Bobby’s Burger Palace

Calling all sporks! Calling all sporks! Run, don’t walk, to any of the Bobby’s Burger Palace (BBP) locations near you! At the moment there are 4 locations – Smith Haven Mall (Lake Grove, NY), Monmouth Mall (Eatontown, NJ), Bergen Town Center (Paramus, NJ), and the Mohegan Sun Casino (CT).

Before we start, anyone going to BBP and expecting Bobby Flay fine dining will be seriously disappointed. This ain’t that kinda place! Never was meant to be. This isn’t what you would call a burger restaurant, it’s more of what you would call a burger joint, in less seedy surroundings. No linens. Slightly self-service. This is fast and this is good – let me rephrase, not good, GREAT!  The burgers are $7.50, a diner price really, so if you are expecting Flay quality (which is what you get) and Micky D prices, sidle over to the Golden Arches for some fake beef on a bun. This is angus beef, baby, and a bargain at that price! Hard to imagine that there are some folk out there complaining about the cost of these burgers!

Fork and Tea Strainer visited the BBP at the Smith Haven Mall. The interior is funky. Warm, retro tones, soft shapes, comfy chairs. There are tables with high chairs, counter space with stools and regular tables with chairs. The place is immaculate, the staff very friendly. When you walk in there is a huge menu hanging on the wall.  Once you work your way through the menu, salivating, and figure out what to order – well, the choices are all so good, it’s more a matter of eliminating than choosing! – you order, pay, take a number,  a large plastic tumbler, and find a seat. The most difficult part may be finding a seat! There is plenty of counter room, and every seat is the same, so they are all comfortable. If you’re having a fountain soda, which is bottomless, you help yourself. Iced tea, beer and margaritas are brought to you. Nay sayers, try getting a margarita at the Golden Arches!

This was Fork’s first time at BBP, so the choice was absolutely simple – CRUNCH BURGER!!  It really doesn’t get better than that! Perfect angus burger, perfectly cooked, (oh, yes, they ask how you want it cooked when you order) crunchy on the outside, double American cheese, lightly toasted bun, and covered in potato chips.  Now, back when I was just a salad fork, I loved to put chips or Doritos on my sandwiches, so potato chips on a burger seemed like a natural progression. The burger is big. No interference from lettuce and tomato. It comes served with a pickle. 

Tea Strainer, on the other hand, has been here a few times! Without Fork! Can you imagine!?  Well, now I have been here without Spoon and this fact will, of course, necessitate another trip to BBP. It’s a tough job, but I am sure this Fork is up to the challenge. Fork will just have to keep a stiff tine and eat here again. Such a hardship! NOT!!!  But, back to Tea Strainer and that burger.  Tea Strainer stood there, I have had this, and I have had that, and actually shocked that I wanted a crunch burger!! Tea Strainer finally settled on a Bobby’s Blue Burger. The burger is beautifully plated. Big burger, lettuce and tomato, covered in crumbled blue cheese, and what looked like a blue cheese sauce. Next to the burger were two huge  pieces of perfectly cooked bacon.  Fork was having serious food envy.

While staring at the menu Tea Strainer asked if Fork wanted regular fries or sweet potato fries. Fork answered with a simple YES, which left Tea Strainer a little confused. You mean you want to order both? Huh? You mean we can’t have both fries AND the onion rings? See now why Spoon needs to take a secondary adventure to this fine burger joint? Fork acquiesced and said yes, both fries, didn’t even mention the onion rings. So glad we did order both fries.

The french fries are great. Slim, crispy, good quality potatoes. Salted. Crispy. Yummy. Did I mention crispy? There is nothing worse than a soggy fry! Accompanying this generous serving of french fries is Bobby’s BBP Fry Sauce. Slighty spicy, slightly sweet, seriously good complement for these fries. It’s a mayonnaise based sauce that definitely has some chipolte in there.

Now the sweet potato fries. These are seriously decadent. Thin, crispy, sweet, caramelized, perfect. Another generous portion. And that little ramekin next to the fries? That’s a honey mustard sauce with horseradish. Totally amazing. You can taste the mustard and the honey clearly, and then there’s another taste that just catches you at the end, hard to pinpoint, not overwhelming at all, but really adds a nice depth to the sauce.

Also on each table and scattered along the counter were bottles of different condiments. There was the usual salt and pepper, ketchup and mustard. There was also burger sauce, chipolte ketchup and jalapeno ketchup. Naturally the first thing Fork and Tea Strainer did was make little blobs of sauce on the plates to try each sauce. The burger sauce was great. You definitely can taste BBQ sauce, worcestershire, molasses, mustard and something else I can’t quite touch on.  The chipolte sauce was good, a little strong, but nice to dip the fries in.  The jalapeno didn’t match up so well for Fork. But the nice thing about variety is there is always something for everyone! And if you have become a Flay sauce addict, toy can now purchase them online at BBP Sauce just click on products at the bottom of the screen.

