Remember The Whataburger!

Okay, so I co-opted the old "Remember The Alamo" saying for this blog, what can I say, it's been a long Texas Day!
Got back on the road yesterday morning after spending the week in Scottsdale AZ at the World Aquatic Health Conference. Had a really good time doing a CPO Instructor School, moderating some interesting sessions at the Conference, and spending time with my amazing co-instructors, who are also my friends. Long busy days, followed by evenings spent consuming large amounts of liquids. Well hey, we WERE in a desert after all!
Friday was spent making my way through AZ, New Mexico, and the very west portion of Texas along I-10, which runs right past Los Cruces NM, and through El Paso TX. What a large city El Paso turned out to be! And boy, what a scarcity of places to stay there was after I blew through El Paso! Ended up in some place called Van Horn for the night. Odd little town, six or seven motels, and yet very few places to eat. Settled for a chicken sandwich at one of the "Love's" Travel Plazas that was in town.
Saturday, up and out early, more time on I-10, as I make my way towards Spring TX, to visit my cousin Rick and his family. Really in "Texas Hill Country" today, as the road keeps heading up into the mountains. Early on, lots of morning fog, but the strong sunshine finally wins out and the day turns sunny and warm, with some high clouds giving me a break from the eastern sun hitting my eyes. Oh, yes, talk about making time, well, the speed limit on I-80 in TX is 80 mph! Rolled into San Antonio around 2:30, found a nice clean hotel near the city center, checked in, and realized, gee, I'm hungry. A quick check found a Texas tradition a few blocks away; Whataburger!

Hard to miss them, with that huge orange and white 'A' shaped roof most of them sport. Family owned since the first one opened in 1950, I really think Whataburger is a great example of how a privately held, family run business can not just survive, but thrive. The recipe seems pretty simple, keep the restaurants clean, hire friendly people, keep the menu simple, and COOK TO ORDER! No warmed over, sitting in beef broth patties here, all the burgers are grilled up when you order them. Makes quite a difference. So, here we go, today's meal was a #1 combo, a Whataburger with cheese, and sliced jalapenos (yeah, I know, here goes my stomach again).

Now, that's a single Whataburger, and the thing is easily the size of a 'Whopper', and is even a bit thicker than that. Loads of fries came with the burger, and the young lady who dropped it off at my table offered me the famous two ketchups - regular and spicy.

The spicy is really good on the fries, which are the typical fast food 'shoestring' style. Probably as close as you can get to McDonald's fries without actually going into McD's. Fresh, hot, properly salted, they're quite good, although, as usual, I would prefer if they were cooked just a touch more. Still, they are damn tasty! And the burger?

They don't skimp on the toppings here! Three slices of tomatoes, a good amount of chopped lettuce (but not too much, like you'd find on a Whopper), pickles, chopped onions, and mustard. That's the standard topping that comes on a Whataburger. Like most of the country outside of the NY area, mustard is always found on the burger, and interestingly, ketchup is not. I added sliced jalapenos (.50c), and put a bit of ketchup on top. All in all, a good combination, and the right ratio of beef to toppings and roll, the meat wasn't lost in the salad. The jalapenos were hot, but not over the top, and went well with the cheese. All in all, for a 'fast food' place, a good meal. Cost of the meal was $7 and change, which included a 'medium' soda, which, as you can see, was pretty large.

I've reviewed Whataburger previously, so I apologize to those of you who may feel you're seeing a rerun, but since I don't get here that often, this is one place I try to hit at least once whenever I'm in Texas. Tomorrow, looking forward to a nice visit with Rick and Elizabeth, and sure hope David, Chrystie and the girls will be able to join us. Food? Hmmmm, could be Mexican, BBQ, or who knows? But you know if it's good, I'll be writing about it!