Breakfast Brackets Game 3: the Barksdale Restaurant vs. Republic Coffee

Breakfast Brackets Game 3: the Barksdale Restaurant vs. Republic Coffee

Ladies and gentlemen, today, we see that bastion of greasiness, ancestral breakfast home of dozens of hung-over hipsters the Barskdale Restaurant face off against midtown-ish late night favorite Republic Coffee.

In this corner, the Barksdale Restaurant.

Barksdale Restaurant

237 S Cooper St
Memphis, TN 38104

The Barksdale Restaurant, Memphis, Tenn. The Barksdale Restaurant, Memphis, Tenn.

Order: Two eggs scrambled, grits, bacon, biscuits, one pancake, coffee, a small OJ.

Coffee: The coffee at the Barksdale Restaurant (henceforth Barksdale's) definitely tasted like the instant stuff. Drinking coffee there is a purely utilitarian experience, but it does get the job done.  (5 points)

Biscuit: Barksdale's biscuits are consistently inconsistent. Some days (like yesterday) they were small, round, and a little dense. Other days, they're flatter and wider, saltier and more delicious and buttery. I prefer the latter biscuit, but the ones that were served yesterday weren't terrible. (6 points)

Bacon: This is probably the best bacon I've had so far - not too crispy, not too limp. It's total Goldilocks bacon.   (8 points)

Scrambled Eggs: I'm realizing that it's kind of hard to mess up scrambled eggs. These had a good texture and weren't at all runny or rubbery. Bonus points to Barksdale's for offering egg substitute (an extra .50)  (7.5 points)

Pancake: The pancake was seriously awesome. It was sweet, but not too sweet. It was great with just butter on it. It seemed like it had a little bit of a French toast flavor to it.  I want to have this pancake's babies. (9 points)

Grits: Barksdale's grits were alright, if a little runny. They needed some butter or something as a thickening agent. Again, a purely utilitarian item. (5 points)

Service: The service at Barksdale's is great. It's fast, efficient and super friendly. It seemed like everyone that came in knew the waitresses by name. The coffee refills were frequent and the food and check came quickly. (9 points)

Atmosphere: The Barksdale Restaurant is a total greasy spoon. It's also bizarrely UT-themed (Bob, the owner, went to school there). There are pictures on the wall of local celebrities (Jerry Lawler and Miss Tennessee were over my booth) and plenty of Tigers and Grizzlies posters.  (8 points)

Price: The total came to $8.65. Not bad for a full belly and great service. (7.5 points)

Total Score: 65 points

Barksdale on Urbanspoon

And in this corner, the challenger:

Republic Coffee

2924 Walnut Grove Rd
Memphis, TN 38111

Republic Coffee, Memphis, Tenn. Republic Coffee, Memphis, Tenn.

Order: coffee, the Tupelo breakfast (scrambled eggs, biscuit, grits, bacon). They didn't have pancakes.

Coffee: Republic is primarily a coffee shop, so their coffee is really good. It's smooth, mild, and definitely better than instant coffee. (8 points)

Biscuit: The biscuit was disappointingly dry and flavorless. It desperately needed the butter that came on the side and a big swallow of water to wash it down. (4 points)

Bacon: Republic's bacon was alright, if a little tough. It wasn't too crunchy, though, and it had a lot of flavor.  (6 points)

Scrambled Eggs: Again, it's hard to screw up scrambled eggs. Republic's had great texture and taste. (Sidenote - the menu said that all of the eggs were scrambled. I'm not sure why, unless they're using powdered eggs.) (7.5 points)

Pancake: Republic doesn't have pancakes. There's been a bit of debate on how to score a place that doesn't have one of the judging items. I gave Three Little Pigs 5 points for pancakes because I thought that since they didn't have them, I would just give them a median score. At the same time, pancakes are a very basic breakfast food. If you can make a waffle, you can make a pancake. (5 points, because that's what I did before.)

Grits: The Tupelo breakfast came with cheese grits. Sadly, the grits would have probably been better without the cheese. The texture was a little closer to couscous than most grits (which was good) and they did have flavor. Too bad the flavor wasn't very good.  (3.5 points)

Service: The service at Republic was pretty good for the first part of the meal. My order was taken quickly, the food showed up in a reasonable amount of time, and there were coffee refills.When it was time to pay, the waitress was nowhere to be found. (5 points)

Atmosphere: Because Republic is primarily a coffee shop, it's totally fine to stick around and get some work done. There's local art on the walls and decent music playing over the speakers.  It's a little dark inside, though, so you may want to sit next to a window.  (7 points)

Price: The total came to $10.65, which seems a little pricey for the amount and quality of the food. (6.5 points)

Total Score: 52.5 points

Republic Coffee on Urbanspoon

Winner: The Barksdale Restaurant will go on to compete in round two.

Comments Make Us Happy

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Crystal
WOOHOO, Barksdale's! Luv it!
November 24, 2009 4:46pm
Heather
Just so you know barksdale's coffee is NOT instant...you should probaply really KNOW something before you print so called FACTS and if you take away the pancake and oj..the breakfast is $3.75...cheaper than Mcdonalds and a helluva alot better
November 24, 2009 6:05pm
Wintermute
"I want to have this pancake’s babies." Hahahahaha!
November 24, 2009 9:16pm
admin
@Heather - I should have been more clear in my wording - the coffee tasted like it was instant. I've clarified the wording in the post. As for the price, I had no problem with it - I felt like it was fair.
November 24, 2009 11:32pm
mary marjorie
The Republic coffee mug is really cute! Please tell me it was not plastic. I have no idea where that place is, never heard of it, I don't think. You'll probably tell me and then I'll recall that I drive by it all the time or something. LOL How many places could be called the "bastion of greasiness" and yet, you'd still want to eat there! Love it.
November 25, 2009 2:37pm
Heather
Thank you!!!
November 27, 2009 2:30pm
veronica
@mary - i'm pretty sure that the mugs at republic are plastic, but they're made from recycled material. took me a while to get used to them, but as part of their attempts to make environmentally conscious choices, i applaud them. and personally, i wish more of these coffee houses had omelets - and all the time, too!
December 3, 2009 1:02am
Bonnie
"The Republic coffee mug is really cute! Please tell me it was not plastic." @mary, the mugs at Republic Coffee are made of a bio-degradeable corn polymer. Looks and feels like plastic, but can be composted. If not composted (that is, sent to a landfill), they will eventually biodegrade, unlike regular plastic.
December 28, 2009 1:41pm
I Love Memphis…
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December 3, 2009 11:49am