I’ve been driving down Holcombe Boulevard in the West U area pretty often since I’ve moved to Houston, and I have to be honest: I’ve always wondered about that restaurant with the giant cow outline built into the roof…c’mon, I know you know what I’m talking about! Last week, I finally got to go check it out for myself – the “cow building” is home to Houston’s own JerryBuilt Homegrown Burgers restaurant!

JerryBuilt Homegrown Burgers is built on the concept of transparency – they use fresh, sustainable, local, and hormone-free ingredients in all of their menu items. Some of the local items used in their kitchen include honey from the Bellaire Honey Company and the delicious iBurn hot sauce. The restaurant itself features a glass wall between the dining area and the kitchen to prove that there are no hidden ingredients or sketchy practices. As someone who loves knowing that my food is, well, what I think it is, this idea really put my mind at ease.

That’s what JerryBuilt promises: “the burger that nature intended.” I know that I felt a lot less guilt while enjoying one of my favorite American classics.

Going along with the “classic” theme, I ordered the Classic Burger, which featured Angus beef, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, Ernie’s sauce (OMG so delicious…plus, it’s a secret recipe), and American cheese. Anastasia tried the Portobello JCB, a vegetarian burger with a portobello mushroom cap, jalapeno cream cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and Ernie’s sauce. We both got our burgers on the wheat burgers, and the food came as fast as it took us to wash our hands in their really nifty hand-washing machine (think carwash for your hands – check it out). JerryBuilt also has some terrific sides, let me tell ya. I ordered the Mac ‘N’ Cheese, and Anastasia got the Truffle Parm Fries. Naturally, we shared these because they were too good to look at without at least trying a feeeeew little bites. The Mac was a little bit bland, I’ll admit, as it was just your typical cheddar sauce and noodles without pizazz. The Truffle Parm Fries, however, were unbelievable, so I highly recommend them when you come check out JerryBuilt. The menu also has an assortment of hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, and some very cool burgers like the featured Big Kahuna Burger (Angus beef or grilled chicken, teriyaki glazed pineapple, provolone, mango, fresh jalapeno, bacon, avocado, and island slaw) and the Saint Arnold (a burger created to pair perfectly with a beer from the beloved Houston brewery of the same name).

JerryBuilt also cares about its community, which is very clear even from walking around in the restaurant. We asked about this large chalkboard that takes up about one whole wall of the restaurant. Restaurant goers had drawn chalk designs and pictures all over it. JerryBuilt is hosting a Dream Wall contest, asking how college will help you to reach your dreams, and they will be giving away s $2,500 scholarship to the winner of the contest. If you want to check it out for yourself, go to @jerrybuilthgb or click on the hashtag #jerrybuilthgb to see the pictures and dreams people are sharing. It’s definitely a crowd favorite at the restaurant!

Currently, there are locations in West U (3501 W. Holcombe Blvd.) and The Woodlands (1335 Lake Woodlands) Check them out at https://jerrybuiltburgers.com/. You’d better believe I’ll be back at the “cow building” again!