Double Cheeseburger and Fried Mushrooms at Lucky Burger

The prospect of getting decent Chinese and American food all in one place initially drew me to Lucky Burger. (Hey, I'm all for fusion cuisine.) The colorful façade also reminded me of Austin, which I have been missing lately, even though my heart now belongs in Houston.

I ordered my usual (double cheeseburger medium rare with extra tomatoes, grilled onions, no mustard) and was all set to pair it with an egg roll when I saw a sign advertising an appealing crawfish fried rice special. Suddenly, I felt vulgar for demanding two cuisines at once. Even though I was dining at a restaurant that resembles a circus tent, I thought that if Lucky Burger does, in fact, serve decent Chinese food, perhaps it deserved a visit solely for that cuisine. So I skipped the egg rolls and vowed to try them at another time along with some teriyaki.

I scanned the menu frantically (as I was now the idiot who stands in line for 10 minutes but still doesn't know what to order when she reaches the counter) and randomly selected the fried mushrooms ($2.99) as a substitute side.

My burger was terrific. The flavors weren't anything special, just your standard satisfying mix of sodium and grease, but I appreciated the burger's fine construction and fresh individual components: bright red tomatoes, crisp iceberg lettuce, smoky onions, and a drippy cheddar cheese that livened up the just so-so beef.

And the fried mushrooms were well-breaded and delicious. Each piece contained a sizeable mushroom that remarkably managed to retain its texture and integrity under the onslaught of Lucky Burger's powerful fryer. Not a limp fungus in that basket. A tiny side of creamy ranch dressing complemented the crisp 'shrooms nicely.