San Antonio Burger Blog Your complete guide to San Antonio's burger joints

"Flats is Back," proclaims Tycoon Flat's website at http://www.flatsisback.com/. To be honest, I was unaware that "Flats" had ever disappeared in the first place, let alone that it was now back. But, after our visit to the Flats, we were all glad that it was back and that we had found it. Tycoon Flats is located at 2926 St. Mary's, just a little north of downtown, a little south of Trinity University and not too far from Brackenridge Park. I did a little research into the whole "Flats is Back" slogan and, apparently, Tycoon Flats and the surrounding area on St. Mary's Street used to be all the rage in the 1980's and early 90's in San Antonio. Some folks even referred to this area as San Antonio's mini version of Austin's 6th Street. Unfortunately, this area of St. Mary's Street fell out of favor with the locals beginning in the late 90's, but it appears to be making quite the resurgence.We arrived at Tycoon Flats on a weekday for lunch, and we were glad we did. As you can see from the sign above, they have "great food" Monday through Friday, but when it comes to the weekends I guess all bets are off.

The Flats is not your typical burger joint. Instead of placing your order at a counter, you are directed to a table and a waitperson comes to take your order. This is a little more upscale than my fellow burger bloggers are used to, but we found the waitstaff to be quite attentive and it was a nice change of pace from our usual burger restaurant routine.

Up to this point in our burger restaurant reviews, we have pretty much gone unnoticed. Don't ask me how because we take a lot of photos and Burger Boy Fry Daddy sometimes wears his colostomy camera bag on the outside of his clothes where people can see it. Nevertheless, the owner/manager at Tycoon Flats caught us taking some photos of the restaurant and graciously inquired as to what we were doing. We told him about our mission, and he seemed genuinely interested. We know what you're thinking, and don't worry - we will remain unbiased in our burger reviews, regardless of whether we talk with a restaurant owner/manager, receive any complimentary items, Burger Boy receives a neck massage, etc. And now on to our unbiased review...

The Burger - 7.5 out of 10

Tycoon Flats serves a solid burger. Like the restaurant itself, however, the burger is a little more upscale than your usual greasy burger joint burger. The burger is served naked (with the fixings on the side) on a Kaiser roll/bun. The Kaiser roll/bun was a nice touch and was quite tasty, but it lacked that delicious greasy sheen that you find on most burger joint buns. Much to Burgermeister Meisterburger's delight, however, the burger came with a pretty sizeable meat patty. I'd say the bun to patty ratio was spot on.

Some of our reviewers ordered the bean burger as pictured below. Here's what Prefers his Tots Tattered had to say: "I opted for the bean burger on a fellow burger blogger's suggestion and wasn't disappointed. It came out with cheese, beans, hot sauce, and fritos. I typically prefer my bean burgers with tostados rather than fritos, but hey, it was still a solid burger. Tycoon Flats gets a bump for using Keiser buns on all of their burgers."

Sides - 8.5 out of 10

The sides at Tycoon Flats really stand out. Although they don't offer tater tots (much to my disappointment), they have a great selection of other sides that really raise the bar. With the standard burger basket order they offer a sampling of both sweet potato fries and regular fries. The sweet potato fries were probably the best I have had, and the regular fries were pretty good. They even offer a little twist on their onion rings - the onion rings are made with red onions, which were surprisingly good.

I think Prefers his Tots Tattered summed it up best: "TWO TYPES OF FRIES THAT COME WITH YOUR MEAL!! That was the excitement I felt when I read that burger baskets come with both, regular and sweet potato fries. Huge plus. Also, the onion rings were hand made and served with ranch. I usually prefer mine with ketchup but quickly tasted the genius in serving the rings with ranch...no matter what the quality is, the food will always taste better with ranch dressing on it. The lack of tots is the only thing keeping this from being a 10."

Ambiance - 8.5 out of 10

This is the area where we think Tycoon Flats really stands out. The restaurant doesn't have the over-accentuated flare and hodge-podge of wall decor that you find at most burger joints. Don't get us wrong - we love run down burger joints with used gas station signs and license plates on the walls as much as the next person. But Tycoon Flats one-ups its competition with flat screen televisions broadcasting sports and a fantastic outdoor patio. They apparently offer a lot of live music in the evenings on the outdoor patio. Unfortunately for us, the weather was a tad on the cold side and we weren't able to enjoy the outdoor area. However, we will definitely be back for a burger or happy hour on a nicer day.
The restaurant's entertainment guide states that Monday night is family night, and a child under nine eats free with the purchase of an entrée. I may have to take the little tot down for a burger sometime. They definitely have an outdoor setup that would keep him entertained.

Price - Average

Burgermeister Meisterburger in his classic crotchety style sums it up best: "I refuse to rate price unless it is a particularly good deal or unless it is particularly expensive. This was neither."

Service - Great

The service was great. Maybe it was because they caught us taking pictures and knew we were reviewing the restaurant, or maybe it is always great. We'd personally like to think its the latter, but we'll let you decide on this one.