bad daddy’s burger bar (dilworth)
price: $-$$
rating: * *
1626 east boulevard
charlotte, nc 28203
704.714.4888
www.baddaddysburgerbar.com
now, i know this review may irritate die-hard bad daddy’s enthusiasts (of which i have encountered quite a few), but please bear with me.
i do like this place. honestly.
the venue is a nightmare. tiny, packed, loud, etc. i try to come here when i have more than five people with me so that we can properly combat the noise with ruckus of our own. i find myself deliberately trying to be obnoxious so that i can leave an impression, which isn’t necessarily a good thing – fighting with screaming infants never is.
service can be a crapshoot. i’ve had excellent servers, and i’ve had ones show me this is their temp job . . . and it’ll be over very soon.
the food does a good job of combating the aforementioned issues – a great selection at a very fair price. i’m partial to creating my own burger or building my own salad. if i had to choose something i loved on the menu, i’d most likely go with the buffalo chicken sandwich.
this food is very, very greasy. in fact, stay far away from the onion rings if you don’t want to catch yourself “ringing” your hands in shame hours later. the fat content is not justified by the taste. if you want something deep-fried that is worth the calories, go for the sweet potato fries. i’m not usually a big fan, but these are delicious. being partial to shoestring frites, i find their chunky steak-cut fries so-so, and their tater tots nothing special.
all in all, i find myself getting take-out from bad daddy’s more often than not because the food/selection is really great for the money. if i want to eat at the actual restaurant, i’m in a gambling, cantankerous mood, and i don’t know if this is conducive to being positive.
yes, i do know there is another (roomier) one in ballantyne. why the eff would i drive there if the original is five minutes away from me?
i really do like this place . . . but sorry if the truth hurts, die-hards.
my personal opinion on big daddy’s is that I LOVE it. in fact, i think this is a good example of where renee is coming from a “hip 20 something” perspective, and i’m coming from a “late 30s mom” perspective.
here’s where i’m going w/ this….i LOVE big daddy’s b/c of all the reasons renee doesn’t like it. i can go there at 5pm with my 2 crazy kids- they can make a ton of noise and it doesn’t matter. the food is super fast coming out for my family b/c it’s a very kid friendly place– this place caters to families w/ young children and they know they need to get us our food in 10 minutes or it’s going to be a bad scene. (sounds like maybe they don’t always do that when the 20somethings come in) they have a video game in the restaurant that the kids can play while we wait. they give the kids free ice cream w/ sprinkles at the end of the meal. and, i LOVE sweet potato fries and they have the best in charlotte. also love that my kids can share a meal b/c they have huge portions (example, their kid’s burger is actually 3 mini burgers plus a lot of fries…one serving of burgers/fries for me, and one for each kid…don’t worry- i still eat my own meal too). we can get out of there without spending a ton of money, i can have a glass of sauvignon blanc, a huge turkey burger and some SP fries, my small peeps are fed, and all is good in my world. i give big daddys 4 stars for a kid friendly restaurant that also satisfies mom & dad. it’s definitely one of our go to spots for an early dinner on a friday nite.
thanks so much for sharing your amazing perspective, lara! you totally rock, and it’s awesome that you’re going to be on the blog with me!