Buds Broiler

Love the food but may find a different location due to angry neighbor, Mr. Charlie, approaching my car window to yell at me over his opinion of my parking. I’ve grown up in this city & have never had anyone come at me with such aggression!

I got a pretty average hot dog here, and a root-​beer float. It’s in a convenient location but isn’t the best restaurant in the area.

DOUBLE DOUBLE #4: KATRINA COMFORT FOOD
Today was day two of the «boil water» advisory on the Eastbank. And, for the first time in 10 years, I’m having flashbacks to the weeks after Katrina: Purell at most restaurant counters; not being able to use the tap to shave, shower or brush my teeth; the oppressive 100 degree heat index; summer ennui; and again the entire neighborhood is going through it together. Today’s events also brought back the memory of my first normal meal during 2005’s chaos, a double hickory cheddar burger.
LOVE THAT 1.5:1 MEAT TO BUN RATIO
At Bud’s the patties over-​drape the bun by almost an inch (see pic), the cheddar is grated, and their signature hickory BBQ sauce is a perfect pairing with extra chopped onions and pickles. The fries are thin cut and the onion rings hand battered.
A MEAL IS 50% CHEAPER THAN NEARBY TED’S
A double #4, fries and a refillable drink are $ 9 at Buds; $ 14 at Ted’s and they don’t offer hickory sauce. But Bud’s ain’t no self-​important bourgerie. Bud’s is a dive. It feels more like a well-​worn frat house courtyard with shellacked wood benches, squirt ketchup bottles and yep… sticky tables abuzz with flies.

It just doesn’t get better than bud’s.
Real charcoal makes a huge difference. The hotdogs are the best kept secret in New Orleans. The genuine cigarette ashes in the smoke sauce are a necessary complement to the nuggets, but the real star of the show is the #7 (hold the onions). I’ve often wondered, what if there was a discovery that #7s are made with rats, or roaches, or something equally unappetizing. But I’ve decided that I don’t care. It’s simply the best sandwich on the universe and I judge a sandwich on its taste, not its contents or its surroundings. While waiting for a sandwich try out the video poker, but if you are considering fish on bun, pass.

#6 with onions and substitute the mayo with a scoop of sauce. Need I say more? If you’ve ordered that at Bud’s Broiler, you’d know I don’t need to say anything else. If you haven’t eaten at Bud’s… imagine a no frills chargrilled burger topped with shredded cheddar cheese, crisp ice burg lettuce, thick sliced tomato, and dill pickles between a soft white bun spread with mustard and tangy hickory bbq sauce. It’s nothing out of Food & Wine magazine, but it is a great burger. Plus, the fries are thin and crispy — perfect for salt and ketchup. Bud’s Broiler is also one of my vices and I’ve eaten and enjoyed the food at every location in the New Orleans area as they are all consistently good. I just selected my review for the Calhoun Street location as it is the one I most frequent and the one I ate at several times a week when I was a student at Tulane. If your out and about and have a hankering for a burger, stop in. You’ll be glad you did. And, did I mention that if you dine in you’ll have the pleasure of sitting at a wooden picnic table which makes the chargrilled burger all the more better.

Bud’s is something I’ve grown up with. Wonderful hickory smoked sauce & grilled onions on a good burger. This particular location is staffed by really nice people who are good at remembering you and your likes after you’ve been here a few times.
And they do accept Visa now.

Oh my god why does this place exist? Terrible burgers, worse than McDonald’s. I can only assume that people like this place out of some weird nostalgic impulse and not because of the taste. This is not one of those endearing throwback burger joints. It’s awful. If you want a cheap burger, hit Frostop down the street.

