Fuddruckers
Fuddruckers is a national burger chain that was founded in San Antonio, TX, by Phil Romano, later of Romano’s Macaroni Grill (which was later acquired by Brinker International). Fuddruckers has been through a number of owners since its inception, and is currently held by Luby’s Cafeterias, another San Antonio concern.
The main thrust of the restaurant has not changed: cooked to order hamburgers of various sizes, a whatever you would desire toppings bar, and hand made shakes and desserts. The burgers come in your choice of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 lb sizes, and all are fresh, and never frozen, patties.
Mrs. Burgerdogboy decided I needed a burger yesterday, and was in a mood for one herself, one of the two times she will probably consume one in 2011. We had heard that Fuddruckers had recently added “exotics” to their menu, and in this case, it meant burgers from your choice of elk, boar, buffalo, or ostrich. A quick call to our nearest location confirmed they had all on hand except ostrich.
Mid Saturday afternoon, and the place was quite busy, there was a line to place your order, and one would assume it would take a bit of time for your food to be up.
I was right on that score, but between Mrs. BDB’s great company (I love spending time with her out and about), and Fuddruckers is one of the many establishments with barrels full of free peanuts, we were able to amuse ourselves while waiting.
There were a great many families present, and we especially enjoyed watching the rituals of some of the children, whether they were filling their soft drinks at the soda spigots, or decorating their own burgers.
The pager the cashier had given us buzzed, indicating our food was ready to be picked up. I played fetch, for my 1/2 bacon cheddar beef burger (seriously thought about the boar, because I usually am one), and Mrs. BDB went with the elk. She had been craving elk for some time, and she was happy to know it was on the menu at Fuddruckers.
The patties were cooked to our specifications, and I loaded dill pickle chips, sliced onion, and yellow mustard on mine, and Mrs. BDB went for the works: tomato, lettuce, mayo, jalapenos, sport peppers, and pickles. My beef burger was perfectly fine, Mrs. BDB wished there was a little more elkiness in her elk burger.
The fresh baked buns are a delight.
The onion rings were nothing special, doubtful they are made in house, and the fries (potato wedges) were highly seasoned and a little short on crispness.
But it was an enjoyable outing, a little spendy for burgers. I’ve been one other time in the past 18 months, and that was after a hiatus of maybe 20 years.
Not sure when I will be back, but you should check out the exotic burgers if you are into that kind of cuisine.
Fuddruckers 1/2 lb bacon cheddar beef burger
