Come to the Dark Side (we have cookies)
I know, I know, WAY over used, but I saw it on a t-shirt this older woman was wearing at the restaurant....
A friend came over, he insisted that we try Bobby's Burger Palace:
And this Bobby is Bobby Flay of the food network, of course.
Yes my friend is a Grade-A celebrity whore, and most of us have gotten used to it. Well, I've gotten used to it anyway. I can't rightly speak for anyone else, I suppose...
In many ways Bobby's Burger Palace is just an upscale & up-priced burger joint, no denying that, but compared to it's competition it's a clear winner.
THE BEER BATTER ONION RINGS ARE AWESOME!
Believe it or not the place is excellent. Top notch. It's the best burger that I can recall having since... well... it's the best burger that I can recall having. And yes I've been to other upscale burger joints in the area, include the Tasty Burger and Five Guys. Bobby Flay's definitely beats those two restaurants by quite a large margin.
AND THE ONION RINGS ROCK!
For starters, the burgers are mostly medium well rare by default (or recommendation), which is great. They're not all cooked out, hard & dry. At least the beef burger. They give you your choice of ground beef, ground turkey or chicken breast, and I only tried the beef. My friend went for the ground turkey and said that it wasn't hard or dry, though he wasn't quite sure if it was the way they cooked the meat or the toppings which kept it all moist. (he doesn't have the most discriminating palate)
The twist or "gimmick" at Bobby's Burger Palace is what they call "Crunchify," which just means that they'll top your burger with potato chips for added crunch. Not a bad gimmick, but I was already busting the bank diet-wise from just being there, so I skipped the extra carbs the potato chips offered. But what really surprised me was the fact that even the obligatory pickle slice was the best of my recollection. I'm not the biggest pickle fan in the world (I get into moods for them every once in a while), but this was a good one. "Crispy," or even "Crunchy." All the great pickle lovers I know love their pickles with a little crunch, and they'll love Bobby's pickles.
THE ONIONS RINGS ARE THE BEST!
The prices run about the same as the competition, maybe just slightly higher but worth the difference in price. Look, if 25 cents to a buck means that much to you than go get a Quarter Pounder meal at McDonalds for $5. But if you're going to spend some extra money for Top-Of-The-Line then spend it. Don't go somewhere else to save 25 centers per person....
And Bobby Flay may charge you slightly more than the competition, but he's not pocketing a cent more than Five Guys or Tasty Burger. Combine everything his competition spent decorating and furnishing their restaurants and Bobby Flay clearly doubled it.
Well, let me put it this way: If the competition didn't spend 50% or less decorating their restaurants then they got ripped off.
AND THEY DON'T HAVE BOBBY'S ONION RINGS!
Plus there's an actual staff at Bobby's Burger Palace. They bring you your food. They take it to you. And I saw them guide several people to open seats when they (the customers) were just standing there waiting for some place to sit down. The staff even cleaned the tables. No, for real, they actually cleaned the tables. They cleared away the plates, sprayed them clean and wiped them down between customers. Not just in theory, these people did this for real. In short:
The food is better at Bobby's Burger Palace than the competition, the decor is nicer and the service is better.
And did I mention the beer batter onion rings? Awesome. It's worth the trip just for them.
