Austin has no shortage of quality hamburger joints, and what Texan doesn’t like a big beefy burger?

While most everyone knows about great Austin hamburger spots like P Terry’s, Hopdoddy, Mighty Fine, Counter Cafe, Black Sheep Lodge, & Burger Tex (many of which made the Texas Monthly list of the top 50 burgers in Texas), there are other great spots that are off most people’s radar.

Today I’d like to introduce you to two excellent burger destinations in Austin, one so far off the beaten path not many people know about it, and one too new to make any superlative lists – both definitely worth a visit.

1. Wild Bubba’s Wild Game Grill serves exotic game burgers and is located 10 minutes past the Austin airport
2. Collie’s Serious Burgers is a recently opened gourmet burger trailer on South Lamar near 290.

Wild Bubba’s Wild Game Grill

Wild Bubba’s is a working class, no frills burger joint that specializes in wild game.  They are well known for their antelope burgers (pictured at the top of this post), but are known to occasionally stock wild boar, venison, elk, kangaroo, and axis (an exotic deer).  Occasionally even more exotic game such as bear, ostrich, and yak make an appearance, but I haven’t been lucky enough to try those yet.

Wild Bubba’s has pictures of many of these animals hanging on the wall, which doesn’t make for a fancy dining experience at all, but there is a certain charm to having a ‘picture menu’ of the animals that go between the buns and into your belly.

The burgers here are very straight forward 1/3 pound patties served with the standard tomato, pickle, and lettuce. The real big difference here are the unique and robust flavors of the game meat that give the burgers a punch. I highly recommend their antelope burger, which tastes a lot like lean beef with a kick and a hint of venison.

I’m also a fan of the Wild boar burger, which tastes like leaner, gamey ground pork belly.

Burgers run from about $6 for your standard beef burger to $9 for the specialty exotic game burgers.

In summary, Wild Bubba’s is a pure Texas working man’s hangout (I think I heard the song “God Bless Texas” on the jukebox 7 times during my meal there), but for the bizarre foods eater like me, this is a must see.

If you still aren’t convinced, Wild Bubba’s currently has a perfect score on Yelp.

You can see a sample menu and learn about the history of Wild Bubba’s at wildbubbas.com

 

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Collie’s Real Serious Burgers

A month ago I had the pleasure of attending a media tasting at the newSouth Lamar Trailer Bazaar. UPDATE Nov 7, 2012 – they’ve moved to 415 Jessie Street Austin, TX 78704. Out of all of the trailers, one stood out for it’s delicious, flavorful beefy hamburgers that were a cut above – Collie’s Real Serious Burgers.

Owner / operator Rob Collie himself served us the original Collie’s Signature cheeseburger, which is made from a half pound of ground beef served with lettuce, tomato, a pickle, and cheese.

Biting into the burger yielded unanimous praise from my fellow tasters (all with discerning palletes) and audible “wows” could be heard from neighboring tables. Collie’s burgers yielded one of the most flavorful bites I’ve ever had in a hamburger – I suspect the secret has to do with the fact that each patty consists of half chuck and half brisket.

As the name of the trailer sugguests, Mr. Collie is serious about his burgers – he spoke with passion about his lifelong desire to open a restaurant and the quest for the perfect bun to complement his burger patties.

One notable side we had at Collie’s were the moist and delicious apple fries, which are sliced apples strips that have been deep fried and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They taste like a slightly healthier version of the inside of McDonald’s apple pies of days gone (when they used to deep fry them).

As if you needed more of a reason to check out Collie’s…. early reviews on Yelp are outstanding (averaging 5 out of 5 stars).

For more information about Collie’s and a sample menu, go to ColliesBurgers.com.

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Has anyone been to either of these delicious burger joints? Let us know what you think of them in the comments!

Happy Tasting,
Peter