New Chains coming to town

just read in the Food section of the San Antonio Express News this morning that several chains are coming here.
We are getting a Krystal Burger,and an On The Border in Universal City and Live Oak.
Never had a Krystal Burger,are they any good?
Strange that we are getting an On The Border.They used to be in San Antonio,but in 2000,they pulled out of here.Now they are coming back
at least to my area. Been years since i ate in one,are they any good?
I might try it once,but we have a lot of mexican places in my area to eat at,so will at least try them and mainly stay to the local mexican places. We are also getting an El Chapparel here on Loop1604 and Redland Road.They have several locations,but i think it's a local chain.

I can't speak about the other chains, but a Krystal hamburger is very similar to a White Castle hamburger, but maybe not quite as good. The differences are subtle. Of course, if you've never had a White Castle hamburger, use the search function and go to one of the White Castle discussion threads on this site to get a better description.

On a historical note, both chains serve their hamburgers in the style that was popular before the Depression in the early 1930s--little bitty hamburgers. People usually buy four at a time to equal a meal. And some people buy even more than that!

Krystal's are good, sort of a Southern version of White Castle. I've eaten at them in Atlanta. I prefer Whataburger, though, and wish they'd come into Kansas.

Why in God's name anyone would eat at a gringo craphole like On the Border when they were in San Antonio and had so many really good Mexican places to eat escapes me, though. Even Taco Cabana is better.
My daughter was born in Houston before we moved to Kansas, and she (like us) refuses to eat at the On the Border here in Topeka and makes fun of her friends who like it.

Just thought I'd try On The Border,as I hadn't eaten at one,or if I did,it was once long in the distant past,so want to try it,though as I said before, I just eat at the local places. Speaking of which I kind of feel like Mexican food for lunch,but can walk to Fiesta Mexico here in Schertz on Main Street.They don't have a lot of parking,so I'll just park at the laundry mat,or maybe try Youz Guyz Philly Cheesestakes on Pat Booker in Universal City,which is just a local place that opened up. According to the article in yesterday's food section, they have been closing early,since their supply can't keep up with the demand for ingredients.Since they are located near Randolph AFB,they get I guess a lot of business.
I have had the frozen White Castles. If that's what Krystal's are like,I'll stick to Chester's Hamburgers a local San Antonio chain.
Eat my home made fries,like my mom used to make,and enjoy my chili cheese burger,while watching their big screen tv.
Do wish though they would bring back their poppy seed hamburger buns.
Don't really have time to go to Bracken Cafe to eat,but they have good burgers.

It's funny that you mention On the Border. My wife wanted to go to one that's down here the other week (we didn't end up going). She had a $5 coupon for them.

Mexican or Tex-Mex choices are not so good around here. We went to an independent up the road last year, and the food was so-so, the place was grubby and they didn't have a full liquor license so they were selling some kind of weird, artificial, wine-based margaritas.

There's a little hole-in-the-wall place near me on US-1 called Enrique's with pretty good tacos and burritos, but you wouldn't want to eat there - we only do take out there.

So anyway, we still might go to On the Border

http://www.ontheborder.com

I want to try a Mexican Mojito.

here was my On the Border experience, last year: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19761&SearchTerms=border

Thanks Scorereader! Sounds like the wife will be happy, and I won't be sad.

no problem. I don't want ot overplay the place, though. I was expecting middle of the road chain food, but got something much better. If you're looking for authentic Mexican, then pass. But for tex-mex, it was quite fine. And this location was very well maintained. Spotless dining area, spotless bathrooms, fresh tasting food including the made onsite chips and salsa. The steak was the best part of the Ranchilata, which I was not expecting. The cheese enchilada was run of the mill enchilada, but the chili sauce on top was kickin - so that was a plus. The service was very good as well. Over all, I was thinking that this might be a good place to visit again if it was near a hotel I was staying in. The bar had a really nice festive atmosphere too. That was my experience in Rockville, MD last year. And I'm usually very critical of mexican/tex-mex food places. I hope, if you do go, you can have the same experience.