You can have your burger topless, you can have ground turkey or ground chicken. Burgers are cooked to order and to your satisfaction. No matter your opinion of Bobby Flay, this guy knows his way around a grill and BBP proves he knows his way around a burger! This truly is ‘Have it your way’.

This review doesn’t end with what I would have IF I go back, but what I will have WHEN I go back. Spoon, mark your calendar, it’s time for a road trip!

For those that cannot get enough Bobby Flay and his burgers, there’s even a book – Burgers, Fries & Shakes.

Bobby’s Burger Palace ~ Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, NY ~ Monmouth Mall, Eatontown, NJ ~ Bergen Town Center, Paramus, NJ ~ Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT 

Moutarde

In the heart of restaurant laden Park Slope lays the Parisian-style bistro Moutarde.   Inside and out it looks very much like a French bistro – or at least the American concept of what a French bistro should look like. There are some round marble-topped cafe tables, some wood topped tables, black & white checked floor, overly crowded, overly noisy and overly expensive for the typical bistro fare, and service that is not so great. There are mustard jars and spice jars adorning the walls and scattered on the shelves throughout the restaurant.

Their biggest, and most recent, claim to fame is having a scene from the wonderful film Julie & Julia filmed there. Yes, foodies, a scene that was supposed to be in France was actually filmed in Park Slope, Brooklyn! Do you remember the scene where Julia was having lunch with her sister and introduced her to brie? That scene was shot at Moutarde!

And that movie scene is exactly what brought Fork and Fish Fork to Park Slope this day for brunch. We must have been early. When we walked into Moutarde, there were open tables scattered throughout the restaurant. The restaurant is very light and has a warm feel to it. We were shown to a 4 top table, nervous that at some point two more people would be wedged in next to us. The only difficult t hing about this table was that Fork was sitting on the side of the table that was by the pathway from the kitchen. I swear Fork’s tines were all askew by the end of brunch! Luckily, Fish Fork was sitting across the table and was spared the cutlery bashing!

As it was an early Sunday afternoon, brunch was still being served. One of the nice things about the menu at Moutarde is that the brunch menu has many lunch or dinner type items on it.  There are steaks and burgers and various breakfast items.

Fork and Fish Fork both ordered the Croque Monsieur. Fork cannot resist a good Croque Monsieur, especially with a side of fries! Now, I don’t know how things work around your cutlery drawer, but look at the photo….do those look like French Fries? Nope. Not long. Not fried. Not crisp ~ in fact, mushy. And most importantly, not good.

Now, the Croque Monsieur. I wish I had better things to say about this sandwich. Well, I think I can rephrase it. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great. I wasn’t all that memorable. The cheese melted on top was yummy.There really was nothing substantial between the bread. The sandwich was a little soggy.  While its tasted good, it sort of reminded this piece of cutlery of a grammar school cafeteria grilled cheese. The company was wonderful, and sometimes – at least for this brunch – that is far more important than the food! The bellini didn’t hurt in setting the mood either! I understand that the burgers at Moutarde are great. Fork should have followed an instinct and had the burger!

The entire meal was saved by dessert. Apple Tarte Tatin! Yummy! It was sweet and tart at the same time. The crust on the bottom was buttery and crispy. The apples were sweet and slightly tart, perfect foil for the apple-y caramel drizzled all over the plate and the cool scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The only down side of this dessert was that the tart itself was not gooey enough. It was slightly dry, and the delicious caramel is drizzled everywhere EXCEPT on the tart itself!  And this Fork is not quite sure what that feather of mint is doing on this dessert. It kept making Fork think of the children’s song ‘Yankee Doodle’…stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni! It transformed this lovely dessert into a Fez.

The staff is not attentive enough. Proof in that are the tines now in desperate need of straightening form the constant banging by the bus boys as they passed Fork’s chair. Try getting a water glass refilled or to get an explanation of what’s on the menu. As the place became more busy, the service was more lax, and the acoustics just made the sound bouncing off the walls nearly unbearable.  Even trying to get the check and pay the check, was a long procedure.

I think it may be worth a try to go back to Mourtarde for lunch or dinner. I don’t think it’s fair to judge a restaurant by their brunch or holiday service….too many people at the same time.

Cafe Moutarde ~ 239 5th Avenue ~ Brooklyn, NY ~ 718.623.3600

Co.

Jim Lahey … Jim Lahey… the master of yeast  … the sultan of sourdough … the bread God … the man behind the incredible Sullivan St. Bakery…. the baker man who had foodies across America needing No-Knead Bread.  Which, by the way, if you haven’t tried to do, you simply must!

It makes perfect sense that Jim Lahey’s first restaurant –  and newest project – is a pizza place aptly named Co. (which is short for Company, a word which Latin roots mean ‘with bread’ – I don’t make this stuff up!).  Located in Chelsea, this pizza is definitely a must try!

