Let me start off by saying this: I thought I knew what made a good burger. I thought I’d had some excellent burgers in my day, and that it would be hard to top those that I felt were worthy of being called “the best.” I was wrong.
When I received an email from the marketing guy from El Chile Group inviting my husband and I out to visit the group’s newest concept, El Sapo, I didn’t know what to expect. Honestly, I wasn’t at all familiar with El Chile Group, or any of their concepts, so blindly, I accepted the invitation, made some reservations for the two of us for Sunday, and went about my business.
When Sunday came around, I decided to do a little research on El Sapo prior to heading out, and what I found was this: El Sapo is situated in an old filling station in the Cherrywood neighborhood of Austin, TX, only a short distance from I-35 on Manor Rd. It’s only a mere 5 months old, and opened up in conjunction with SXSW. They’re touted for serving up “designer” and “Mexicanized” burgers with a punch, yummy bar food, and carefully crafted, Texas-made cocktails. It is quickly gaining steam, and has been featured in a great write up in the Austin Chronicle,The Thrillist’s The best burgers in 15 Austin neighborhoods, as well as their 5 must-eat Austin Sandwiches list.
I had no idea this place was this new, and this hyped. Suddenly, I was really fired up and couldn’t wait to get there! Hurry! Hurry!
We arrived on time, if not a little early (I couldn’t wait!) parked, and were promptly greeted at the front. We were directed to our seat facing the beautifully stocked and arranged Cantina, and were left to take it all in, and peruse the menu.
First impressions:
The staff was REALLY nice, attentive, but not TOO attentive, which I like.
The restaurant was cute, clean and interesting. It features a great bar, a large screen for TV projection, and a cozy outdoor patio for those days when it’s not TOO hot.
The menu is concise, and provides a TON of options with regards to burger taste and composition, including non-beef varieties.
The cocktail list was long, and featured some crazy-insane and amazing sounding drinks. They also have a nice selection of non-alcoholic beverages, from teas and sodas to fresh fruit agua frescas.
Happy hour is generous, and goes from 3-7 p.m., daily. Sweet!
El Sapo’s manager, Scott, came over to our table, and gave us a brief rundown of the history of the place, which mirrored that which I learned from the various articles I read and mentioned above. He was extremely informative, and really got us off to a good start with some recommendations on the menu.
Michael went with the Diablito, a cocktail crafted with pineapple + habanero infused reposado tequila, chamoy, cointreau, chile mango horns, and a surprise! A SURPRISE! (Michael later discovered the surprise was sweet cherry candy surprise hiding at the bottom of the drink. So cool… ) As for me, I decided to go with the watermelon agua fresca, and we decided on the guacamole and house-made chips to whet our palates.
We received our drinks quickly, and boy, were they beautiful. Impressed was an understatement when it came both to the taste, and to the detail that went into the presentations. A great start.
My husband said that the cocktail was perfectly balanced between sweet and spicy, and wasn’t overwhelming in either category, and my watermelon water was undoubtedly fresh. I could just taste it.
Our guacamole came out soon after our libations, and it was beautiful, just as fresh guac should be. Bright green, creamy and full of yummy add-ins, we were ready to dip right in. The homemade chips were thick and salty perfection, and balanced really well against the bright and creamy dip. The guacamole was extra citrusy, which is what the two of us prefer, so, score!
While we snacked on our chips, we decided to TRY to make a decision on what burger we’d get. THERE ARE SO MANY. From the basic to the eccentric, there’s pretty much a burger for every taste or mood. Thankfully, we were in luck with our decision making process, Scott came back over to help us out with our decision.
His personal favorite was the Lamburguesa, made with hand formed lamb patty, grilled queso panela, mixed greens, cucumber slices, red onion, lemon-serrano aioli, and it sounded AMAZING. He also suggested we look at the El Camaron, a hand formed shrimp patty, mixed greens, pickled red onion, lemon-serrano aioli. Shrimp burger? Cray. His final suggestion, the El San Antonio, with beef patty, tostadas, black bean refritos, fire-roasted jalapeños, jack cheese, pico, lettuce, guacamole and creama, sounded both bizarre and delicious.