Thanks for the review.Still want to try it,even if it isn't roadfood.
Want to try Picante Grill down by the Witte Museum on Broadway,and another mexican place also on Broadway. Read a review of Tomatillos on Broadway on I think Yahoo,and the poster said they seem to have gone downhill,surly service,etc. Their review was from February 2008,so it makes me sad to know they aren't the same any more.
Miami Don,what state are you in? Ask cause you mentioned US Hwy 1.
My sister lives in Piermont NY with her fiance and she mentioned a place they go to that has decent mexican food.I think a few places are starting to pop up there,but it's hard for her to find tamales and such.

quote:

Originally posted by HollyDolly

Miami Don,what state are you in? Ask cause you mentioned US Hwy 1.

Florida.

Thanks,That's what I thought,but wasn't sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Niagara

Krystal's are good, sort of a Southern version of White Castle. I've eaten at them in Atlanta. I prefer Whataburger, though, and wish they'd come into Kansas.

Why in God's name anyone would eat at a gringo craphole like On the Border when they were in San Antonio and had so many really good Mexican places to eat escapes me, though. Even Taco Cabana is better.
My daughter was born in Houston before we moved to Kansas, and she (like us) refuses to eat at the On the Border here in Topeka and makes fun of her friends who like it.

Totally agreed about Whatabutger! Kyrstals are good if you make them make it special for you, i.e. 2 patties no extra bread, etc.

There is a Moscow in PA, thats awesome.

speaking of new chains though (to stay on topic) a Cheeburger Cheeburger just opened up in our town a few months ago. Anybody ever been? http://www.cheeburger.com/home2/index.asp

quote:

Originally posted by HollyDolly

Thanks for the review.Still want to try it,even if it isn't roadfood.

Roadfood? Heck, it's not even Roadkill.

This was my On The Border experience:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5166&SearchTerms=border

I don't know about On The Border, but if you like White Castle you'll probably like Krystal. I think the biggest difference is that they put mustard on them. When we used to drive to Florida, we always got a big bag of Krystals to eat in the car.

Andrea

I have to admit, after watching that Harold and Kumar movie, as silly as it was, I was intrigued about White Castle. I'm bound to give it a try, if I come across one.

scorereader: you will not be disappointed!

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

I have to admit, after watching that Harold and Kumar movie, as silly as it was, I was intrigued about White Castle. I'm bound to give it a try, if I come across one.

scorereader you might be able to find the burgers in the freezer section in your state. You'll have to check out white castle's website to find out if they do

yeah, I've seen them around, but wasn't sure if the frozen version would be the same as the restaurant. Plus, I'd miss the White Castle experience.

I made sliders at home - in fact, I made some this past weekend. But, yeah, I've seen them in the frozen food section in a couple grocery stores in VA. I haven't seen them in DC.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

yeah, I've seen them around, but wasn't sure if the frozen version would be the same as the restaurant. Plus, I'd miss the White Castle experience.

I made sliders at home - in fact, I made some this past weekend. But, yeah, I've seen them in the frozen food section in a couple grocery stores in VA. I haven't seen them in DC.

You have a point half the enjoyment is the experience of going there

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

yeah, I've seen them around, but wasn't sure if the frozen version would be the same as the restaurant. Plus, I'd miss the White Castle experience.

I made sliders at home - in fact, I made some this past weekend. But, yeah, I've seen them in the frozen food section in a couple grocery stores in VA. I haven't seen them in DC.

You have a point half the enjoyment is the experience of going there

Does the frozen version do the restaurant version justice?

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader
[

Does the frozen version do the restaurant version justice?

I haven't had the frozen ones in years because I live close to a white castle. I do remember them tasting the same, but my mind could be playing tricks on me. You should post a topic asking and see what the opinion is from people who have had them recently

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader
[

Does the frozen version do the restaurant version justice?

I haven't had the frozen ones in years because I live close to a white castle. I do remember them tasting the same, but my mind could be playing tricks on me. You should post a topic asking and see what the opinion is from people who have had them recently

I'm not sure if I'm really that motivated, for frozen burgers, anyways.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

yeah, I've seen them around, but wasn't sure if the frozen version would be the same as the restaurant. Plus, I'd miss the White Castle experience.

