surprised that I don't have food poisoning today after eating this burger. Meat was tasteless, though I did like the sweet bun.

pjtravels - BJ's - Austin, TX - burger #42

6/10. Surprisingly tasty.

Biliruben - Whataburger - ATX - #47

8 / 10

Name: Double Cheese Burger
Toppings: LTOPC(a)
Patty: 2x 1/4 lb, medium
Taste: Fantastic! When I lobbied to allow small national chains and local chains in the challenge, this is why. Whataburger is traditionally underrated because it's a fast food chain. They may not be the best burger, but they just might be the best fast food burger. of course, it helps if you're a fan of salt and mustard. They don't hold back in either.