Ugly Banjos

had family in from arizona… they were craving fried chicken. googled fried chicken austin and this popped up. we went tonight around 600pm… sunday…and they were CLOSED! Odd, web site say open until 700pm. Guess they closed early.

Living on the East Side has made eating at home difficult, especially with the food trucks and trailers popping up everywhere. I tried Ugly Banjos on a whim, since I was not feeling any of the other trucks in the lot on East 6^th street that day. I ordered the Jimmy Crack Chicken, mainly because I wanted some macaroni and cheese and collard greens. The service was friendly and speedy and the portions were decent for the price. The chicken breast was fried well, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The honey truffle butter added the right amount of sweetness. The green chile mac & cheese was delicious. The greens were too, though they were filled with bacon… (I am no longer a pork eater…). I know to ask next time.
I want to try the meatlof sandwich sometime soon. And their fried Oreos and Nutter Butters sound too good to be true.

We went down to a day show at the Scoot Inn today and stopped by Ugly Banjos on our way. We tried the pulled pork sliders and they were quite good. The pork was tender, the sauce was great, and it was all topped off with crispy onion strings. The sliders came with some potato chips which were super crispy and tasty (they could have been bagged chips, but they were good). What else is there to say? It’s a food truck in Austin they make good solid food. No big surprise.
Pros: Food is Good, Crispy Chips, Fair Prices
Cons: It’s a Food Truck so the Usual Problems Arise… No Seating, No Parking, Etc…

This was a part of the I AM FAT tour for the night. We tried the Mom” The Meatloaf” Sammich with a side the green chile mac and cheese, with a bit more cayenne. The meatloaf was a bit dry but the taste was there. The onion ring was extra crispy. The bacon brought everything together. I will also preface this next part with the fact that I for some reason have been craving some mac and cheese all week long. The mac and cheese was excellent. The spices were a nice addition to something good. The cheese consistency was oh so gooey.
For dessert, we tried the fried nutter butters and fried oreos. Oh Sweet Heaven. I am not a fan of fried desserts but the banjos have converted me. Fried goodness with some peanut butter cups and chocolate on top. MMMM!
Next time I will have to try the meatloaf sandwich with some gravy from Bits and Druthers. Or maybe just the Jimmy Crack Chicken.

Jimmy Crack chicken — delicious. Seriously among my top 10 all time fried chickens. Perfect meat, awesome breading and just the right touch of honey. Served with collard greens plus a very decent mac n’ cheese and we have a winner.
Only drawback is the price. I think it was… $ 11.50 for that and a Dublin Dr. Pepper? I like to stuff a buck or two in the tip jar but the more you pay for food, the less discretionary spending you have. It’s a trailer. $ 11.50 is the price for organic food or a place that has to pay for rent and utilities.

Went to the Eastside Drive-​In for the first time after jogging nearby at Town Lake. Glanced at a few places and settled on Ugly Banjos to try their Tex-​Mex lettuce wraps special (not on the regular menu).
If I could describe it in two words — unique and tasty. I say «unique» because they didn’t use the typical iceberg lettuce leaves but rather chose a greener, more nutritious romaine. It included a mix of chicken chunks, black beans, and corn w/​some spices in this sauce. Then diced tomatoes, avocado slices, and some cooked cactus on the side. The only issue I had was trying to keep the yummy mix wrapped up in the softer romaine leaves! Can’t say I was a big fan of the cactus — but to be fair I’ve only tried it twice and didn’t care for it either time.
I’m not a huge fan of the prices, but that goes for any food trailer vendor. I guess you have to figure in the cost of having a mobile restaurant.
Despite the slightly overcast weather and occasional wind, it was a fun and of course eclectic atmosphere. Good spot for a bit to eat outdoors whichever trailer you choose.

That’s some darn good grub. I dig the food trailer court keepin it weird vibe too. We had the fried buttermilk chicken breast, and Mom’s meatloaf sandwich, fried pickles, greens, and mac and cheese. Didn’t totally love the mac and cheese (kinda velveeta tasting) but still pretty good.
Everything else was just awesome. The greens were a knockout, and the fried chicken was perfect.
Fun and yummy.

Everything was so sweet – in a bad way. I was hoping that the Habanero mac and cheese would have, you know, that habanero flavor. But it was mostly sweet. Maybe it was the sweet stuff from my other sweet thing, but I’m not sure. Even the collard greens were sweet. Why?!

Really good southern comfort food. The Jimmy Crack Chicken was delicious — tender and juicy with a nice, crispy coating, and the truffle honey sauce was fantastic! The mac & cheese was cheesy & yummy, and I like that it was all piled up together. The Chicken Fried Steak was a surprise as well — tender and delicious on top of smashed sweet potatoes on top of Texas toast — with fried okra on top and surrounding. Seems like a weird combo (to this Yankee), but it was all really delicious. At $ 8.50 each was a complete meal, totally satisfying (even with a hint of veggie!). We didn’t have room for the raved-​about fried cookies, but we hope to try them next time.

