Good Time Charlie’s has the look and feel of some type of honkey tonk that should be removed outside of the city limits, but is instead located between Alamo Heights and downtown on Broadway. The beer comes in bonafide buckets (not the commericial kind that beer companies dole out), the floor creeks and there’s even an old Ronald Reagan newspaper add hawking cigarettes as a part of the hodgepodge of Americana on the wall.
So what do you need to get? I highly recommend ordering a burger, because they are one of the better ones in town. They are not incredibly greasy, but they do pack in a good taste. This Thursday night I had a jalapeño queso burger and added guacamole (had a nice lime-y taste to it) and bacon.
This is one burger joint where you have to order your fries on the side. I know, I know, for you folks on a budget this can be a little disheartening. If you are ambivalent towards fries, I would suggest not ordering them (the burger will be enough); however, if there is a group (3-4) of you there, forget the fries and order a basket of onion rings.
The onion rings at Good Time Charlie’s are probably better than their burgers—again, they are not greasy and you don’t have the problem of the batter separating from the onion as you try to eat them. They’re really, really good.
Be sure to get a bucket of beer instead of ordering it on tap. I don’t know why, but the mugs are kind of small and plastic (I always like glass mugs). The buckets are incredibly reasonable and each contain six beers; the domestic bucket is $12 and the import is $16.
Overall, I’d have to say I have a good time at Charlie’s!
Value: 8/10 (beer is what wins here; kind of sucks to pay for the side item)
Atmosphere: 8/10 (enjoy the old time-y feel)
Service: 10/10 (even though they were busy, the waitress was incredibly good)
Taste: 8/10 (my that is a tasty burger)
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