Things to do in Austin: Hop Doddy burgers

The closest I've ever come to a spiritual experience in a restaurant was undoubtedly the Ahi Tuna Burger at Hop Doddy on SoCo in Austin. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. This bad boy:

 Screen cap from the Hop Doddy website used for purposes of review

Hop Doddy's earned some extensive press 

like here
here
here
here
here
and here

deservedly.

So I'm going to jump on this bandwagon and ride it all the way to Burger Town. Please accept my visa to become a citizen. Because I could stay there forever. 

The ambiance is what you'd expect from a popular restaurant on Austin's quirky South Congress Street (it's basically hipster Mecca): an eclectic mix of new and vintage, shiny modern windows and a cool, funky typeface for the restaurant sign. Of course they offer craft beer on tap, and you can get your sip on while munching on one of Hop Doddy's expensive but delicious offerings. 

The Ahi Tuna Burger, otherwise known as my soulmate... You know, if soul mates were edible. Is this a teenage vampire novel? No? Okay, maybe it's not my soul mate. But it's really good.  

I mentioned I had the Ahi Tuna Burger. It stood out as the most unusual offering of Hop Doddy's many fine selections, and I had some burgers before, but never anything like this. The cashier asked if I wanted the wasabi and I said yes (remember my soapbox rant about trusting the people that make your food?), because I wanted to experience it the way the chef intended. I also ordered the kennebec fries. The burgers are expensive, and you have to order fries separately. I was living on a student journalist's salary at the time. And I paid extra for fries. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know, then I don't know how else to convince you. 

Most importantly, I don't regret it.

I thought having a patty made of tuna would be, well, weird. But it wasn't. It was delicious and not completely unlike beef. It was cooked to perfection but pink in the center, because, you know, tuna. But don't be alarmed. I loved the nori chips (nori is seaweed, aka, what they wrap your sushi in) which added texture, and the sprouts. The honey wasabi was swoon-inducing. 

In fact, the only complaint I had was the wasabi. I should have listened to the cashier. It was sinus-burning and overpowered the other, carefully selected flavor components. Guys, I know what I said about trusting the chef, but skip the wasabi. It's crucial to your burger experience. 

Prices aren't listed on the website, but my entire order came out to something like $20.00. One girl, one lunch. 

But seriously. Try it anyway. 

(Protip: Hop Doddy has an unusual ordering process. If you don't want to look like a tourist, you can check out the website beforehand, where it's listed as a sidebar to the menu. DO take their advice and grab a cold one from the beer station in the front before waiting.)