My visit to Basaberu was made during their third week of operations. That's usually long enough to make sure that at least some of the kinks have been worked out. I was a little surprised by the rather ordinary menu selections. I was reminded of a basic American menu at TGI Fridays or Bennigan's. With a name like Basaberu, I was expecting something more exotic. I was informed by my server that the name is derived from the initials of the owners and their children. Basaberu is not some mysterious foreign name in an obscure language. They should have made up a better story.
The two-story building looks quite large from the outside and has a large parking lot. The seating area for food service takes up less that one-half of the ground floor. The kitchen, restrooms, and offices are also on the first floor. Most of the second floor is taken up by a lounge and bar area.
The menu choice consists of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a few full meal selections. Most of the choices are in the $8 to $12 range. Surprisingly a glass of iced tea cost only $.99 - a bargain in today's Lets make a ton of money on the soft drinks mentality.
My Rosemary Chicken dish was of adequate size and tasty. Burgers are fairly large and well presented. Soups and salads are delivered in unusually shaped bowls.
The service was just OK. The restaurant was not very crowded at 1:30 PM so I expected a faster delivery of the meal. My plate sat on the counter for several minutes while my server passed it twice to deliver water and a bill to another table.
Basaberu is someplace different to go for lunch in the downtown area. It won't survive just on lunch but if they sell a few drink upstairs on nights and weekends it might last long enough for me to decide to go back.
Two Waco veterans have recently relocated to new locations. Bangkok Royal has moved into the downtown area from the Baylor owned shopping strip on University Parks Dr. where it has been for several years. Buzzards Billy's has fled downtown and opened in the old Dock's location. In both cases, the food and atmosphere has improved in each restaurant.
Bangkok Royal's food tasted better and presented better in the sleek modern surroundings. Isn't it funny how much better food looks in nice lighting than under dingy florescent tubes. Prices may have risen slightly but portions were also a bit larger that I remember. I was not a fan of Waco's only Thai restaurant. This is a nice improvement.
Buzzard Billy's owners have remodeled their new location as well. The building looks brighter and cleaner, the staff is uniformed, and the whole place no longer smells of stale beer. The crowds have subsided just enough that an 11:45 arrival got me a table. The menu seemed to have a couple of new offerings. Service was better than at the old BB's. Billy's has always done a fair job with Cajun food. Give the new location a try and you won't be disappointed.
The two-story building looks quite large from the outside and has a large parking lot. The seating area for food service takes up less that one-half of the ground floor. The kitchen, restrooms, and offices are also on the first floor. Most of the second floor is taken up by a lounge and bar area.
The menu choice consists of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a few full meal selections. Most of the choices are in the $8 to $12 range. Surprisingly a glass of iced tea cost only $.99 - a bargain in today's Lets make a ton of money on the soft drinks mentality.
My Rosemary Chicken dish was of adequate size and tasty. Burgers are fairly large and well presented. Soups and salads are delivered in unusually shaped bowls.
The service was just OK. The restaurant was not very crowded at 1:30 PM so I expected a faster delivery of the meal. My plate sat on the counter for several minutes while my server passed it twice to deliver water and a bill to another table.
Basaberu is someplace different to go for lunch in the downtown area. It won't survive just on lunch but if they sell a few drink upstairs on nights and weekends it might last long enough for me to decide to go back.
Two Waco veterans have recently relocated to new locations. Bangkok Royal has moved into the downtown area from the Baylor owned shopping strip on University Parks Dr. where it has been for several years. Buzzards Billy's has fled downtown and opened in the old Dock's location. In both cases, the food and atmosphere has improved in each restaurant.
Bangkok Royal's food tasted better and presented better in the sleek modern surroundings. Isn't it funny how much better food looks in nice lighting than under dingy florescent tubes. Prices may have risen slightly but portions were also a bit larger that I remember. I was not a fan of Waco's only Thai restaurant. This is a nice improvement.
Buzzard Billy's owners have remodeled their new location as well. The building looks brighter and cleaner, the staff is uniformed, and the whole place no longer smells of stale beer. The crowds have subsided just enough that an 11:45 arrival got me a table. The menu seemed to have a couple of new offerings. Service was better than at the old BB's. Billy's has always done a fair job with Cajun food. Give the new location a try and you won't be disappointed.
1 comment:
I agree with most of your judgments, especially about the need for quality local restaurants. To me Bangkok is a good example of that. I'm a little surprised that the Clay Pot gets recommended but not Bangkok. Clay Pot has great ambience but the food is mostly microwaved, packaged stuff. Bangkok makes it all fresh, and it shows. The seafood dishes (including the Hot Sea, for the adventurous) are a revelation and certainly better than anything I've gotten from a chain in this town. Of course I know, there's no accounting for taste, but there's a second opinion for your readers.
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