Ugly Banjo’s provided me with a rare dining experience – one where I do not know completely how to judge my meal. I was really pumped about Ugly Banjo’s because the menu reminded me a lot of my favorite food, jazzy Southern food. Sadly, the food fell short of my expectations. It was pricey, and the portions were slightly small.
The trailer offers fried chicken, meatloaf, mac and cheese; what could be better than getting these disgustingly fatty foods out of a convenient trailer? Well, better food would be better than that.
The Jimmy Crack Chicken was awesome, though definitely not traditional fried chicken. It was a fried breast, and it came sliced. The crust was crisp, and the interior was super juicy. The sweetness of the honey truffle butter was also nice. The collard greens served on the side were a bit on the «this should not be sweet» side.
The meatloaf sandwich was pretty good. It was not hot enough, and the bread was not the best bread. The chipotle catsup had a nice kick, and the onion ring was a nice tough. The meat was slightly dense, but it was flavorful nonetheless.
I had really high expectations for the hatch mac and cheese, but it was definitely a slight disappointment. It came scattered on my plate, so it was not the traditional casserole type, and it was not piping hot. The cheese sauce was rich, but it was also weirdly sweet, and I could not really taste the hatch chiles, and I know what flavor hatch should have. I am a 3-​year finalist in the CM Hatch Chile Cook-​Off, by golly.
The weirdness of the food here definitely gives a novelty feel if you are into unique eats. The food is certainly special, but the food does have some quirks that I was not terribly fond of. Check UB’s out for yourself. I would love to hear your thoughts because I do not know what I think about it.

My first bit of advice: eat dessert first, otherwise you’ll be too stuffed to enjoy it properly.
My second bit of advice: take a friend — the portions are huge!
I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch in the sunshine today: Jimmy Crack Chicken served over yummy mac ‘n cheese. The chicken was cooked to perfection — crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and the honey sauce added the right touch of silky sweet goodness.
I’m very sad, however, to report that I couldn’t sample the collard greens, which I adore, because they were prostituting themselves with bacon. The good news is that in the half hour I was there, another gentleman inquired about bacon in the greens and walked away disheartened, so maybe they’ll fix the recipe.
In lieu of greens, I had some really good onion rings. Same peppery cornmeal breading as the chicken, cooked to excellent crispness without being at all burnt or dry. A little greasy (the chicken wasn’t greasy at all), but hey, these are onion rings…
As for the fried Oreos, well, it’s a good thing I had already ordered and paid for them, because I really was too stuffed to do them justice. The order includes four, which should serve four people really nicely. I ate two, mostly out of sheer determination and stubbornness, and they were very sweet and very doughy. Not bad, and worth the sampling, but I wouldn’t get them again. For one thing, the flavor of the cookie gets lost in all that fried doughy batter. The chocolate sauce and candy bits were a very nice touch, however… And I did suggest that with Valentine’s Day coming, it might be worth frying up a Hershey’s Kiss or two, maybe the ones with caramel in the middle?
Final comment: I overheard from another table that the meatloaf sandwich was also very tasty.
Final, final comment — Ugly Banjo’s is in a cute parking lot with tables in the middle and a half dozen other food trailers, and I look forward to going back and sampling some of the other offerings. It was really, really nice to sit in the sunshine and listen to the music playing from one of the trailers… until another trailer decided to turn their music up for all to enjoy as well. I’m not saying turn off the music, I’m saying take turns, y’all!

I too enjoyed the Jimmy Crack Chicken. I liked that they included a veggie with the collard greens. Don’t expect your standard fried chicken as this is more of a corn meal-​breaded fried chicken. It’s quite tasty, especially with the truffle honey sauce. It was cooked spot on as well.
The hatch mac and cheese wasn’t spicy like I hoped, not enough hatch but a whole lotta cheese! Add more chiles!!! I still liked it so much but it was so creamy, I wanted to think there was Velveeta in it. Thankfully, the flavor was completely not Velveeta, just delicious cheesey goodness. Add more chiles!!!
A big plus is they have the throw-​back Big Red. All together = perfect southern meal.

Had the Jimmy Crack Chicken. Good crust on the chicken and I liked the honey sauce. The chicken could have been a little over flattened, but it didn’t dry out and was tasty. The hatch mac and cheese was great, but could use a touch more spice. The greens were a touch bitter, but I still ate them all. I’d eat it again.

i love fried oreos!!!

Very yummy! Have to try to the Hatch chili mac and cheese!
Also, the onion rings and chipotle ketchup awesome!
The owners are friendly and want you to love your food!
Will be back, most definitely!

Very eclectic location… the place is a bit off the beaten 6^th St. path but well worth the extra block traveled east. I had the meat loaf sandwich or what they call it, «Mom! The meatloaf!» Sammich. All jokes aside, this thing was fantastic! I’m not a food critic and can’t describe it eloquently enough but believe me, that sandwich alone was worth the trip.
We wanted to try the fried Oreos I heard about. All I can say is these things will change your life. Seriously, they are that good. While sharing the Oreos, they brought out a complimentary batch of the Fried Nutter Butters for us to try… I have to be honest and say that I wasn’t sure what to expect… do NOT leave this place without trying those things… just make sure your socks are on tight.
Great food, easy going owners, cool funky location, good prices for excellent food.