May of 2018
On the skirt of Brackenridge
Park, BBC’s colorful street mural has intrigued me for some time. I wanted to grab a bite with my friend and
frequent burger co-consumer, Geoff, and our friend Grandhi before a
flight. Given BBC’s proximity to my
home, and large menu to accommodate Grandhi (who doesn’t eat beef), we felt it
was a good first stop on our burger tour.
Service & Setting
The building is rather
interesting. A good-sized parking lot. Indoor and outside seating with a long bar in
front and pool tables in the back. Layout
is a bit confusing, but if you stroll in and act like you own the place, things
work out well. There wasn’t a hostess or
sign, so we ambled up to the bar and they told us wherever we landed we would
be served. Servers were attentive, and
for a busy place the food came out quickly.
Menu
Broad with plenty of
options. They boast a long list of
burgers, but in reality, they list every typical add-on as its own burger –
hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger, etc. A lot of their Tex-Mex was
appealing. We ended up starting with
chicken-guacamole nachos. No fresh jalapeño.
Side rant: I can count the number
of times I’ve had fresh jalapeño in a restaurant in the River City on one
hand. Why do we put up with this pickled
stuff? In my opinion, pickled jalapenos
only belong on ball-park/movie theater nachos.
Beverage
Good beverage options. We
were lucky enough to land in a pint night. Five dollars got you a Big Bend
Brewing Co tasting flight, a full pint of your favorite, and the pint glass to
take home!
Patty
Geoff and I both got the
cheeseburger. They advertise a 1/3-pound
patty, but it felt light for the claim.
Certain bites through the heart of the burger had more lettuce than
patty. I wasn’t asked how I wanted it
cooked and it came well-down. The patty
was stand-off-ish. It has reasonable
juiciness. Flavor was unremarkable.
Dress and bun
The bun looked like it came
off a truck, but did taste better than it looked. They had a good toast on
it. The cheese was adequate with good
melt. The tomato was offensive – it
looked like one of the demo slices for a Japanese knife where they brag about
how thin they can slice it.
As a whole, it wasn’t a gut buster – I could
have eaten a second burger
Sides
Included with the burger is
option for fries and chips with small upcharge for tater tots or salad. The fries had good skin but low crunch
factor. The chips had great crunch, but
weren’t salted. In my opinion, a tot is
a tot and aren’t worth comment.
Geoff’s take:
“The burger is fast-food
like”
The Verdict
The burger leaves plenty to be desired, but
the ambiance, expansive menu, and drink options make a visit worthwhile if you are
live close bye or are visiting the zoo or Japanese Tea Garden.
3 spurs.