I made sliders at home - in fact, I made some this past weekend. But, yeah, I've seen them in the frozen food section in a couple grocery stores in VA. I haven't seen them in DC.

You have a point half the enjoyment is the experience of going there

Does the frozen version do the restaurant version justice?

Nope. I tried some frozen ones several years back and they don't compare.All this talk of White Castles is causing me to think about going and picking some up.

I agree with Michael Hoffman, the frozen ones aren't as good. But for those of us out west they are better than nothing. If you follow the heating instruction exactly they are pretty decent, but no substitute for the real thing if you have the choice.

I recall many moons ago, when Burger King sold their Whoppers (just the burger and the bun) at BJ's Wholesale. You had to buy a fairly large box of them (since it was one of those wholesale places like Costco). I recall them being different, but part of the reason was that you had to put your own tomato, onion and lettuce on it - and since they were precooked, they supposedly didn't need to be "flamebroiled." In all honesty, since regular frozen burgers (like Bubba) were cheaper and better, I saw little reason for the frozen Whopper.
Of course, sliders are different...but similar too, I guess.

thanks Michael and Flyseye for your opinions.

Oh: speaking of chains coming to town. Vapiano is coming to the Verizon Center area of DC. (I'd say Chinatown, but that might confuse people who are not from DC and don't know that Chinatown is becoming overrun by the commercial expansion of the the Verizon Center, which sits adjacent to Chinatown)

Anyway, Vapiano is an international chain sprung from Germany. Yup, that's right, a German owned Italian restaurant. Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Ft. Myers, and Las Vegas are all suppose to have one by 2009. Right now it's only in the DC area in the U.S., but there are several of these in other major European cities.

Anyone been to the other DC area locations that have already opened?

I have no White Castle near me so I've had the frozen ones. When I finally made it to a real White Castle I thought there was very little difference in taste of the meat. The whole burger( meat, bun, pickle, etc) was slightly better at the restaurant. When I could get frozen Krystal burgers I found that fresh was better. Are frozen Krystal burgers still around?
I also was suprised that after several years of eating canned Skyline Chili I finally made it to a real Skyline and found no diffence in taste.

Wow,Didn't think i'd get that many responses to my post.
Never heard of that German chain Vapiano.We do have in San Antonio a couple of forgein chains though.Dona Totas Gorditas from mexico on San Pedro Avenue near North Star Mall, and Chicken Campecho from either Central or South America.They serve fried chicken and yucca fries,and i assume some grilled chicken as well.
Dona Totas' is closest to me and I want to try that some time.
Didn't know there was a Verizon Center in DC.I always think of the one the Spurs play in here in town.Bummer they lost to the Lakers.

We have a rapidly developing shopping area and 'chain-restaurant strip' along Veterans Parkway in nearby Clarksville, IN (Exit 5 on I-65 north of the River). In addition to a bunch of FF places and specialty shops like the Homemade Pie and Ice Cream Store mentioned several times on this site, one of the sit-down restaurants is a chain not familiar to me until recently. Cheddar's. We have tried it a couple of times and have found a few menu items that are pretty good, and reasonable in price. We avoid the place during the noon-lunch rush and don't buy anything from the Bar, but They make a Great Catfish Plate, served with a cup of Gumbo-like Red Beans and Rice. Recently I tried a Cheesesteak Sandwich, served with a bunch of Onion Rings and a cup of the Beans and Rice (my choices from a list of available side dishes). While it wasn't Pat's or Gino's or one of the other great sandwiches from Philly's south end, It was a good, tastie, and meat-filled roll that took care of my hunger pangs very well (for $6.50). Service has been good each time we visit, and the staff training seems to be an on-going effort, visible each time we visit.

While I would never claim this to be a Roadfood find...I do find it more than adequate for a pretty good lunch within reach of many of the places we do business with in that area.

quote:

Originally posted by fattybomatty

I haven't had the frozen ones in years because I live close to a white castle.

I think the opening of that one on South Ave is the best idea ever. I was elated months ago when driving by I saw the start of the infamous "castle" outline