Q: Where you havin’ lunch? A: Your Mom’s
Editor’s Note: Your Mom’s closed May 2014. Read a letter from the owners here.
If you’ve been looking for the best burgers in Austin, you’ve come to the right place. This post is part of a series on The Austinot.
All the posts in this series start with “Search for the Best Burger Joint in Austin” in the title. Remember, I’m looking at not only the burgers, but the experience as a whole.
You’ll always get an honest take on the burger joints that I’ve visited. I’m not on any burger joint’s payroll. Agree or disagree, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
First Impression of Your Mom’s Burger Bar in Austin
First of all, it’s fun to say. When a friend asks, “Hey where you wanna go for lunch?” you can reply with “Your Mom’s!” and actually mean it! Second of all, it’s really cool when you learn that Your Mom’s Burger Bar was formed from a dream and originally funded by taking music equipment to a pawn shop.
Ryan Blackmore, owner of Your Mom’s Burger Bar
Once upon a time, Your Mom’s had a location on Caesar Chavez, but they shut it down. According to company’s website, the Chavez location was shut down due to “poor choice of accounting services coupled with a few employees who stole over the years and straight up bad management.”
Unfortunate story, but this is one of the things I like about the folks behind Your Mom’s Burger Bar. They are straightforward, transparent and not afraid of mistakes they’ve made along the way. Since the Chavez location was shut down, attention has been focused on Your Mom’s sole location at 5001 Airport Blvd.
I’m thankful they didn’t shut down everything because Your Mom’s Burger Bar serves up a burger worthy of admiration.
For those who have been following the series, you may know that Austinot guest blogger and friend Kat Mandelstein has a companion series to mine, on the best veggie burger in Austin. She joined me for lunch at Your Mom’s (and her veggie burger review will be coming soon).
We placed our order and sat down in a comfortable open space. while classic rock tunes poured out over the speakers.
Your Mom’s Burger Bar is located at 5001 Airport Blvd. – slightly north of the I-35 exit
Austinot Eric’s Burger Review Criteria
If you’ve read my other articles in this series, you’ll know that I rate burger joints using a 1-10 scale, with 5 being Average. (Don’t be a hater. If I rate you a 5, that means you were average.)
Roughly speaking, a score of 1 translates to “worst ever,” while 10 translates to “God handcrafted this himself.” Remember, you are free to disagree with me. This is just my honest take.
When reviewing a burger joint, these are my categories:
- Burger Patties
- Bun
- Cheese
- Messiness
- Garnish
- Burger Taste
- Fries
- Atmosphere
- Cleanliness
- Other Factors
Burger Joint Review: Your Mom’s Burger Bar
Look at the thickness of that bacon
- Burger Patties = 8. Thick and juicy burger patty that left little to be desired.
- Bun = 9. The bun was nearly perfect, slightly toasted. Just look at the photo. It didn’t fall apart during the meal and was ample enough to cover the sizable patty. You won’t be disappointed here.
- Cheese = 6. Real cheese that accompanied the burger well. Nothing outstanding here, but nothing wrong.
- Messiness = 7. The sizable bun didn’t stop the shredded lettuce and juicy burger from leaving a drip of a mess. That’s a plus in my book. Bravo, Your Mom’s! Keep ’em messy!
- Garnish = 10. Take a look at the photo again. That is the thickest cut bacon I’ve ever had on a burger. Fresh shredded lettuce is always a plus, and thickly sliced tomatoes made the garnish perfect.
- Taste = 9. This burger was melt-in-your-mouth kind of good. Arguably among the very best I’ve had.
- Fries = 9. Okay, can these guys do anything wrong? Their fries are fantastic. Not the thin and crispy fast food style fries. Not the overly thick steak fries, but a fresh and nearly perfect meeting in the middle. Well seasoned.
- Atmosphere = 7. It’s a cool joint. Your Mom’s has artwork on the walls from various local artists, including the talented William K. Stidham. Aluminum siding, great music, and random fun. They lose a little for the TV cord which was draped haphazardly and shamelessly down the wall. But hey, if you don’t go to Your Mom’s Burger Bar because of a TV cord, you’re a fool.
- Cleanliness = 8. Far above average in cleanliness, though there were a few discrepancies (like crumbs on tables) that I noticed here and there.
