Food: Hopdoddy Burger Bar Now Open On South Congress
Occupying the space that was formerly Cissi's Market on South Congress, Hopdoddy Burger Bar offers gourmet, thoughtfully crafted burgers at incredibly reasonable prices. What's more, they strive to make everything as local and/or organic as possible -- antibiotic-free, hormone-free, humanely raised meats, buns made from scratch, homemade ice cream, local craft beers and more. Even their product names reflect a fondness for the local; you can chow down on a Continental Club burger (turkey, provolone, apple-smoked bacon, arugula, and basil pesto on a fresh-baked bun) before heading across the street to get down at the actual Continental Club.
Hopdoddy currently offers nine different burgers made with either Black Angus beef, bison, turkey, sushi-grade tuna, or a hemp-seed veggie patty, as well as a farm greens salad and a spinach salad and, of course, hand-cut fries. They're planning to introduce a locally sourced lamb burger next week, as well. So far none of the burgers appear to be eerily immortal (thankfully), and crowd favorites include the Llano Poblano (beef, pepper jack cheese, roasted poblano chiles, and apple-smoked bacon) and the Terlingua (beef, chile con carne, corn Fritos, Tillamook cheddar). Burger prices range from $5 to $9, with a regular side of fries costing just $2.
The bar makes the juices and syrups for their cocktails like the Black Cherry Hard Limeade and the Soco Sweet Tea fresh in-house (pay an extra $1 for local ingredients or $2 for organic), and they offer local brews from the likes of Live Oak and (512) Brewing on tap. You can also choose to booze up your milkshake or ice cream float with one of their seven tasty liqueurs.
Location: 1400 South Congress Avenue
Hours: 11am to 10pm on weekdays (later on weekends)
Bonus fact: "Doddy" is the nickname for cows bred in a certain part of Scotland. "Hop" refers to the hops used to brew beer. Beer + beef = Hopdoddy.
