Trying Bubba's 33 First Time - Any Suggestions?

January 01, 2020 12:00PM

I swore I'd never do a narrative for pizza/burgers (gotta be steak or seafood), but I recently learned that Bubba's 33 was just like Texas Roadhouse in their fresh ingredients.

Burgers are made with fresh (never frozen) ground beef. All meals are made from scratch too.

Should have known that, given the TXRH brand, but for some reason when I first thought of pizza and burgers, a bunch of greasy food came to mind that I figured was probably frozen in some way. Nope.

I'm willing to give them a try.

1.) Are there any days where there are major discounts? E.g., I love going to TXRH on Wednesdays, because that is their $9.99 sirloin days.

***EDIT***After searching a little online (although, it feels different stores have different days for specials and nothing universal the way TXRH seems to be), I saw All-You-Can-Eat wings for Wednesdays. THAT sounds like a good deal!

2.) Any entree item that is a must have in your opinion?
3.) Is there any free bread like TXRH? And, do entrees come with multiple sides (e.g., side salads)?
4.) Is the report similar to TXRH (if allowed to tell)?

If the report format is similar, that makes it even better.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2020 12:18PM by shoptastic.

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January 01, 2020 09:35PM

The report is very similar; the food is nothing like TRH. No bread, for starters. I don't think they have steaks either. Pizza special is either Monday or Tuesday, I forget which. The Buffalo Chicken Pizza is good, the Taco (or Nacho - dont remember) Pizza not so much. The fish and chips are excellent. That comes with fries and cole slaw, but the bartender here will let me get two different sides. The fried pickles are good, but they are served with Bubba Sauce, which I don't care for. I think its kind of like a mayo/BBQ mix. The tartar sauce is the best I've ever had, though. I think they have a burger special one night, too, but I dont remember which night it is. The nice thing is you can go at 4. My local one is fairly slow that early, but the bar fills up after 5:30. Only had to wait for bar seats once, but it was almost a 30 minute wait. And the rotation is only 30 days!

January 02, 2020 12:13AM

@HoomanShopper wrote:

The report is very similar; the food is nothing like TRH. No bread, for starters. I don't think they have steaks either. Pizza special is either Monday or Tuesday, I forget which. The Buffalo Chicken Pizza is good, the Taco (or Nacho - dont remember) Pizza not so much. The fish and chips are excellent. That comes with fries and cole slaw, but the bartender here will let me get two different sides. The fried pickles are good, but they are served with Bubba Sauce, which I don't care for. I think its kind of like a mayo/BBQ mix. The tartar sauce is the best I've ever had, though. I think they have a burger special one night, too, but I dont remember which night it is. The nice thing is you can go at 4. My local one is fairly slow that early, but the bar fills up after 5:30. Only had to wait for bar seats once, but it was almost a 30 minute wait. And the rotation is only 30 days!

30-day rotation + 4PM arrival allowed sounds pretty nice.

Fish and chips sounds good too. I want to try a fresh ground beef burger. I'm a sucker for fresh burgers. Hate the cardboard BK and McD taste.

January 02, 2020 12:17AM

I think that their burgers are 33% ground pork belly? That seems gross to me. They might have an all-beef patty on the menu too for people like me that think eating pork fat ground up in the burger is gross. I like very crispy bacon, but seems like in the center of the burger the fat would not get a chance to render properly.

January 02, 2020 12:23AM

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I think that their burgers are 33% ground pork belly? That seems gross to me. They might have an all-beef patty on the menu too for people like me that think eating pork fat ground up in the burger is gross. I like very crispy bacon, but seems like in the center of the burger the fat would not get a chance to render properly.

Hmmmmmm - that sounds "okay"...not esp. attracted to it, but not against it either.

I am also interested in checking it out because I've always admired TXRH and wonder if Bubba's is a possible second hit for them that could make them investable.

The stock, I mean.

TXRH is getting close to saturated across America (although, many more will still be built). Bubba's is in the early stages, so I'm super curious.

Would anyone eat here on own dime?

We eat TXRH all the time on our own.

January 02, 2020 12:28AM

No. I would never pay to eat at Bubba's. I only did one shop for them and I can't remember what I ordered. Both the food and the service were mediocre and obviously unmemorable. I delete the Bubba emails after that experience. I do like the TRH dine-at-the-bar shops. Service and food are both great. I have never eaten there on my own dime because there are better steak places than TRH if I want to spend money on a good steak (or I can cook one at home for a lot cheaper). But, I have done many of their shops.