«Why Marielle?
Why do you do it to yourself?
The Company Burger is a hop and a skip from here. You know it’s your favorite. Why didn’t you just go there?
Frostop is right across the street.
Felipe’s is RIGHT THERE.
Yet, you chose a place that you knew would suck.
LOL U DUM.»
That is what was going through my head during lunch today. I was bopping around this college neighborhood and stopped for coffee when I noticed a Bud’s across the street. Since I was hungry and Bud’s is mostly decent, I stopped in. Well, I should have listened to the elderly Greek man who was encouraging me to try Pyramids Café next door. «It’s better than THAT.», he tried to convince me. But I had already decided I wanted a burger, so I ignored his pleas and headed into Bud’s.
I was delighted that there was zero crowd during lunch. In hindsight, I should have taken it as a sign. I stepped up and ordered. The woman who took my order was very nice and friendly and I appreciated that. I got a #3: meat, cheddar, mustard, mayo and onions and an order of onion rings. As I waited, I noticed that I was the only non college kid in here. Another sign that I ignored.
Let me say this– Bud’s needs to do something about their buns. There is NOTHING appetizing about a burger on an ice cold bun. In fact, it’s down right off putting. Pop that thing in a toaster oven for 20 seconds. That should give it at least a little warmth. The burger was okay, but nothing great. The thing that bumped this from 2 stars to 3 were the onion rings. They were actually pretty fantastic, lightly battered and tasty.
Would I go back? Nah. I should have gone to Frostop or something, but you live and you learn.

I love Bud’s Broiler and the 2 stars is for this location only.
I have been coming to this location since I was a kid and it is the most convenient and the man that owns this location and the little restaurant next door is very nice. However… this is the worst Bud’s in the city. The hamburgers and hot dogs are always over cooked and not very good. If you’re craving Bud’s and are Uptown, it still tastes like Bud’s, it’s just that this location doesn’t make the food quite right.
The next time you’re in Metairie by the 24 hour Bud’s on Clearview, near City Park or near the Bud’s on Jefferson Hwy do yourself a favor and get your Bud’s fix at a better location.

No frills burgers at this place. I was working at a construction site at Tulane and this was not too far away to grab a quick lunch. Picnic tables inside and decent prices. Again if you want class this is the wrong place, if you want some burgers for a quick lunch this is a step up from the typical McDonalds trash. The food was made quick and tasted good, it served its purpose. I got the #4 which has Cheddar cheese (shredded not a slice) and hickory sauce, I thought it had a pretty good taste to it and they don’t hold back on the cheese. I assume credit cards are a new thing for them because there was a sign saying they now accepted them which is great since mine goes on a company expense account.

Good burgers, nothing fancy but always good. The shrimp po-​boy is better than I’ve had at so-​called seafood joints. They don’t use the tiny shrimp, nice crisp and golden large shrimp here! Always a solid experience.
They DO now accept credit cards, too!

The #4 with onions and smoke sauce is tha $_​_​_​! I’ve never order anything else from them all my life.

Bud’s Broiler is a local and small New Orleans burger chain. The typical Bud’s Broiler experience is two stars for food quality (as are most fast food joints) but they have a few locations that stay open ²⁴⁄₇ that merit three stars but unfortunately this one doesn’t which is strange as it is the one closest to Tulane and Loyola where you would think the most night owls would be. Typically this location is filled by families enjoying their fast food fix.
All Bud’s broilers have similar looking ancient menu’s that have had their individual characteristics added over the years so that each has become its own unique piece of fast food heritage artwork. Looking at the menu prices will quickly let you discover that Bud’s is definitely more expensive than the usual fast food place. This Bud’s is located in one of the few strip malls within the city so it definitely doesn’t have as much «personality» as the original one on City Park Ave. in terms of location and the building. There is definitely better food out there and this place is located right next to Pyramid’s Middle Eastern restaurant and very near Frost Top so 99% of the time if I’m in this area I’m heading to Pyramid’s or Frost Top instead. If they were open 24 hours, like some of the other Bud’s locations, I would probably end up here more often.

Bud’s,
That shrimp po’ boy just didn’t do it for me. I’ll come back to try the burgers, but not holding my breath.

Quite simply I love Bud’s, yet there isn’t a single shred of decency within the menu. It’s greasy burgers and inexpensive, decent beer. The picnic table style set up rocks, the handpainted menu board is older than you, and it can get a little packed during the lunch hour. That said, the service is quick and the price is right. It’s like the original fast food concept but no drive thru and it’s local with other sites around the city too.

Good basic burger. Not gourmet, but made right there. You can taste the charbroiled goodness! Any menu item is sure to be a pleaser!
Casual atmosphere. Much much better than fast food.

