I Had A Wholly Cow!

Remember the phrase, "Don't have a cow?"  I sure do!  I think I said it daily for many years.  Probably most of the time to my poor parents!

But I did have a cow yesterday.  A Wholly Cow!  Now I'll never say "Don't have a cow" again!  In fact, I will probably say something like, "Hey, who wants to have a Wholly Cow?"  Gosh. I'll probably say that phrase weekly in the summer.

Okay so if you know me you probably know 2 things about me.  First is that I like really like to save money.  I'm not so much a coupon clipper for the grocery store as the coupons are often for items that are not really healthy or things I wouldn't normally buy.  I do like coupons to restaurants, especially restaurants I frequent.

The second is that I'm not the girl to take to a "hole in the wall" joint or dive restaurant.  Really, I'm not.  Best to not even mention it to me.  On many occasions, my husband has suggested small, out of the way places he's heard good things about, or even eaten at, but when we arrived I had to say, "I'm sorry, I just can't."  And we drive on to a more appealing location.

I guess the coupon to the restaurant Wholly Cow got the best of me.  I had driven by it many times and it was the sign out front that always caught my attention.  It read, "Local Grass Fed Beef Burgers."  Problem for me was the sign was just outside of a convenience store.  I don't do convenience stores.

Well, I THOUGHT I didn't eat in convenience stores.  Apparently I do.  And apparently I like it.  Very much. And apparently I want to eat there often!

So yesterday, my party of 5 ventured out and tried it.  Coupon in hand we arrived at Wholly Cow which is located inside the Star-Grill Convenience store on South Lamar.

We were really just doing our part to keep Austin weird I guess.

Favorite burger EVER!  EVER!!!!  I am trying to cut down on gluten products and mentioned that to the owner.  He suggested that I have the burger with a portabella mushroom bun.  I can't even describe it.  I'll only say, that I will probably never eat the bun again.  It was out of this world.  Then I found out that navy seals and elite bikers eat burgers like that.  Oh yeah, I'm on my way, baby!

And of course one can't eat a burger without fries.  We ordered both sweet potato fries and french fries.  They are fried in peanut oil which is much better than the canola oil most restaurants use because canola oil is almost always genetically modified.  The fries were gone as soon as they were cool enough to scarf down.

Not only does Wholly Cow serve hormone free, chemical free, grass fed beef, they also use organic produce when it is in season.  Here is a link to an article describing the health benefits of grass fed beef.  There is a HUGE benefit to grass fed beef compared to grain fed beef.

And the convenience store is also different from most.  Farmer's market produce can be purchased there daily.  How great is that?  Also there are many natural drinks featured as well as desserts made from the fabulous Fredericksburg peaches.

And I have to mention the owner and staff.  They were so friendly and provide customer service that is unbeatable!  The entire dinner was absolutely delightful!  That is saying something coming from a mom of 3 kids ages 20 months, 3 years old, and 5 years old.  Usually taking those folks out for dinner makes for a challenging if not miserable time!

Wholly Cow is totally Austin and absolutely satisfying!  Love to find restaurants that embrace healthy practices for family favorites!  I am so going to have another Wholly Cow!  And soon!!!!