January 02, 2020 12:35AM

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I have never eaten there on my own dime because there are better steak places than TRH if I want to spend money on a good steak (or I can cook one at home for a lot cheaper). But, I have done many of their shops.

I like TXRH's value. We always go Wednesdays for their $9.99 deal. Steak, two fresh made sides, and unlimited bread. Hard to beat. I agree you could easily get a better steak elsewhere, though.

January 02, 2020 12:44AM

I can't imagine what kind of steak would only cost $9.99. It wouldn't be anything I would eat.

January 02, 2020 01:12AM

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I can't imagine what kind of steak would only cost $9.99. It wouldn't be anything I would eat.

It's an 8 oz. sirloin. I believe it's $12.99 normally.

I'll tell you a place I'd never pay for food from:

Cracker Barrel

hate, hate, hate them. Wouldn't eat there for free.

January 02, 2020 01:16AM

Oh, gotcha. I lot of people like sirloin. I like ribeye or filet mignon, pretty much that's it.

I think Cracker Barrel has pretty good chicken and dumplings if I recall. I haven't eaten there in a very long time (over 10 years). I do think the food is too expensive for what it is, and stuff on their menu that I do like I can cook better than they can.

January 03, 2020 12:28AM

Interesting thread. I hadn't even heard of the concept, perhaps because the closest one is about 250 miles away (vs 5 Texas Roadhouses within 30 miles). The headline aside, this trade publication article makes it seem like it might be quite a while before too many of us are shopping Bubba's: [www.fsrmagazine.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2020 12:29AM by NinS.

January 03, 2020 02:17AM

In my area, they opened Bubba's on the same street as TRH, TGIF, Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday's, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's, Chipotle, Bdubs, a hibachi restaurant, sushi restaurant, numerous fast food restaurants, and many others. All of the others stay busy and most have a wait at dinner. Olive Garden often has a line out the door. Bubba's? Nope. Maybe about 1/2 to 3/4 full at dinner, but never a wait.

January 03, 2020 10:11PM

I've done one Bubba's and never again. I bought a pizza. It was edible, while hot. Staying hot was an issue, because of the a/c. The service was abysmal. The bar help was all female and they made a point of working the male customers. Having worked in the restaurant business, I can't fault them, because I did the same thing. I was willing to forgive them, but they wouldn't acknowledge me when I needed napkins. Which were never delivered with said pizza.

I watched the staff in the bar area and every female table or bar customer was treated the same way. It was all about flirting with a guy to bump the tip.

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

January 03, 2020 10:43PM

Like women don't tip. I used to be a bartender/server and I found that women tipped quite well and all I had to do was give them good (or great) service.

January 03, 2020 11:58PM

I over tip as a general rule for good service. The chickee doodles got my 20%, but not my normal 30%.

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

January 04, 2020 12:23AM

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Like women don't tip. I used to be a bartender/server and I found that women tipped quite well and all I had to do was give them good (or great) service.

Exactly. When I figured out not to be an idiot.. I made major money from women tipping me,.

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning; the devil shudders...And yells OH #%*+! SHE'S AWAKE!

January 14, 2020 08:28PM

I love Bubba's. Report is as easy as Tx. Rdhs. I do the dinner at the bar shops and bartenders are always excellent. They do have one steak on the menu but Bubba's is not noted for steak. They are a burger/pizza/beer bar. I usually order the quinoa salad with crispy fried chicken added. They top their salads with potato strings that I really like. And, yes, I have eaten there on my own dime - in fact, I'm going for dinner tonight. The wings are pretty good, too. I generally do not order the sauces or rubs so can't critique them.

January 19, 2020 02:49AM

@MA Smith wrote:

I over tip as a general rule for good service. The chickee doodles got my 20%, but not my normal 30%.

That would really suck if Bubba's service wasn't as "legendary" as TXRH's.

When I researched TXRH, I found that they have a three-table rule for servers. Servers can never handle more than three at a time (notwithstanding staff shortage). The reason is that Kent Taylor, the founder, wanted to make sure customer service was stellar and that was sort of a magic number he came up with for optimal work load.

I don't know if it applies to Bubba's or not. I know TXRH makes service and atmosphere a HUGE deal.

Could be lettin' down the TXRH brand.

January 19, 2020 03:09AM

I was a server in my late teens/early 20s, and I would bet good money that the "three-table rule" goes right out the window when they get really busy. Additionally, trying to handle three tables when one of them is a large party of 6 or more with heavy drinkers and customers who are indecisive about what they want can be a challenge.

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Trying Bubba's 33 First Time - Any Suggestions?

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