Second Helpings: Burger-Mania, Part Two

Second Helpings

Top Notch

Monday-Saturday, 11am-8pm

Curbside service and the “special sauce” are the noteworthy aspects of the Top Notch experience. They smear Thousand Island dressing on both sides of a plain, non-toasted roll. The large, hand-formed, charbroiled patty is enhanced by good quality lettuce and tomatoes plus tangy dill slices that work in concert with the sweet dressing for an all-around good burger.

Trudy’s

Saturday, 8am-2am; Sunday, 8am-midnight

The beautiful, open-faced burgers here are so big and so pleasing, you can’t do them justice if you fill up on Trudy’s award-winning hot sauce and chips, so pace yourself. The substantial buns (regular, whole grain, or onion roll) are buttered and grilled, the better to hold the half-pound patty, cooked to your specifications. Then add fresh fixins, the cheese of your choice, spicy chipotle mayo and/or stone ground mustard, and plenty of thick, crisp bacon. Don’t be ashamed to ask for extra napkins — they’ll be necessary.

Hut’s

Daily, 11am-10pm

Hut’s is a perennial favorite in the annual Chronicle Restaurant Reader’s Poll with 20 variations on the basic theme. Each burger comes on a well-prepared foundation, is cooked to a happy medium and is thick and flavorful enough to stand up to whichever of the myriad toppings strike your fancy. Don’t miss the Wednesday Two-for-One burger special, famous as one of the best deals in town.

Fran’s Hamburgers

Daily, 6am-10pm

South Austin’s strongest drive-in contender, Fran’s offers burgers in three sizes to fit any appetite. Griddle-toasted buns and flavorful patties make for a drippingly good experience — you’ll be grateful for the wax paper wrappers. Fran’s milk shakes are also a winner. The Cameron Road outlet serves hearty country breakfast fare every morning before they start serving burgers.

Dan’s Hamburgers

Sunday-Thursday, 6am-10pm; Friday & Saturday, 6am-11pm

Though Don Walser and his wife are regular breakfast customers at the Manchaca location, we still think of Dan’s for burgers where they are still the same tasty, reliable standby we’ve come to depend on over the years. The medium-sized bacon cheeseburger comes dressed with plenty of crisp bacon, melted cheese, a thick slice of ripe tomato, and a mound of shredded lettuce. Warm and juicy, it hits the burger spot.

The Filling Station

Monday-Thursday, 11am-11pm; Friday & Saturday, 11am-1am; Sunday, 11am-9pm

Wheel in here for the Ethyl Burger, three-fourths pound of pure ground beef, cooked to order, and dressed with your choice of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, chopped onions, grilled onions, bacon, cheese, chili, sautéed mushrooms, hickory sauce, and/or jalapeños. Less robust appetites can opt for the regular burger, a mere six ounces of beef with all the same options.

Sandy’s Frozen Custard

Daily, 10:30am-10:30pm

Time was when Sandy’s little hamburger shack was the only place to stop for refreshments on the way to and from Barton Springs. These days, there are plenty of other options, but Sandy’s juicy burgers and soft-serve frozen custard maintain a huge and loyal following. Join the long line of burger lovers who gather here at noon every day and you’ll see just what we mean.

Mike’s Pub

Monday-Friday, 11am-8pm; Saturday, 11am-6pm

Mike’s has been serving up some of Austin’s best burgers since 1962 and we know 40 years of loyal downtown business customers can’t be wrong. You won’t find any prefab, preformed fast food items at Mike’s. Regulars love the burgers here because the meat is ground fresh every day and the fries are fresh cut, never frozen. Burgers the way they were meant to be.