Grub Burger Bar

Stopped by for late lunch yesterday and apparently I've never been by in the afternoon, only evenings.   The sun was blindingly bright and I could barely see.  Having to eat a burger wearing sunglasses sucks and I was glad to get done and leave.  Also do not care for how they assign you a table, which in my case being by myself left me sitting one direction with the sun beaming in off a pickup truck window like a lazer spotlight, or sitting the other way looking at myself in the mirrors that block the view of the bar and raised area.  (Table 12 sucks).   Listening to people laughing in the bar made me realize, that if they hadn't told me where to sit, I probably would have sat at the bar instead, out of the sunlight and probably bought a beer.    Whatever...  

The Guacapotle was exactly what I was craving but again, that too much bread thing.  The beef tasted great and was cooked perfectly to my liking, could barely taste any chipotle, they have added a pinkish orange sauce that looks like stover sauce but it seems to have munged the flavors of the chipotle mayo and the guacamole, which had little to no heat.  But my god so much bread.   I felt like I was gorging myself with bread.  I wanted to take that steak knife they give you and slice the top bun in half to get rid of all that extra bread that the juices can't even soak into but that was just a pain in the ass to try.   I wish they would offer any of their burgers in Texas Toast as that would wipe Whataburgers nose.  The onion rings were great as always and even while a single order is only 5-6 giant thickly batter rings, I could not even finish them because of being full of bread to the point of feeling sickly.   Hate to say it but Whataburger currently has the Guacapotle burger beat with their Monterey Melt.  

The Strawberry Lemonade was tasty but at $3 per plastic 16 oz. cup (about 12 ounces) that's too pricey.   And I am a little suspicious of the strawberry flavor as I didn't see any flesh evidence of real strawberries being used this time and I seriously doubt that they filtered it for such a clean and perfectly clear consistency.  VY's Asian Kitchen has them beat hands down with a 20 oz. Strawberry lemonade with real crushed strawberries, for $2.  

And why does the receipt you sign at the register ask for a tip?  I realized later that there was no reason to put a tip on there and felt a little foolish.  That bringing my tab up to $14 and change made me realize that I could have gotten (2) burgers at Whataburger and (2) Straberry Lemonades at VY's for around the same price, for a much more enjoyable experience of eating in my car that has tinted windows to block the afternoon sun.

Pretty tasty burgers.  I had the spicy one with jalapenos on it.  The kids split a regular no-frills burger and scarfed it up double-quick.  Expensive for burgers but if you get tired of greasy old Koppe Bridge (blasphemy, I know) then give this place a try!

Over the years I have watched one restaurant after another perish at this location--Eccell Steakhouse, Knockouts, some fish place... Perhaps a reasonably priced burger place will survive.

This place is a decent, hip, fast-casual burger place you'd expect to find in a "real" city.  The food is tasty, the prices are what you'd expect, the atmosphere is more stylish/hip than the hee-haw burger joints around here.  I like that there is a dedicated vegetarian option (a rarity in this town).  

Format: You go up to the counter, order, pay, and they bring your meal to you.  They assign you a table, which I didn't really like (if I am ordering at a counter, I want to choose my own seat).

Service:  The server asked if we wanted fries with our meals.  We said we would share one side of fries.  She charged us for 2 sides, and they ended up bringing us 3 orders of fries.  Whatever.  Fries only cost $2, so not a big deal.  Everyone was friendly, and our order came quickly (perhaps....too quickly?)

Food/Drinks:

Fries - All my fries (and my dining companion's) were little stubby nubs.  Is this normal, or did we get the last of the batch?  They were crisp and salty as fries should be, but on the greasy side and nothing spectacular.

Chickpea Burger - Very good combination of flavors (goat cheese, falafel-like patty, veggies).  Good bun.  Alas, WAY too many raw red onions (and I am an onion lover), and more importantly, the patty wasn't cooked long enough.  Mushy veggie burgers make me sad.

Blue Cheese Burger - My non-vegetarian dining companion liked the blue cheese burger, but said the dominant flavor was onions, and not blue cheese or beef.

Peach Mojito - The best thing I ordered.  Fresh minty, peachy, refreshing goodness.  Too bad it cost $6.50 and came in a narrow little glass filled mostly with ice.

Final Thoughts:  I'm glad College Station is finally getting the types of establishments that are common in larger cities.  Alas, my favorite thing about this place is the drink selections, and not the food - I can see it as a place to stop in for specialty cocktails or alcoholic milkshakes after a dinner somewhere else.  But as a dinner destination?  Not so much.  And it's a little pricey for lunch, in my book.