- Other Factors = 7. Your Mom’s Burger Bar has a cool name, was bootstrap funded by hocking things at a pawn shop and has learned from mistakes. Much respect to Owner Ryan and his wife Gina for pursuing their dream and creating a great place for locals to go to.
Bottom Line on Your Mom’s Burger Bar in Austin: 8.0 out of 10
Overall Score = 8.0. The overall score is the average of the 10 categories.
Willie Nelson Burger? You’ll have to check it out
Coming in with a score of 8.0, as of this writing Your Mom’s Burger Bar is in second place on my search for the best burger joint in Austin. The burgers are melt in your mouth good, the fries are fantastic and the staff is really cool.
The addition of local artwork and the tenacity of the owners make this place extra special.
For the purposes of this review, I ordered the “Norma Jean” with bacon. But their specialty is stuffed burgers. I can tell you that I’m definitely going to go back and try one of their stuffed burgers. Oh and by the way, their onion rings looked great, though I haven’t tried them yet.
If you are looking for the best burger in Austin, this may be it. It falls second on my list so far, but it only came in second by one tenth of a point.
I highly suggest you check out Your Mom’s Burger Bar for yourself. When you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
And so my…
Search for the Best Burger Joint in Austin Continues
So far, of burger joints in Austin reviewed on the Austinot, here is the scorecard:
#2 – score 8.0 – Your Mom’s Burger Bar (Tied for 2nd so far) CLOSED see below.
#2 – score 8.0 – Opal Divine’s Freehouse (Tied for 2nd so far) 6th Street location CLOSED see below.
#4 – score 7.6 – Phil’s Icehouse
#5 – score 7.2 – Casino El Camino
#6 – score 7.1 – Crown & Anchor Pub
#7 – score 7.05 – Dirty Martin’s Place
#8 – score 7.0 – Billy’s on Burnet (Tied for 8th so far)
#8 – score 7.0 – Moonie’s Burger House (Tied for 8th so far)
#9 – score 6.9 – Mighty Fine Burgers
#10 – score 6.7 – Wholly Cow Burgers
#11 – score 6.4 – Nau’s Enfield Drug
#12 – score 5.9 – Old School Bar and Grill
Burger joints that have shut down since they were reviewed:
1. Opal Divine’s (The 6th street location is closed but they have other locations so give them a try.)
2. Your Mom’s Burger Bar (The owners decided to buy an RV and see the country. But they did write a farewell letter to Austin. We’ll miss you Your Mom’s!)
Other places that have been suggested to review:
- 2nd Bar + Kitchen
- 24 Diner
- Austin Land and Cattle
- Austin Java
- Black Sheep Lodge
- Blue Star Cafeteria
- Burger Tex 2 on Guadalupe
- Cain and Abel’s
- Counter Cafe
- Cow Bells
- Dan’s Hamburgers
- Dart Bowl
- Foreign and Domestic
- Fran’s Hamburgers
- Hat Creek
- Hill’s Cafe
- Hideout Pub
- Hoover’s Cooking
- Hopdoddy
- Hula Hut
- Hut’s Hamburgers
- Jack Allen’s Kitchen
- Jackalope
- Lambert
- Luke’s Inside Out
- Parkside
- Ski Shores
- South Congress Cafe
- Sputnik
- Top Notch
Got one you’d like added to the list? Comment and let us know! (Only suggestions of burger joints founded in Austin will be added.)
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@EricHighland asks:
I’d love to hear what you have to say. Do you agree or disagree with me on Your Mom’s Burger Bar? Do you know of any places that I need to add to my list?
This place is awesome. Their burgers are ridiculous! I even bought a tee-shirt. -Kristin
@abd79b8935a78adde1eb3d99edc24079:disqus what is your personal fave burger joint in Austin?
That’s a tough question. So many good ones! My faves: Your Mom’s, Roaring Fork, Olivia, Counter Cafe, Yume Burger (which is gone), Casino El Camino. Galaxy is my fave for veggie.
Love that place! Looking forward to reading Kat’s review too.
Me too… @e31a9e12aae9b78ff8d10e2b85cc9002:disqus have you been following her series?
Great review. Wish you pointed out two things. Most burgers come with cheese inside (and you can choose), and you can get all sorts of different sauces on the burger (like choosing a flavor for chicken wings), You were right on how massive their burgers are.
