Fancy Pants Burgers

To go along with our Food Network obsession, yesterday evening found us at Bobby's Burger Palace, owned by famous chef Bobby Flay, at the Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills. We had no interest in gambling although all of the slot machines surrounding the restaurant made for a noisy and colorful background. We were on one mission only, and that was to eat some tasty burgers.

Bobby's Burger Palace is set up much like a Fuddrucker's. The menu is displayed on the wall and you can choose from 10 signature burgers, plus one burger of the month option. Unlike Fuddrucker's, this place only offers beef, turkey, and chicken, so no buffalo or elk folks. There is also wine and bottled beer for purchase, a signature frozen margarita, and a full bar if you'd like something other than the menu options. We decided to go with fountain drinks this time to save a little money.

I chose the burger of the month, titled the Napa Valley Burger. When I list the ingredients, I bet you''ll be able to tell right off the bat why I chose it. It was a fairly simple beef burger with watercress, goat cheese, and a Meyer lemon honey mustard sauce. Did you figure it out yet? No? If anything has goat cheese in it it will promptly get in my belly :)

Isn't it pretty? I'm not one for greens on my burger but the presentation gets an A+. I then removed them and dug in. Normally I also really like onions on my burgers but decided not to mess with the taste and get the full effect from the chosen pairing. As far as burgers go this one was pretty darn good. Nice and juicy with the grease dripping off the side, but not so much as to saturate the doughy sesame seed bun. The meat was seasoned well and I felt like I got the true medium that I asked for. They didn't skimp on the goat cheese, which added a great tang to the burger, and the Meyer lemon honey mustard went well with the meat and cheese. I also can't resist a Kosher pickle, and this one was fresh and crunchy.

The boy chose the New Mexico burger, also beef with white queso sauce, roasted green chiles, and pickled red onions. Again, he likes his meat cooked to the bare minimum and he was happy that it wasn't overcooked. The heat from the chiles and the sweetness from the onions were a good contrast, and let's be honest, who doesn't like queso??

Look at it just dripping off the sides. Mouthwatering.

For sides you can choose between classic fries, sweet potato fries, or onion rings. I chose the classic and the boy chose sweet potato. Each came with their own dipping sauce. Mine looked like some kind of aioli that was ever so slightly spicy. The boy said it had an Asian flare to it. The sauce was great and the fries were super crispy. My only criticism is that they were a bit over-salted and I couldn't eat too many of them.

The sweet potato fries were delectable and paired extremely well with the honey mustard sauce they came with. These were not over salted like the others. I find that sweet potato fries always have a little less crunch than regular fries but I don't feel like it takes away from them.

If given a choice between here and a Fuddrucker's I would definitely recommend coming here if you're not interested in a more exotic meat. The prices were virtually the same and I think you're getting a better burger for your money. This restaurant is a chain but primarily on the East Coast; there are locations in Las Vegas and one in Ohio. Hopefully some more will spring up across the country for others to try!