The Vitals:
the spot: Cullum’s Attaboy 111 Kings Ct, San Antonio, TX 78212
the eats: Attaboy Burger with Glacé
the bucks: $16 + $5 for the glacé poured tableside
the full nelson: the most decadent burger I’ve had in 20 years
Let me get this out of the way: I’ll never take a better burger pic with big fat tire in the background then the one I took at Cullum’s Attaboy. Of course I wish I could have set up the shot better but that takes away from the barebones simplicity of Cullum’s Attaboy.
Located off the St. Mary’s strip, Cullum’s Attaboy is the finest sidewalk cafe you’re gonna find in San Antonio, maybe in all of Texas. And that burger? The most decadent one I’ve had in 20 years.
Or breakfast. Or lunch. But definitely burgers. I went in around 10am so a latte was my bev of choice but you can get saucy from champagne all the way to stiff cocktails.
A rare sight these days, snails might not seem like the perfect set up for a burger, let alone brunch. But you need to acknowledge that Cullum’s Attaboy is more Paris Bistro than San Antonio Diner. Christopher Cullum is a self taught chef(and 2024 James Beard finalist) but his skill set is a blessing for any francophile who covets a perfect omelette or steak au poivre.
You have two options when it comes to the burger at Cullum’s Attaboy: Brunch or Lunch. Non negotiable is the house made double egg wash bun that one could call brioche but Chef Cullum won’t because “it sounds too fancy for my tastes”. Another non negotiable include is the six ounce Wagyu patty from Peeler Farms in Floresville TX along with a slice of gruyere cheese.
From there you can go the brunch direction and saddle up with some breakfast potatoes, and top your burger with a breakfast aioli and an egg. Or go lunch and stick with their classic homemade aioli, a slice of raw white onion and get fries. There are also add ons like bacon and egg for lunch along with hollandaise(brunch).
But there is only one add on for me.
Similar to a demi glace but cooked much longer, the dramatic presentation of being poured tableside is warranted for two reasons. One, you’re gonna want to start digging into the burger once this delicious brown viscous sauce has been poured on. The second reason is that the glacé takes between three and four days to make, so take a moment and let that sink in.
From roasting bones to the hours of simmering, the toil that goes into this sauce is exactly why Cullum’s Attaboy makes the most decadent burger I’ve had since I first tried the legendary Father’s Office burger back in 2001. And the fries are banging too. That’s the lesson for today folks. Get yourself to San Antonio for one of the best burgers in the country.
[…] burger freak, James Beard finalist and architect of one mind blowingly decadent burgers I’ve ever had was in Chicago and joined me on this burger escapade. He had already been there a few days earlier […]