Good points @twitter-282188191:disqus. In order to keep my reviews on an even playing field I always try and order the joint’s equivalent to a Bacon Cheeseburger and fries. Otherwise it wouldn’t really be fair to compare one to another. In all fairness their stuffed burgers looked amazing and I’m definitely going back to try one of them myself. Also, their onion rings looked great! What is your favorite burger at Your Mom’s?
Definitely a John D Rockefeller, but the Frida Kahlo is amazing as well!
Is Your Mom’s your personal favorite joint @twitter-15801299:disqus ??
Looks and sounds like a must try. Eric, I’d like to add Rivals to your list of suggested places to review. And, if Rivals would add CinnaMan cheesecake to their menu, they would be my fave burger in Austin. Just kidding, of course
@a8ed18e344abb108bb9bc02759436d13:disqus I’ll add up Rivals Michael.. God knows you know good food.. haha.
Excellent burger! Went last night and had a Norma Jean & 1/4 pd Angus Young. Loved the fries also. Ryan is a cool guy and we’ll definitely go back. If not for Austinot we wouldn’t have known about this place and we’re glad we do.
As for Rivals, they have a 2 for 1 burger on Tuesday for lunch.
You’ve got to check out Bartlett’s on the weekend. They have chili for the soup of the day, so you can smother your burger in it! Plus you can sit at the bar and feel kind of cool. I love that bar.
@facebook-811199556:disqus Bartlett’s?? Can you elaborate on why it should be added to the list?
I’d like to add Hut’s to your list. You can’t do a best-burger-search w/o trying Huts on 6th.
@ce24c8606fcc48bc69c1b1fe3acf8647:disqus I’ll add up Hut’s. Can’t believe it wasn’t on the list. For some reason I thought it was. Good catch. Thx.
I love Your Mom’s but I don’t think you can give a full review without tasting their stuffed burgers. Those things are amazing but they’ll bump up your messiness rating up to an 8 or 9!
I know stuffed burgers are what Your Mom’s is known for, @ffd2a109a59431984082d2ed31af1924:disqus. I think Eric was trying to be fair to the other reviews, since he gets a bacon cheeseburger at each spot.
@ffd2a109a59431984082d2ed31af1924:disqus haha I love a messy burger. I really wanted to try a stuffed burger there since that is what Your Mom’s is known for. But in order to keep things even as far as the scoring goes… every burger joint I visit I try their equivalent of a bacon cheeseburger. I’m definitely going back for a stuffed one though.
Try out the Hiighball burgers before they close for renovation! And of course Hopdoddy 🙂
@twitter-2969321:disqus when is Highball closing do you know?
Laura, do you know when Highball is closing for renovations?
Eric, there is a major hole in your hamburger claim-to-fame list. I do my own reconnaissance for burgers as a personal hobby. My favorite, by far, is the Border Burger at Ski Shores. Select a lovely Fall day to sit overlooking Lake Austin and enjoy live music (check schedule). You may bring your dogs or your kids – or both! Don’t miss this local favorite!
You need to go to Riata Bar and Grill off Riata Trace. They have the best burgers in town!
hopfields
Please please please add P. Terry’s to your list to be reviewed!
@disqus_fYqzELottw:disqus , we love P. Terry’s. We were just there for lunch this week. Like Top Notch, it’s on of our personal favorites that we haven’t taken the time to review yet. Definitely hope to get that done!
@knektion:disqus, thanks! And, btw, did you know there’s a new giant (and soon to open if not already) P. Terry’s being built in North Mo-Pac? It’s just a little south of Parmer on the right if you’re northbound… Looks big enough to hold a few HUNDRED people!
@disqus_fYqzELottw:disqus Yes! We actually live v. close by and it’s open now! Did YOU know that they’re building ANOTHER one on 183 north of Braker? 🙂
How about adding Elevation Burgers to the list?
Elevation Burgers is a franchise based out of Falls Church, VA. This series is about local Austin Burger Joints. Don’t have anything against Elevation Burger but we’re keeping it local. Thanks J Swan for the comment. ~ Eric
We do have a review about Elevation’s veggie burger! http://austinot.wpengine.com/best-veggie-burger-austin-elevation-burger
Eric, got a new place for you to check out: BurgerFi in SW Austin (near the Alamo Drafthouse on Slaughter). Just opened about 2 weeks ago.
Thanks for the heads up! I’m assuming you’ve been?
Yes, I have. I’d be willing to go again, if you’re looking for someone to eat with 😉
Easily the best burgers in Austin. That tenth of a point is imaginary.