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At Classic Burger with Cheddar at Butcher’s Burger in the Post Houston Food Hall in downtown
Photo: Alison Cook / Staff
By the time I got to The Butcher’s Burger, they had already crossed out the lamb birria burger on their short menu. The burger, anchored by a grilled slice of halloumi cheese, had also been eighty-six.
It was just 30 minutes after the Post Houston Food Hall, which opened in the redesigned downtown Barbara Jordan Post Office, opened its doors on Sunday. “Big Saturday?” I teased one of the staff.
“It was non-stop from 11 am to 10 pm,” she told me.
Fortunately, the simple burger I tried was still on sale. And although the dining room at the tables around the glowing central stairwell filled quickly – it looks like a neon-studded chandelier in an intergalactic ice palace – there was no line at the burger spot.
I was drawn here by the family tree of owners Ben Runkle and Bryan Butler, whose nine-year-old Salt & Time butcher and restaurant is highly regarded in East Austin. They buy their beef, lamb, pork, and poultry whole from Texas ranches that practice humane and environmental stewardship. Then cut, age, harden, dry and smoke them in-house, hence the name “Salt & Time”.
The butcher burger
Post Houston, 401 Franklin; thebutchersburger.com
Opening times: 11 am-9pm Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday; Friday & Saturday 11 am-10pm.
I found their classic burger, ground daily from steak ingredients, a staple in Austin, was a must.
And it was. That was my first visit to Post Houston.
Price: $ 12 for the classic butcher burger; $ 1.50 for cheddar cheese; $ 4 for beef fat fries, for a total of $ 17.50 before tax and tip.
Order: Queue at the cash register, view the printed menu, order and pay. You give him your mobile number and he will text you when your order shows up. (Pro tip: This will give you time to get a local draft beer at the address Unknown kiosk.) I took my tray to the outdoor dining area on the rear loading ramp – “Do not jump off dock,” warned a sign across from mine Table – where I ate happily. Well, except for the roar of the industrial fan high up.
Architecture: No salad items unless you state you want lettuce and tomatoes. A large sip of Duke’s Mayo is served on a toasted Martins potato bun, followed by a layer of sour cucumber slices. Next up is a remarkably large, plump beef patty – I estimated it at around 6 ounces, as opposed to the 16-ounce original from Austin – and the prettiest, shiniest curtain of melted cheddar I’ve ever seen. Seriously, this cheese tumbled down the steep patty sides like a glittering orange waterfall.
Quality: The strong beef taste of this burger is enhanced by a strong seasoning with salt and red pepper spots that run through the patty. Little distracts from the meaty effect, only the smooth cheese, the unmistakable taste of Duke’s and the sharp saltiness of the cucumber.
This humble Martins roll is just the right size to clutch and weigh without being overwhelming, another factor that makes the house-minced beef shine.
This grind is described as “coarse” on the menu, and I was grateful for that. I’ve come across a couple of burgers lately (Buns & Drafts; Jamaica Pon di Road) that were so fine in grind that it created a dense and unyielding texture. The butcher’s burger patty was fluffy enough to be filling.
At some point it occurred to me that I would have enjoyed a sweet and sour cucumber, bread-and-butter-style, just because it contrasted a bit with the salty profile of the burger. But that’s a personal quirk and won’t stop me from eating that burger again.
Sludge rating: A little splash when meat juice meets mayonnaise.
Letter note: Solid A.
Value: Fair considering the excellence of the beef and the overhead location.
Bonus points: Very nice beef-fat fries, cut with some skins and some wonderfully irregular shards lurking in the paper bag. Like the burger, they are confidently salted; and their crisp surfaces appear slightly fluffy, an interesting effect.
Things for later: There is a huge food hall with take-away as well as tempting steaks and homemade sausages from the adjacent Salt & Time butcher’s shop. Signs indicate that if requested, a steak can be cut and grilled to order.
And there’s a clever daily “meat-and-three” option for the carved-to-order roast of the day (it was an impressive roast pork and chimichurri that day), plus matching daily side dishes like creamy polenta, brisket peas, beet cabbage salad, or green ones Salad. “This will be the fastest lunch in the city center,” one employee proudly told me.
Local color: The front door of the old post office opens into the long, narrow room from which I sent parcels for decades. Furthermore, past an Aston-Martin on display and a ziggurat-style staircase that led into a three-story atrium, it felt like I had passed a portal into another world – or perhaps into the future.
This feeling never let go of me completely as I explored the many dining options, took in the wild young audience, strolled over the paths and views of the landscaped roof garden with its dramatic views of the city center. I loved the whole experience and can’t wait to come back.
alison.cook@chron.com
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Alison Cook
Alison Cook – two-time James Beard Award winner for restaurant review and winner of the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award – has been reviewing restaurants and researching the dining scene for the Houston Chronicle since 2002.
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Alison Cook’s Burger Friday: Solid ‘A’ cheeseburger at POST Houston’s food hall