I can write this review honestly because I just slammed two Number 3’s a few days ago.
You walk in the front door and are confused by a sign that says «ring bell please». I refused to ring the bell because this was not a bar in a shiesty neighborhood, this was a fast food restaurant.
Ignoring the sign I stepped inside an uncomfortably small inlet and had to shimmy around a couple chairs and step around the corner to place my order. I was having trouble making sense of the menu, although it should have been pretty straight forward. Once you order from this place once or twice, you will be a pro, but I was feeling the heat when the girl behind the counter asked me twice if I was ready to order after I said I needed a minute.
I just blurted out, «Number 3… two of em’».
She asked if I wanted everything on it. I said «yeah».
She then proceeded to ask me if I wanted each individual ingredient, which totally undermined the concept of «everything on it».
The person taking the orders shouts loudly and abrasively at the people about 5 ft behind her my order and then tells me to «step aside».
Once I stepped aside, I got to enjoy watching the ever so classy show Cheaters on a flat screen above the waiting spot. Someone was cheating on their wife who had some type of degenerative bone disease or something awful like that.
Uplifted by the joys of reality television, I was starting to see people’s orders go by that I wish I had taken the time to craft myself.
Inner monologue:
«Oh shit he has chili on his!» and «I didn’t even know they had catfish! Oh there is the sign under that other sign scribbled in sharpie»
Food arrives in a to-​go bag and I am anxious to pound these puppies since I have a bit of fuzzy hangover feeling from the previous night’s debauchery.
I really liked that they melted a bunch of cheddar cheese on top of my carmelized onions and stuck them under the burger. The patties were probably a bit shy of a quarter pound, but had a nice char-​broiled flavor. They were a little dry, but I bet they would be delicious if I hadn’t blown my load and blurted out 2 # 3’s instead of reading the menu to get chili on top.
I won’t seek this place out as a guilty pleasure like I do so many of my favorite New Orleans restaurants, but if you are into junk food, you might want to hit this place up.

Nom NOm NOm.
Basic diner food, with a kick. The smoky sauce and chili is the bomb.
Burgers are charbroiled, simple. I like the one with chili or hickory sauce.
The fries are alright, good if you dip in chili or hickory sauce.
The sausage «sandwich» is super good, served like a burger.
The po boys are actually pretty darn good, not as good as a good po boy shop, but good still.
I miss this place.

Bud’s Broiler is a small, local fast food chain. It’s good for what it is– yummy hamburgers at a reasonable price, superior to other fast food. It’s not fancy or modern but who would want it to be?
Bud’s Broiler is my weekend splurge. I love the #6, no onions (charcoal broiled hamburger, with lettuce tomato, pickles, & grated cheddar cheese), with onion rings and a small chocolate shake on the side. Delish. I’m also a fan of their chili cheese fries.
The only negative thing to say about this Bud’s Broiler is that I wish it was open later, especially on Sunday. The City Park location is open 24 hours, so if you really have a craving, you can drive there.
If you’re near Tulane and are craving a basic burger, head to Bud’s Broiler.

I don’t understand the love. Cheap compared to other local burger places like Port of Call? Sure. But compared to places that make similar-​quality burgers like McDonald’s and Burger King? Nope.
THE GOOD
Meh.
THE BAD
Burgers: We bought a #2 (burger with BBQ sauce) and a #4 (burger with cheese and BBQ sauce). Both were completely underwhelming. The patties were definitely frozen and flavorless, akin to eating the patties at your neighborhood fast food joint. The BBQ sauce was not anything that I couldn’t buy at Rouses. These fast food burgers would be fine if I were paying dollar menu prices, but even at $ 3 it’s overpriced.
Fries: The burgers may be cheap, but the fries are not, especially for the portion you get. Over $ 2 for what amounted to a fist-​sized portion of fries? And on top of that, they were a tad overcooked and completely unseasoned/​unsalted.
Building: Definitely not a place to eat-​in unless you are completely hammered and don’t care about A/​C condensation dripping on you from the ceiling.
PURGATORY
Service: The man behind the counter was nice. About the only positive thing to take away from this experience.
OVERALL
This place reminds me of the bad late-​night food I would eat back in college after a drunken night out. Of course it would taste delicious after pounding beers all night, but try it when you’re sober and you realize just how flavorless and underwhelming the food truly is. If I wanted fast food I would go to an actual fast food chain, and I certainly wouldn’t be paying $ 3 for a bad burger which is what you’ll be doing at Bud’s.