Bull City Burger and Brewery

Reviews 6

HO

Howie Works

I arrived before a crowd mid afternoon on a Saturday. No one was there to explain their concept. Get menus and seat your self, order at the counter and have the food brought out. 4 of us were disappointed with the food we ordered. Took some time and the plates came out very spaced out, one at a time. The kitchen seemed overwhelmed and the place did not start to get busy until a little more than 30 minutes after we ordered. Had a signiture burger, with bacon marmalade? Sounds as if has potential? I thought so, but the bacon they used was burned .....badly......burnt to death bacon marmalade. ......horrible. Bun was nothing special, the burger was very good quality meat! And it was almost cooked to order. The pickle plate.....in short.....if you closed your eyes......you could imagine that this would be so good......but it fell short as well. Very lightly pickled, faint flavors on most of the items, except the citrus that had been with the beets. Throughly saturated with the red pickled beet color. The best part of this was the tarragon mayo. Hot dog with pimento. The dog is not quite what you would expect for around here. It had a mushy texture, but nice flavor. The pimento was mostly mayo with some cheese. Again for where we are in the south, this left a lot to be desired, the consistency was a little firmer than canned nacho cheese, and we found what appeared to be 3 pimento specs. If you made it this far, we wanted to try the ice cream.......and we had choices of 3. First one was a vinalla with flavor, the second was chocolate with bacon, fear of our earlier bacon experience changed our minds on this one, so we took the 3rd option of vanilla. Wow! Totally unexpected, it was fantastic! Actually one of the better ice cream I have had in the area! Must try! I will likely not return, as the only contact we had with any employee was at the counter, the food runners seemed not to care, drop and run before you could respond, the food was not worth finishing for the most part. I just might drop in for some ice cream at tome point......

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JA

Jacklyn Coats

My friend and I went to the Brewery around 6pm on Tuesday Oct 28th. I ordered a Scottish Ale which has become a favorite choice of mine but after tasting it, I decided that I didnt find it satisfactory. So, I asked the waiter to change out the drink for something else as I didnt find it pleasant. Instead of focusing on customer service and trying to make my dinner with my friend pleasant, a young asian employee that Im as suing was a manager came out to confront me about why I didnt want the beer. While I was trying to be polite and say that I didnt find it appealing, he became very confrontational and tried to educate me on beer and make suggestions regarding my palate with no information pertaining to my preferences (which were the complete opposite of anything I would have chosen as a beer. It seems many men assume that women only drink pale ales and IPAs, while I prefer stouts, porters, and black ales.) I found him aggressive and demeaning while I tried to explain that in my opinion, the Scottish Ale wasnt any good, he tried to tell me everything he thought I didnt know about beer. Unfortunately for him, I know a decent bit about beer and even if I didnt, it wasnt relevant as the only thing that was important is that I wanted a different beverage without getting any harassment and enjoy my dinner with my friend that I hadnt seen for a long time. So, instead of catching up with each other, we spent the evening talking about the poor customer service and how rude the staff were.

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JE

Jeff Frew

Had an excellent time at BCBB today. The food was quite good - I had a loaded hot dog, which was sausage-like in size, but the real attraction is the beer. Each brew style is crafted to make you feel like youre drinking it where it originated, and they hit the mark on them all. I ended up with a growler of the RyePA myself, but the Pale Ale is high class as well - hell, you cant go wrong! Also worth checking out is the Brewery Tour and Tasting, held Saturdays at 4:30. It only costs five bucks, and gives you a viewing of their brewing site, hosted by one of the brewmasters. Its followed up with a tasting of their beers, as well as hearing the stories behind each brew, as well as what inspired the name in Durham. Also a bonus: the cost of the tour can be applied to the purchase price of a growler - it basically pays for the half-gallon deposit price! In short: good food, great beer, good people, and a great crowd. I will be back, next time Im downtown.

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AM

Amy Franks

My first visit was last night and I ordered a build-your-own veggie burger. The burger is black bean. It wasnt very flavorful---even with the added cheddar, jalapenos, spicy mustard and pickles and the best way I can describe the bun is weird. It was very dense. We ordered the onion loaf and fried pickles as starters and both were good although the pickle chips tasted more like zucchini chips---good zucchini chips, though. I had two cocktails, both of which tasted more like the mixers than anything else. This could be helped by changing the size of the glasses (served in small mason jars). The space is cool and laid back. Great for casual dining and hanging out with friends. My dinner companions (all meat eaters) enjoyed their burgers and their beer. I think if you are a vegetarian or, like me, dont eat beef or pork, this is not a place for you. I think they do well what they say they do---burgers and beer. Dont go off book.

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RE

Rebecca Rice

I have been to Bull City Burger and Brewery once before. Last time the restaurant was very busy, there was a long line, and there were a lot of people. Today I came a little after 6 PM, and it was at the right time because the restaurant wasnt busy yet. I had 3 things: a Scottish Ale, a Shadoe Burger, and a slice of pound cake with ice cream on top. The Scottish Ale had the lowest alcohol content of any Scotch Ale Ive ever had - 3.8% ABV. It didnt pack as much of a flavor punch as any other Scottish Ales Ive had in the past. I got the Shadoe Burger and fries (fried in peanut oil), both of which were tasty. I was disappointed in the dessert that I ordered: lemon pound cake with house-made sweet potato/chocolate ice cream. The pound cake was stale, yet the ice cream was very good. I sat at the bar and the staff were attentive and polite.

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PH

Phil Buckley

Ive been here twice now, and both times it was fantastic. The burgers are the best Ive ever had, and thats saying something because I eat a lot of burgers. I think what makes them so delicious is that they are made without squishing them too much, then they are cooked exactly how I asked (medium), rather than over-cooked. When you bite into it, the beef is soft and easy to chew - I cant really find the exact words, but the hamburgers are softer than you normally get - and that makes a big difference. The meat they use is also flavorful and juicy, again I attribute that to choosing great beef and preparing it properly. The fries and other sides are also well done and the drinks here are as varied as you could ask for. If youre looking for a hamburger that is well above any other that youve ever experienced, this is the place for you.

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