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Bobby Flay opens Burger Palace

BY ERICA MARCUS | erica.marcus@newsday.com Bobby Flay is one of the country's culinary titans.

He headlines "Throwdown!" on the Food Network. He's also an Iron Chef. He operates five successful restaurants, sells a line of condiments, cookware and dishes, is the author of eight cookbooks. He's married to a gorgeous actress. He still has all his hair. What more could a guy want?

A burger joint on Long Island.

Now, he gets one. At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, Bobby's Burger Palace will open on the southernmost edge of Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. It is the achievement of a long-deferred goal.
Beef dreams are made of this

"Chefs have funny dreams," he said. "They may have a couple of four-star restaurants, but they fantasize about opening up a hotdog stand. A lot of them think that it's too late, that they're beyond that, but for me, it's the opposite: Now that I've gotten to this point, I can do the thing I crave the most - which is a cheeseburger, fries and a shake."

Flay has brought all his culinary chops to bear on the tasks at hand. The burgers are made of Certified Angus Beef, 80 percent lean. "Any less fat and you lose flavor," he said.

Bobby's Burger Palace (BBP for short) offers 10 burgers, each tricked out in style. Flay has a special fondness for the crunchburger, a classic American cheeseburger topped with potato chips. The Dallas burger, inspired by the way barbecued brisket is served in Texas, is rubbed with spices before grilling, then topped with barbecue sauce (his own), coleslaw, Monterey Jack cheese and a pickle. The eponymous Bobby Blue Burger is topped with blue cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato; the Napa Valley with goat cheese, watercress and Meyer lemon honey mustard. An unadorned cheeseburger is $6.50, the other nine are $7.50

But wait, there's more!

No less attention is lavished on the fries (crinkle-cut in an homage to the fries Flay ate during childhood summers on the boardwalk at Spring Lake, and served with a subtly spiced mayonnaise-based "fry sauce") or the shakes (made with Edy's ice cream and ranging from vanilla and chocolate to coconut, mango and cola). There are "griddled cheese" sandwiches, beer-battered onion rings, soda, beer, wine, frozen margaritas, and even a salad.

The 70-seat restaurant looks great, vibrant with Flay's guacamole-mango-red-pepper palate and dominated by a gleaming serpentine counter.

Bobby's Burger Palace
355 Smith Haven Mall
Lake Grove
631-382-9590

gypsy

LOL, the "Crunchburger"! When I was in jr. high back in the late 1960s, I used to do the same thing during lunch - put potato chips on my cheeseburgers. They tasted REAL good, so I understand why he likes them so much.

Even now I crunch up a handful of potato chips and throw them in with my panko breadcrumbs when I make oven-baked fish. Gives it a nice crispyness.

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"Please, sir - may I have some more?"

Chef Caine

I believe, when if comes to burger joints, simplicity is best. IN-N-Out Burger, by far the most popular drive-in restaurant in the state of California, has a menu that is the epitomy of simplicity:

Hamburger
Cheeseburger
Double cheeseburger
French fires (one size only)
Soft drinks (small, medium, large)
Milk shakes (one size only) vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry

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grace

I have to agree with you, Chef Caine. This is my favortie kind of burger= mayo, kepchup, lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese and sometimes pickles. I've never cared for all this other stuff on my burgers and my way costs a whole lot less to at our little burger joint. I hope his place goes big though.

Xbones

We finally ate at an "In & Out' will in LA. Just had to do it, to say we did. It was good, not great, but fine. From what I have read - Flays place is just ok. Would love to try it, but to far for me.