Restaurant Review: Bobby's Burger Palace

As I write this, I'm still fantasizing over how good the food was at the newly opened Bobby's Burger Palace (BBP). On Tuesday, August 16, Bobby Flay's latest burger joint opened at the corner of 21st and K Streets NW in Washington, DC.

I learned last week that the restaurant was slated to open on August 16th but when I called to confirm, I was told the opening was likely to be pushed back. To my surprise during lunch time yesterday, I saw that one of my Foursquare connections had checked in there. When I did a search online I saw people talking about how long the lines were but how they were excited to have the chance to meet Bobby Flay who was on-hand for the grand opening to mix and mingle.

Since I couldn't leave work mid-afternoon to wait in line for a burger, I ended up going immediately after work with 2 of my co-workers. I was shocked that the line had died down, I was expecting it to still be down the street but fortunately for us it wasn't. We ended up waiting in line for about 20-25 minutes, which was much better than I anticipated.

The Inside. The inside of the restaurant was pretty much as I'd expected it to be, bright, vibrant, eclectic and even a bit retro. The last Bobby Flay restaurant I went to was Mesa Grill in Las Vegas. BBP is no where as grand as Mesa Grill but I could see some similarities.

The Order. We all ordered burgers and for our sides the regular fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings. I had hoped to polish off my meal with the frozen cactus pear margarita but apparently they didn't have their liquor license yet (I was told they should have it by Thursday, 8/18) so of course they also couldn't serve their spiked milkshakes. Oh well. But I didn't let that get me down, just gave me another reason why I must go back.

I, along with a coworker, ordered the Bobby's Blue Burger. It was a ground beef burger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, crumbles of blue cheese and my fav two large strips of bacon. The other coworker had the Santa Fe burger.

So we took a seat, placed our numbers in front of us, and waited for them to deliver each of our meals. The manager, Lawrence, came over while we waited and explained to us each of the sauces (Burger Sauce, Jalapeno Ketchup, Chipotle Ketchup along with the usual condiments) along with making small talk about the restaurant. He did share with us that we'd missed meeting Bobby Flay by only 30 minutes.

The Sides. When the food came out, since I'm one of those weird people who like to eat everything separately, I slowly enjoyed each of the fries (both were crispy on the outside and soft in the middle with a hint of sea salt) and then moved on to the onion rings. I never eat onion rings but these were absolutely delicious. They were lightly breaded and the onion was slightly sweet which made for a pleasant surprise.

The Burgers. After like 5 minutes, I finally cut my burger in half and went to town. My burger was so juicy and flavorful the blue cheese and the other toppings seemed to be just an added incentive. Advice: It was a bit messy so make sure when you eat there you're not wearing white. The thing I liked most is although there were plenty of sauces available (the "Burger Sauce" is my personal fav) my burger didn't need any of them to top it off. It was perfect as-is!

Lawrence came back over to check on us and asked us which of the burgers did we wish we'd ordered. At first we thought it was just a random question, next thing you know we had a hot Miami burger in front of us. The Miami burger was made like a Cuban sandwich. It was beef patty, topped with ham, cheese, pickles, mayo and mustard and the hamburger bun was pressed like a panini.

While I loved my Bobby Blue, that Miami Burger just did something to me. The sauces combined with the pickles and ham, whew just the thought of how it tasted makes me want to go back again and again. Yes! it was really that good, I even made noises to express my satisfaction.

The photos I took of the meal via my iPhone don't even do it justice. The service was spectacular, the venue was very welcoming and had a communal feel and most importantly the food was amazing! Next time I may even ask to be "Crunchified", it's when they put potato chips on top of your burger.

Make sure when you go, you ask for the BBP Rewards card which enables you to rack up points toward a free burger, sandwich or salad. I have no doubt I'll be using mine often, which means I need to put in an extra workout each week. Since they will be serving drinks soon, beer, wine, and margaritas (all under $5), I'm sure this will make for a great happy hour spot.

Bobby's Burger Palace
2121 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.974.6260
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com