casino el camino

don't be put off by the outside. . . or inside!. foodies in the know have no problem stepping into casino el camino, but for the casual person simply walking along 6th street, the place would not be inviting. this is truly a dive in every sense of the word. it's grungy and it smells of stale beer. but the food is simply some of the best to be had in austin. gobackto the pick-up window and just peerbackthere and watch how hard those cooks work to make all those burgers (by hand) and cut all those onions and do the prep work that most restaurants rely on sysco to do for them, and you will gain a respect for what you are going to eat. the meat is humanely sourced, from all i can tell, and i know a lot of very fancy restaurants that charge top-dollar prices for factory-farmed meat, eggs, and cheese.


and then, you bite into the buffalo cheeseburger, and you think, how can this restaurant associate itself decor-wise with the devil!? you think you've gone to heaven! even better are the chili-cheese fries, which are literally worth a road trip just to savor them. (i know--i have taken that road trip!) the nm green chile, the tomatillos, the thick and crispy fries, and a cheddar cheese that is melted to perfection--just the right consistency, no stringiness, no clumps. . . .

plan to get stuffed, and plan for the hamburger and fries of your dreams.

to make it even better? some of the friendliest bartenders and waitstaff i have met in austin!

a must stop by dive staple on the way home. cold, strong drinks and colorful, friendly yet serious staff. several pool tables and a nice secludedbackporch for smoking with a charming little water fountain. casino is a home bar and they have their dedicated clientele but plenty stop in just to check out the awesome rockabilly decor, and to get one of the best burgers in town and the best burgers downtown or on 6th, period. enjoy a beer while you wait, it takes about 45 mins or so for the magic, but it is beyond worth it. try the amarillo with succulent, fiery peppers. they have a second location off ben white that's relatively hidden, but this is where it's all at.

my bf and i, new to austin, bought into the hype and decided to fight traffic to try these burgers. it's a dingy bar where you order at the counter and pick up your own food while a waitress walks around expecting a hefty tip. the burgers were extremely underwhelming. both of our burgers were dry and barely had any toppings. the green chile cheese fries were amazing, though. this would be a good place to eat if you're already drinking there, but i don't think we'll ever headbackjust for burgers again.

the casino rocks!. the buffalo burger: hot wing sauce and the blue cheese make this burger the best. just enough zip to keep it interesting. the so had the chicago burger (bacon and cheddar burger) and it was less interesting. flavor was ok, but not outstanding.

in my humble burger opinion, the ratio of burger to bun was off. don't get me wrong, the patty was huge! hand pattied. i like that. maybe a little too huge. but the key point with such a big patty is the bun. the bun is a dense bread type, so the bun doesn't squish. it's too much bread. i dropped the top bun off and the burger was more enjoyable. the beef was first quality and cooked to perfection.

chilli cheese fries: omg! really good. i couldn't walk away from them! they had just enough spice and heat to make them great. it was a huge basket. more than i needed, and a meal in themselves. as i was cramming another portion into my mouth, the so pulled them away from me and said enough! i was glad she helped me to break the cycle. i needed an intervention. thanks baby.

when we left we were goingbackto the hotel to lay on the bed and rub our respective food babies! i'm glad i don't live near the casino.

the casino is a dark hole, more appropriately named the inferno, or dante's, or hell. it seems clean and the service was great. the carney looking, tatted, waitresses were kind and attententive. we will definitely return.

a.w.e.s.o.m.e. really great burgers... kitschy atmosphere. i had the pitt burger and my friend had the la. really nice shadedbackpatio.

very good burgers, wait is too long.. went there because i'd heard the burgers were great; it's kind of a dank, dark hole in the wall bar full of bored-looking tattooed people. some girl told us to sit at a table and took our drink order; broughtbackdrinks and promptly went away to stand/wander aimlessly in the middle of the room and avoid eye contact with me at all costs. this went on for about twenty minutes when one of our drinks was finally empty; she came to refill it and i asked her if i could order, at which point she's like "oh, you order in the back." uh... wish i'd known that twenty minutes ago. i wasn't expecting fine dining but it'd be nice to have a sign up or some way of indicating what to do.

anyway, we ordered, and thirty minutes later, our burgers were ready. they were the only orders the cooks had, and it took them thirty minutes. wtf. that is unacceptably long for two burgers. (during this thirty minutes, our drinks emptied and sat there unrefilled until about three minutes before we left, despite our trying to get the drink-girl's attention.)the burgers were really good--probably up there with phil's, but not quite hut's or fuddruckers--and that's why i rated it "i like it", but i probably won't gobackthere again because of the brusque employees and the ridiculous wait for the food.

favorite burger joint. this place is absolutely awesome! walk in and head straight to thebackcounter to order a burger; all burger options are fantastic. we also like to get a basket of fries, and then we head to the bar to grab a beer, and then upstairs to look over the crowd, watch whatever movie is on tv, and jam to the music being played over the great jukebox. they also have a patio outbackthat's nice for any spring or fall night in austin. dont miss this place on 6th street! if you do, you'll be kicking yourself in the face!