It seems to be a trend in restaurants to have fronts so plain that unless you are ‘in the know’ you wouldn’t know that they were there or what goodies lay behind the plain front doors. The same is absolutely true of Co. But beyond those wooden doors lays deliciousness.

The interior is very simply decorated.  Tables for two around the outside and two large, rustic tables in the center. Each probably seating 12 – I think more, but I didn’t count.

Our waitress started off a little rough and a bit aloof, but as time went on she seemed to soften a bit and was actually quite friendly.

They do not have iced tea!! A sad Fork and Spoon had to settle for other drinks. They do have teeny tiny bottles of Diet Coke.  Teeny tiny bottles at really big prices! An 8 o.z. bottle of Diet Coke for $3! Really? That borders on insanity. The very large glass of Lemonade is $4 ~ at minimum 16 ozs.  There is bottled water as well, plain or fizzy. And those are your choices for anything non-alcoholic.  You can buy 24 8 oz bottles of Diet Coke for $18.95 – and this is not a price from a strictly wholesale distributor, as that would be less – which comes out to about $0.79 PER BOTTLE!  Seems like quite a markup in my book.

They also bring a bottle of water to the table. All of the bottles are emblazoned with the Co. logo. You can not beat New York City tap water. If anyone ever tries to convince you otherwise, and tries to sell you bottled water in a restaurant in New York City, unless you want fizzy water, always go for the tap. The bottle was always full, and fresh glasses with ice constantly brought to the table.

But, back to the food. There are a nice variety of breads, toasts and soups on the menu for starters. The toasts can be topped with beans, chicken livers, roasted peppers or eggplant, and  greenmarket tomatoes. Anything you order at Co. that involves bread or dough is going to be fabulous.

There is a really nice selection of salads. Although difficult to pick just one to try, we finally decided on the Artichoke Salad.  Baby artichoke hearts delicately poached in olive oil lay nestled in arugula, and you could have stopped right there, but no – sprinkle on some capers, a wonderful lemon dressing and top with shavings of parmesan. Incredible combination, hitting so many taste buds at the same time. It was a simple way to get our palates awake and ready for the feast to come.  The saltiness of the capers was nice against the mildness of the poached artichokes and the tang of the lemony dressing. Fork kept thinking it was just missing something else, though not quite sure what. To be honest though, the missing thing wasn’t enough to keep this salad form being completely devoured by starving cutlery! The salads are a little pricey, but definitely worth it.

 

There are 10 pizzas to try and make a decision between.  Not an easy task, believe you me!

The first choice was simple. Fennel & Sausage. Slivers of fennel that become sweet and caramelized while cooking, crushed tomatoes, red onion, buffalo mozzarella, spicy sausage, and red pepper for some added zip. Pizza doesn’t get much better than this. There are those that argue that they don’t like the fact that Co.’s pizza gets a little charred in places, but brick oven goodness is brick oven goodness and the char is the price one pays for a pizza top that is cooked as well as it’s crust. This is an amazing combination. All the things that go into Fork and Spoon’s favorite sausage are all on top of the most amazing pizza dough.

Pizza No. 2. Equally as difficult to choose. We opted for the Stracciatella. For those of you that might be confused by the meaning of stracciatella, which is (A) an Italian soup, (B) a gelato (like chocolate chip in the USA), and (C), in this instance, a soft mozzarella. Stracciatella is made from mixing torn mozzarella and cream. It is very delicate and creamy.

Atop this crispy crust is stracciatella, crushed tomatoes, black pepper and arugula. This gives you a delicate creamy element and a delicate peppery element. Another incredible combination. Fork and Spoon both like that the tomatoes are crushed tomatoes and not a tomato sauce. It gives the pizza a much more earthy and fresh taste.

Our third choice was a relatively new addition to the Co. menu. Cauliflower. What kind of adventurous cutlery would we be if we didn’t try this new pizza.

This pizza has no tomatoes at all. The cauliflower is roasted, which for those of you who think you don’t like cauliflower, roasting it completely changes the flavor, so it’s a must try. Along with the roasted cauliflower is a bechamel sauce, parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, green olives, chili, garlic and parsley. Fork thought there was WAY too much garlic. Now Fork likes garlic as much as the next cutlery, but when it leaves a strong after taste it’s too much. With the exception of the garlic, this pizza has a very mild taste.  Maybe a little more red pepper would give it a little kick. Might have been that in the middle of a bite we realized that we needed to be 10 blocks away in less than 10 minutes!

This definitely warrants another trip to try the other 7 pizzas!

Jim Lahey has a great new book out, My Bread, this is a step by step guide to his now famous No Knead Bread, along with different recipes. For those beginning to bake bread this is a must have. The No Knead Bread is a great recipe for your baking repertoire, and the variations in this book are fantastic

Co. ~ 230 Ninth Avenue ~ NYC, NY ~ 212.243.1105