Mooyah!!!

There is a new burger joint at The Colonnade. Just down from Taziki's and Pablo's on the corner you will find Mooyah Burgers. I had spotted this place a few weeks ago and took the lovely Caroline there for a burger last week. While there I noticed the hot dogs on the menu and quickly realized I would be returning soon to try the dogs. It didn't take long to get back since I found myself in the area at lunchtime a few days later.

My first impression was; this place is kinda like Five Guys. Kinda like but not a clone. Mooyah is more polished and concentrates on service. They don't have the peanuts that Five Guys has, but I didn't miss 'em once I got my order. Who needs peanuts when you get servings like this?



On my first visit, Caroline and I had burgers and fries. The burgers were big, tasted great and the fries were served in massive quantities. On my second visit I was aiming for a dog or two. I started with one dog, a small order of fries, and a drink. I figured I could always order a second if I wanted one. When you order at Mooyah you check the boxes on a menu/order sheet to select your sandwich and it's components. I selected a fresh baked white bun and a hot dog topped with mustard, grilled onions and relish. The one topping I would have ordered if they had was kraut. I guess a restaurant that specializes in burgers doesn't have many calls for kraut. Once I started eating I didn't miss it. The toppings available include all of their various burger topping which make for some interesting options.

When my dog came I first had to find it in the bag. I had ordered a small order of fries which looked more like a jumbo order when it came. The fries had filled the fries container easily, then more had been dumped into my bag burying my hot dog under a heavy layer of fries. When I finally opened my dog it had been split down it's length and grilled.I was impressed that the fresh baked bun did not break open on the bottom like I have seen similar hot dogs do. I was really impressed with the flavor! I found out that they use an all beef, Hebrew National dog. when they split and grill it there is a wonderful flavor. I have said many times that as I try hot dogs I really appreciate the unusual. Mooyah has succeeded in blending the expected with the unexpected to make a unique hot dog.

I was alone on this visit since Robert is in Oregon for a couple of weeks for family visits and a wedding. I look forward to his return so I can take him to Mooyah for a dog. Next time I think we should split one small order of fries so we can get two dogs.

I can eat out of a bag and a wrapper with the best of ''em, but a paper plate would have been nice to have. Maybe they should make these available over by the drinks or somewhere. It would have made this old timer feel just a little more comfortable. Even so, I will return.

Before I left I was taking a few pictures and apparently attracted the attention of Josh Barrow one of the owners. I had a nice talk with him and heard of their plans to open several more of these places in the Birmingham area. His three man group has purchased the Alabama rights to open more of these restaurants. They want to have a high standard for service to the customer and they are off to a good start. Mooyah's opened first in Dallas and has their largest concentration of locations in Texas but is spreading across the country. We will probably be seeing more of Mooyah in the future.

Another Visit:

 

Here we are a couple of days after I posted the entry above. Today, Sunday, Caroline wanted to meet Susie and Aaron at Mooyah for lunch after church. So, there we were. I had raved about the hot dogs so she wanted to try one. (Listen folks, this is rare, that she is asking to try a hot dog). This was an unusually warm December day; so we ate outside.

We did have hot dogs, burgers and fries. Caroline and I each had our own dog and then split a "Mooyah Little Burger" and a small order of fries. This was enough to more than fill us. This time we had our dogs in fresh baked whole wheat buns which fit the split and grilled dog real well. We had different toppings than I had ordered the first time; and we both loved our hot dogs. The service continues to be good; and they still don't have plates (boo) but the food is good.

They were doing a brisk business and they still don't have platres, but the food is still good!