First Look: Nitro Burger in Trinity Groves Offers Boozy Shakes With Your Sliders

Nitro Burger opened last November in Trinity Groves, providing the opportunity to get tableside-created alcoholic milkshakes along with several quasi-slider burgers for those willing to make the trek across the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. This is another spot from restauranteur, Julian Rodarte, who also owns Lexy’s and Beto and Sons in the same complex.

Always on the lookout for another burger option and intrigued by the liquid nitrogen shakes, we paid the place a visit. Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted and asked to select a table. You can place your order and pay via a QR code or you can order the traditional way.

The menu states, “Our burgers are a little smaller and we recommend ordering 2 per person,” which usually would be irksome, coming across as some adspeak intended to increase sales, like shampoo bottles imploring you to “lather, rinse, repeat” in an effort to double sales. However, the burgers were priced between $6 and $8, so we gave in and ordered four total.

The burgers are on the small side, but larger than the traditional slider, so $6 seems just right. Truth be told, one burger probably would be enough for lunch since it comes with two patties, but it was nice to be able to sample several varieties without breaking the bank. We settled on a Nitro burger, a Meltdown, a Nitro chicken and a birria burger.

The Nitro burger comes with two beef-brisket blended patties served on a potato bun with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and Nitro sauce, a sweet and spicy in-house creation. Crispy lettuce, firm tomatoes, nicely melted cheese and flavorful beef made for the perfect bite(s).

The birria burger had shredded stewed beef piled high on the bun with diced onions and cilantro, all covered with a copious amount of melted jack cheese. It comes with a side of birria consommé for dipping. This was well-seasoned and hit all the right notes, although it was a bit too large for dipping.

The chicken sandwich was a bit overcooked, but the Meltdown was an interesting creation: grilled cheese served as the buns for the beef patties, which were topped with caramelized onions and more American cheese. Fun and a bit decadent, a two-for-one sandwich experience.

Then there was the milkshake. You can order non-alcoholic versions, but we went with the Nitro Vanilla: Nitro vanilla base, vanilla vodka, vanilla frosting, white chocolate sprinkles, whipped cream, dulce de leche, white chocolate chips, chocolate straws and Hershey’s chocolate sauce, all created tableside with liquid nitrogen and several bowls, pitchers and utensils by friendly staff who described the entire process in what seemed like a science lab demonstration from Mr. Wizard. It put tableside guacamole to shame. After the smoke cleared, we shared the creation, which was worthy of the performance.

There are other menu options we’d like to try, such as the teriyaki burger, the lobster tots and the maple bacon milkshake, as well as several craft cocktails. In the end, it was worth the trip.

3011 Gulden Lane (Trinity Groves). Monday – Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.