WhatABurger, according to my brother, is Texas’ answer to California’s In-N-Out. Just even trying to do that puts high expectations, as few places can be quite as delicious as In-N-Out. Hell, even our governator took out some foreign dignitary to In-N-Out to show case California. So how did Texas compare to California? Like most things from Texas, WhatABurger has big claims with small results.

Now before I go onto the full review, I should explicitly disclaim my bias. I love California, and generally make fun of Texas, just like most of America. The WalMart here is bigger than the biggest Costco I’ve seen, people love their trucks, but alas Texans truly do have a heart and everyone I’ve met here was extremely friendly. They also love their state and proudly proclaim “Texan Style”. Good for them. A+ for pride.

I also some bias due to the nature of how I indulged in WhatABurger. First and foremost, I flew into Austin at 11 PM, eating McDonalds in John Wayne Airport at 5 PM. Therefore, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to fully savor or crave a good burger. Also, here I am in Austin trying to find something to eat ,which according to some people I asked, gave me three options: Denny’s, IHOP, and WhatABurger. Since the first two exist in California, I opted for the third. My brother and I go on an expedition to WhatABurger with my brother getting the standard hamburger, while I got the crispy chicken sandwich. Both combos of course! However, after getting our food at 1 AM (Never a good time for the freshest fast food), we had to drive an additional 10 minutes to the hotel, leaving the fries and burger soggy. My expectations soon shot up in the hotel lobby as another group of folks saw our WhatABurger bags and began to drool. Go us ☺.

Finally, now with the prelude set, in the hotel room, I opened the grease bathed bag and ran WhatABurger through my taste testing tongue. The initial impression I had was oh my god, that’s a ton of food for $4.65! Texas is cheap. +1. The crispy chicken sandwich had the standard things, a bun, golden crispy fried chicken, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The chicken piece actually had a good bunch of chicken with relatively little breading compared to something you would get in Wendy’s or Jack in the Box. The chicken was also pretty juicy, and was not overpowered by the mayo, which is something fast food joints are notorious for in LA. Now what I’m not sure is if the juiciness came from sitting in a hot bag gathering steam or it is naturally such. (Is this even possible?). As for the fries, they were already soggy so I reserve judgment for another day. Finally, the drink size for a small is equal to a middle size at LA fast food restaurants. I’d say it was pretty good for a crispy chicken sandwich, better than most.

As for the hamburger, it was pretty bland and dry. Too much mustard for my taste, but if you love mustard, won’t you be happy!

Overall, WhatABurger isn’t close to In-N-Out. I’m sure their fries are better than In-N-Outs, but that’s easy to do. Overall, if in Texas, do as the Texans do and eat WhatABurger, but I don’t think I’ll have cravings any time soon.

Ahh the Salt Lick, used to give nutrients to animals like cows! What a great name for a BBQ restaurant. My cousin and their friends all recommended this place as awesome BBQ in Austin. CitySearch proclaimed it the best BBQ in Austin. That’s a tall order considering Texas is famous for its grilling prowess. So it’s Saturday night, and here I have a craving for dead animal. Where do we go? In Harold and Kumar fashion (minus the weed), we go on a road trip to find the best BBQ in Austin: The Salt Lick.

We get in our car and put the Salt Lick into our GPS. Our jaws drop to find it 25 miles OUTSIDE of Austin in a small city called Driftwood. Well, when you’re on a mission to eat BBQ, few things will stop you. As we drive out of Austin, I notice that the area becomes increasingly rural and fast. The final road to the Salt Lick is a windy one-lane road that tours through farmland, with rich farm estates that would be worth millions in a city like LA/NY. Driving by these massive estates, I began to see things moving…. Animals. How Strange.. live cows. Looks good! Must mean that the meat I’m about to eat was shot prior a day earlier. *Sniff, ahh smell the freshness

For a good 10-15 miles, the road gets windier, the estates bigger, the area more rural, and the amount of cows increase. This is the Middle America you always hear about, the Heartland. Upon arriving at the Salt Lick, my eyes expand wide open in amazement at the vastness of this place. Barely anyone was on the road, and here at the Salt Lick, were hundreds of people waiting for a taste. The parking lot is all dirt, Texas sheriffs are here to keep the peace, traffic control personal are on the scene to keep things flowing. The parking lot is the size of a Costco. Two tour buses had dropped off people. Damn this must be awesome.

Upon stepping out of the car, hickory smoke fills my nostrils. My stomach growls, yearning for meat. The carnivore in me roars. There are two buildings with stacks of smoke bellowing. As we enter the entrance to put our name down, we see about a hundred people outside on benches waiting for their turn. The most amazing thing is that most people here have coolers overflowing with beer. It’s a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bear) place. Texas, props for public BYOB.

With such high expectations, could the BBQ be that great? After 40 minutes of waiting at the Salt Lick, and a 30 minute drive, how was it? For an affordable $20, you get a feast of all you can eat pork ribs, beef brisket, and sausage swimming in Texas BBQ sauce in addition to coleslaw, beans, bread, and of course potatoes. Biting into the sausage, spices dance on my mouth, something that is rare for me as I usually am not a sausage fan. The sauce has the texture of light gravy with just a subtle but noticeable hint of smoky BBQ. I eagerly move onto the beef brisket, thinly cut, drenched in sauce. Sadly, the sauce is the only thing that makes it good as the brisket is too dry, however tender. Finally, the ribs have a crunch but not potato chip hardness that makes each mouthful quite a combination of crunchy with tender pork. Each bite is a little taste of heaven on earth, being pretty good but a few stops short of god like. Too bad the ribs were not baby back, as they really could hit amazing.

Driving back stuffed with three dead animals, I pondered was it worth it? For a first time in Austin, I say it’s a good experience. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good BBQ. However, the question is: would I spend over an hour just for that BBQ again? I don’t think so unless certain conditions arose:

1) I brought my own beer (The Sheriffs are drinking too lol).
2) I had over 8 friends with someone being a designated driver.
3) I had run prior to driving out. (Gotta pack in more dead cow).

Now with all the pondering done, excuse me as I try to walk from a full stomach.