Michael ended up going with the El Camaron with a side of onion rings, and I settled (finally) on the El San Antonio with the highly recommended cheese fries. Next time, the Lamburguesa will be up to bat, but these two just sounded too unusually spectacular to pass up.
Michael also went ahead and placed an order for the La Güera, a cherry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry-infused Tito’s, lemon, agave, and soda cocktail, while I refreshed my watermelon agua fresca.
It was GORGEOUS. I love, love, love how they take the time to make sure each and every detail was perfect before bringing it to the table. And guess what? It was once again, delicious. According to Scott, the fruit soaks and infuses the vodka for up to a week before they even bring it out to make available, ensuring that the most flavor is seeped into the alcohol. It’s the care and thoughtfulness that goes into the details that really impressed me with El Sapo.
When the burgers came out of the kitchen and were placed in front of us, my jaw literally dropped. No words, you guys. No words. My burger was a true stunner. I mean, what in the world. It was perfectly put together, as if it were getting ready for a magazine cover shot, and Michael’s shrimp burger while beautiful, was more impressive in its aroma. This was the food of heaven itself. I’m not even playing. Just based on looks alone, I was astonished in the best of ways.
But how would I eat this bad boy? I couldn’t begin to pretend that I could wrap my mouth around it. That was just a joke. Michael had no issues diving into his, so while he was busy getting down with his burger, I was busy trying to figure out how to eat mine. I ended up cutting it down the middle, and decided to go with the saying, “If it’s not messy, you’re doing it wrong.”
Simply flawless. Just plain magnificent, incredible, out of this world. Life. Changing. No other words. The crunch from the tostada shell worked in tandum with the creamy black beans and guacamole, while the fiery jalapenos played nicely with the grilled meat and other accoutrement. The bun held together nicely under all the pressure of the miles of ingredients. It was interesting, and kept me wanting more the whole time. The only thing that stopped me was my tummy begging for mercy. “I have no more room!”
At some point, Michael and I traded bites of each of our burgers, and I don’t know how, but that shrimp burger rocked my world. There was no filler in the patty, and somehow it just stayed together just like the beef variation. The chef in the back is obviously some sort of magician. Obviously.
As for the onion rings, Michael couldn’t stop raving on them, saying they’re the best he’s had in a LONG time. He gets the rings everywhere they’re available, so this is saying something. The fries were pretty incredible too. Perfect ratio of fries to cheese and those peppers added a little something-something to really set it off. My word…
While the two of us were in burger ecstasy, Scott came by with a sampler of their seasonal punch. It changes pretty much every week, and goes for $4 each during happy hour. Sweet, right? They’re pretty much giving the stuff away! And apparently, the taste of this Dripping Springs Vodka based strawberry limeade was spot on, once again.
Like I said, I could only get half of my burger down in one sitting, and Michael nearly finished his, but we weren’t done. Not even close. Scott insisted that we try one of their famed Blue Bell banana splits before we called it quits. Somehow I mustered the strength deep inside to continue. I am a fighter, after all.
And boy oh boy, the banana split was spot on, old-fashioned and glorious. Even one of the waitresses walked by, did a double take and exclaimed, “Damn that looks good!” Yes, yes it did.
We did the best we could, but between the chips and guac, mind-melting burgers, and the ice creams with homemade caramel, whipped cream and of course, cherries on top, we were done. Tapped out. Nurse! Get me a wheel chair, and roll me out. Whew.
What an amazing dining experience. From start to finish, service to atmosphere to food, our time spent at El Sapo was impeccable. I thank the folks there from the bottom of my heart for having us out, and we will be back. OH. We will be back.
