Family Night At Austin's Mighty Fine Burgers
"Dad, I'm too big for a kid's meal." My youngest child has been telling me this for about a year now. Upon turning 10 she was considered a pre-teen, which is practically a teenager, which is almost an adult (at least in her mind). So when we walked into Mighty Fine and I suggested she order a "youngster's meal" – she wasn't super excited about it. I explained to her one of the main reasons we were a guest of the restaurant is that it specifically wanted her – and our neighbor's children as well – to try out it's children's menu. I promised her if she was still hungry afterwards I would order her food. She conceded and we all ordered.
I had been to Mighty Fine Burgers before, almost 2 years ago; that said it was never really on my radar. When I arrived at the Round Rock location I noted how spacious and open the place was. I'm always a fan of open kitchens, especially when dealing with "quick-serve" restaurants. I arrived about 25 minutes before my party so I waited to meet the manager and just observed what was going on.
Smiles, families, space, and cleanliness are the words that come to mind for this place. No one was walking back up to the counter because of mistaken orders and no-one was frowning and throwing away food. I noticed signs that let me know I could feel good in what I was about to eat. Burgers "ground in-house daily" from antibiotic and preservative-free beef; vegetables sourced locally and cut in house fresh daily; real cheese; and even gluten-free buns. All of these little things contributed to my approval of this place.
My party arrived and we lined up to order. Hamburger or cheeseburger? Big or small? What toppings? Fries or onion rings? The menu is simple which means it has to be delivered very well. I like how they create an individual order for each person in a party and bag each one separately, which makes it simple when the food arrives and increases the likelihood of accuracy. Everyone chose their meal and we were seated. Shortly thereafter our food arrived – accurate, fresh, and abundant.
We dug in and I began to be a little irritated – at myself – for not frequenting this place more often. I'm a simple burger guy. Give me a juicy, messy, meaty bacon cheeseburger with all the toppings (bonus- grilled onions) and I'm a pretty happy guy! Mighty Fine delivered.
Everyone in our group enjoyed their meal, including my picky teenage daughter, my particular wife, my burger snob teenage son, and my 10 year old daughter. The burgers, the fries, the onion rings, and the shakes were all a hit.
I waited. I didn't remind my youngest she and her neighbor friends were eating "kids' meals". Would it be enough? Would they accidently put onions on the sandwich, which – in her opinion – would cause instantaneous death? Would she be ravenously hungry upon completion of her meal? Was it "not enough"? Yes, no, no, and no. They all finished their meals. She's not shy, if she was still hungry she would have asked for more. She didn't forage the table for other people's fries or other tell-tale signs it wasn't enough. Mission accomplished and all with a $3.99 "youngster's meal"!
Everyone commented that we should definitely eat here more often. Everyone enjoyed everything and we'll return soon. As a parent, I really couldn't ask for more.