Burger Republic is a convenient place to grab lunch, located directly across from the Aquarium. Upon entering, be prepared to place your order. I was a little disappointed as this location didn’t have the 96 Burger, which was the highest scoring burger at the World Food Championship. I’m always about trying something with a title like that, so hopefully it has been added to the menu since I visited. After ordering, you pick your seat and place a pager in the assigned position of your table, and when it’s ready they will deliver your food to the table. The atmosphere is very casual, with outdoor seating and garage doors that open for some good indoor/outdoor flow.
West Texas with Tots
All burgers are served with your choice of house chips, tater tots or fries. I ended up ordering the West Texas, which is two thin patties with two slices of habanero jack cheese, onion straws, spicy west Texas BBQ sauce and sliced jalapenos. I did order a gluten free bun and tater tots as my side. This was an okay burger with a little bit of heat, but not as much as I would have liked considering it had the spicy BBQ, jalapenos, and habanero cheese. The gluten free bun had a $1 upcharge, and it didn’t hold up very well. I ended up just eating the burger patty.
The Tennessee
My companion this day ordered The Tennessee, which is served with American cheese, smoked ketchup, Jack Daniel’s honey glaze, maple basted Benton’s bacon, and Memphis dusted onions. I did try this burger and again, I wasn’t impressed with many flavors considering it is smoked ketchup and has whiskey honey glaze, maple bacon, etc. … I just didn’t get all those different flavors. It honestly tasted like a bacon cheeseburger, nothing special.
Espresso Chip & White Chocolate Strawberry
They do serve spiked milkshakes, but I didn’t try the alcoholic versions and opted for a White Chocolate Strawberry. My companion chose the Espresso Chip. Both were just average. Again, I didn’t get much flavor from either the white chocolate or the espresso. Overall, this is a convenient place to get some lunch after spending the morning next door at the Aquarium. Unfortunately, other than the convenience and that being the occasion, I would not return to Burger Republic.
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-Tennessee Taster
