Breakfast Brackets Round 2, Game 3: Bardog Tavern vs. Miss Polly's

Breakfast Brackets Round 2, Game 3: Bardog Tavern vs. Miss Polly's

We're three quarters of the way to the Final Four of the Breakfast Brackets. Today, local pub Bardog Tavern is going up against Miss Polly's, a Beale St. chicken shack. Bring it on!

Bardog Tavern

73 Monroe Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103

The Order: A breakfast burrito, orange juice and coffee.

Breakfast burrito, Bardog Tavern, Memphis, Tenn.
Orange Juice: If you're not into pulp, Bardog's orange juice is kind of perfect. It's not super sweet and thick - it's kind of crisp and citrusy.  (9 points)
Food: I ordered the breakfast burrito, which is a giant tortilla stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese and the veggies of your choice (mine had tomatoes and  red peppers). It's served with salsa and sour cream on the side.
I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to come around to the breakfast burrito as a concept, but I'm a convert now. It's an entire meal, rolled up in a tortilla! What's not to love?
Bardog's was great. It was warm and cheesy, and all of the veggies were super fresh, and it didn't fall apart when I picked it up. (8.5 points)
Bathroom: I used the upstairs bathroom at Bardog. It's kind of weird - there's one brick wall, and three tile walls. There's a full-length mirror in an ornate frame perched on the sink. It was a very clean single-person ladies room.  (8 points)
Service: I raved about Bardog's service the last time I ate here, and nothing's changed - it's still great. I ate at the bar, and server Jen was friendly, attentive, and knew almost everyone in the bar by name. The Bardog servers always seem to make a point to get to know their customers. (8 points)

Atmosphere: It's still a little weird to be in a bar before 9 a.m. Even though Bardog allows smoking in the upstairs bar, the place doesn't smell like a big night out in the morning. It's nice and dark and quiet. (7.5 points)

Price: The total for my meal was $7.30, which was not bad for a huge breakfast burrito and two drinks.  (8 points)
Total: 49 points
And the challenger:

Miss Polly's Soul Food Kitchen
154 Beale Street
Memphis, TN 38103
The Order: Orange juice, a Memphis omelet (which came with a biscuit and potatoes)
Memphis Omelet, Miss Pollys, Memphis, Tenn.
Orange Juice: Today was the first time that anyone has ever put ice in my OJ. The glass of orange juice at Miss Polly's came in a plastic cup full of crushed ice. It took me a few sips to get past the ice and actually taste the juice. It was pulp free and tart. Not bad, but would have been better without ice.  (6.5 points)Food: I figured it was only appropriate to order the Memphis omelet for breakfast. It was two eggs, stuffed full of cubed ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, and and peppers. The cheese was a little patchy, but it was pretty delicious.

It seemed sort of like everything at Miss Polly's is cooked in a cast iron skillet. I know the omelet was, and I'm fairly certain that the side of seasoned potatoes was. When I saw a little bit of black crunchiness on the bottom of my biscuit, I started to wonder if everything at Miss Polly's is skillet-cooked. I do wish that Miss Polly's served their chicken and waffles during breakfast.

The biscuit was fairly average, but the potatoes were tasty. (7.5 points)

Bathroom: The bathroom at Miss Polly's is at the back of the restaurant. It's a dimly-lit single-person room with two giant mirrors. There was a little blue air freshener on the sink. It was clean, but it wasn't anywhere you'd want to spend a ton of time. (6.5 points)

Service: Miss Polly's service was quick and efficient. I wasn't the only person there today, so my server wasn't as chatty as she was last time, but the service wasn't unfriendly.  (8 points)

Atmosphere: Miss Polly's was fairly low key today - it was just me and a group of guys in their late 20s. It was fairly quiet - music was playing and local news and ESPN were on the TVs. The restaurant has a bit of a touristy vibe to it. Miss Polly's plays up their Southerness in a little bit of a cheesy way - signs that say things like "It's sancti-fried!" are posted all over.   (6.5 points)

Price: My omelet and OJ totaled up to 9.59 before the tip.  (6.5  points).

Total: 41.5 points
Alas, the chicken shack has been trounced by the narrow local bar. There's only one more match-up (Brother Junipers vs. Beignet Cafe) before the brackets move into the Final Four.

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kjester
lol -- I can't drink OJ without the ice now. Pulp, no pulp, doesn't matter, but ice is a MUST. Good luck with the rest of the bracket challenge.
March 12, 2010 5:13pm