Dirty's is good, however, I see it much more in the world of nostalgia for students at the university. It's only problem for visitors is that it's a good, unique burger place, in a city with multiple regional cuisines. If you're visiting Austin, a burger is probably going to be pretty low on the priority list. I think the start of the show is Tex-Mex, both old (
Maudie's,
Julio's,
Matt's) and new (
Veracruz,
Torchy's). You've got interior Mexican (
Polvo's). Then you've got barbecue, both high brow (
Franklin's,
La BBQ) and low brow (
Rudy's,
Pok-e-Jo's,
County Line). You've got southern food (
Hoover's). That's before you get to the quirky Austin spots (
Texas Chili Parlor,
Driskill) or actually good Austin restaurants (
Bufalina,
Uchi,
Birdie's). And then you got all the other unique Austin burger joints competing for that burger spot on the trip (
Sandy's,
Counter Cafe,
P. Terry's,
Casino El Camino, Whataburger, RIP
Hut's, etc.).
To make this less off topic. My favorite burger in Austin was always the burger at the turn at Lions, but sadly they’ve changed the vendor and that burger is no longer available. You’d have to watch for grackles because they were smart enough to steal the whole thing while you teed off on 10.
Also, a very classic Tex Mex place is
El Patio in north campus. I ran into Ben Crenshaw a couple of times there but never introduced myself because he was always with his family. That was a very long time ago though. The staff told me later that I should have. It’s a extremely locals place.