I put the car in reverse and started backing up through the drive-through lane at P. Terry's in Austin. The guy behind me honked his horn. My traveling companions screamed, "Watch out!" But I didn't care.
"These fries are cold," I told the guy in the drive-though window, handing him back my sack. I don't know whether he gave me new fries or just threw the cold ones back in the hot oil, but when I got my sack back, the fries were piping hot -- and very tasty. He apologized for the inconvenience.
P. Terry's hamburger stand in Austin came highly recommended. A friend described it as an "In and Out" knock-off with thin patties of freshly ground meat, good buns, organic tomatoes and great fries. So we drove through the cute little location at Barton Springs and South Lamar. There was a stack of Idaho potato boxes on the ground outside of the window where you order -- proof that fresh potatoes were used.
I got a double-meat, double-cheese with jalapeños. It was sort of like a Whataburger No. 2 with jalapeños, only with better meat and more lettuce and tomatoes. The price was about the same too. Strange to say it, but those piping hot fries were really the best thing I ate at P. Terry's.
"Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to taste a couple of fries before we drove off," I told my car mates as we ate. There was much eye-rolling and a few snide comments about my fry-thievery accidentally serving a useful purpose.