Bobby's Burger Palace - Review

Intro
Bobby's Burger Palace - Recommended
610 Bergen Town Center
Paramus, NJ 07652
Phone: (201) 368-7001

I admit it - I'm a Bobby Flay hater. It's not because he's famous and on tv, but more the fact that I've been to his restaurants and they were generally average-below average (Mesa Grill) or god awful (Bar Americain). The only decent restaurant he had was Bolo and go figure - the place closed down. Any who, his burger joint "Bobby Burger Palace" is near my local Whole Foods in the burbs, so we decided to check it out since we were starving and we were already at the Whole Foods next door. Going in with zero expectations, I am surprised to report the place does not suck bad like his other high priced joints.

Our Menu

Bobby Blue Burger *
Blue Cheese/Bacon/Lettuce/Tomato

Good meat flavor and I liked the grind of the meat as it provided a nice texture. The burger was a tad overcooked, but it was still relatively juicy. The sesame buns rocked as they were soft enough and provided a subtle sweetness. The bacon was also stupendous - perfectly cut and cooked. This was spot on - an awesome crunchiness which yielded to a meaty texture. Blue cheese sauce was a little too runny which almost overpowered the beef.

Napa Valley Burger
Fresh Goat Cheese/Watercress/Meyer Lemon Honey Mustard
Although the meat and buns were the same as the blue cheese burger, this burger was not good at all. This is where Mr Flay comes in and rocks his annoying love of honey. The goat cheese had some real good flavor and texture, but the damn honey mustard sauce was too sweet for a savory burger.

Sweet Potato Fries *
These were surprisingly ridiculously good. Crispy on the outside, but nice and fluffy on the inside with an almost roasted sweet potato flavor. However, this is again where Mr Flay flaunts his love of honey which ruins a perfect dish - oh that damn honey mustard horseradish sauce. Sweet on overly sweet is not pleasant at all. I asked for his chipotle ketchup and that complemented the fries perfectly - spicy and vinegar does work with sweet.

Strawberry Milkshake *
Great texture and flavor, but this milkshake is a tad on the sweet side. Either way, I haven't had a milkshake in a long time and this was pretty friggin fun. Also, I actually tasted some real strawberries in there which was a pleasant surprise.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way | (no stars - poor to average) | * Good | ** Great | *** What the F – in a good way

Overall Restaurant Experience

• Food (7.5/10) – Classic americana and pretty decent burgers.
  
• Service (7.5/10) – You actually get in line to order and pay like at a chipotle, but then you pick any seat and they bring the food to you. Food came out relatively quick - within 5 minutes and the servers were generally nice.
  
• Atmosphere (7.0/10) – This has the same look and feel as all his other places. Dark and light wood colors with the freaking disco colored wallpaper and lights covers. The place consisted mainly of families (obviously in the burbs), but there were some couples there also. You get to see the cooks since this is a relatively open kitchen. We got there at 7pm on a Sunday and waited in line for 5 minutes. It was completely packed in there though.
  
• Price (7.5) - Standard pricing for a fast food burger - think Five Guys or Shake Shack.
  

Closing Comments
Five guys is slightly better in terms of juiciness and flavor, but the atmosphere is nicer at this joint. No idea if I would want to go back, since it's not blow you away good - but for the price and closeness to Whole Foods I just might randomly show up again.