Rock City Burger Co - Bridgeport, TX

I had a scheduled service call in Bridgeport, TX today, so I took an opportunity to grab some lunch while I was over there. I looked up local burger joints on Urbanspoon and found the Rock City Burger Company. It was sporting an 88% rating on Urbanspoon with many positive reviews, so I felt the need to visit.


Parking out front near the big green rock crawler Jeep, I noticed a covered patio area with some wood picnic tables. When the weather is nice, this would be the place to dine, I thought.


The inside of the restaurant looked somewhat industrial, with a nice black and yellow paint scheme and some shiny corrugated metal accents. There were around six booths and six tables inside with a few tables on the patio outside to serve the patrons. The windows were open and a nice breeze was blowing in.


A flat-panel TV was showing rock-crawling video clips and there were several pictures of Jeeps in various upside down and contorted positions hanging on the walls. With the name of the establishment and the rock crawling Jeep outside, I assumed it was a hobby of the owner and probably pictures of his escapades. As I found out later, it was.

I stepped to the counter and surveyed the menu on the wall. It was a chalkboard wall with the burgers, pricing and options available. I opted for the single with cheese, which the counter person begin checking off my selection on a paper menu affixed to a bag. A little like Which Wich, I thought. Exactly how I would do it, I told myself.


The reviews said to get the jalapeño bread, which I did, and the homemade chips. I opted, instead, for the onion rings and a drink. The total was a little over $10, so not your typical burger combo pricing.


I grabbed a cup and filled it up with a 75/25 mixture of unsweet and sweet tea. I noticed the small fountain had your typical sodas on tap. But, as the SNL skit said from long ago, Cheeburger, Cheeburger, Pepsi here, no Coke.


My food arrived in the paper bag where it all started at the counter. I opened the onions rings and noticed they looked like they were hand-breaded. They had a nice crust with a good amount of pepper in the batter. 

I opened the burger and found it was cooked on a flat-top grill, my favorite method. It was medium thin and looked to be hand-formed. The jalapeño bun was toasted on the grill as well, but was still a little soft, not hard and crunchy. I ordered my burger with lettuce, onions, grilled onions, cheese and mayo as well as mustard. The lettuce was your standard iceberg, the raw onions were white and the cheese looked to be a shredded cheddar variety. It was so well melted between the bun and burger, I couldn't be completely certain, but it looked like a shredded cheddar cheese. Not my first choice in cheese, but nothing that would prevent me from enjoying my meal. The grilled onions were translucent, but not caramelized like I prefer.


The burger had good flavor and was still pretty juicy. The jalapeño bun was the perfect choice, still soft, but a different texture than your normal boring bun. As I looked around the room, I could see this place could get busy on Friday nights after a football game or on the weekends after a bunch of crawlers worked over the local Northwest OHV Park.


I got an opportunity to visit with Trevor, the owner of the place. He has been in business a couple of years. He seems to enjoy running the restaurant and sponsors many of the Jeep clubs. 


It certainly is worth a trip. Tell Trevor you read about it here.

As for the Texas Burger Stop's rating, here goes:

• Patty Size and Style: medium thick and hand formed
• Cooking style: Cooked on a flat top
• Char: good char across the patty
• Bun: Excellent bun, toasted on the grill
• Vegetables: good veggies
• Napkins needs: Needed a napkin (paper towel) or two
• Special attributes: BYOB, Music on weekends
• Ownership: locally owned