LaBan Blasts Bobby’s Burger Palace


In Craig LaBan’s online chat today he opened things up by blasting the burger at Bobby Flay’s Bobby’s Burger Palace.

Check the crushing synopsis after the jump.

I suspect this place is going to be a meat-grinding money machine no matter what I say. But rarely does a meal fall this short of the marketing hype. The cheery pink cactus pear margarita slushy? This batch was so bitter, it was absolutely undrinkable. The beer battered onion rings were shined with grease. The unremarkable fries were overcooked to hollow brown crisps. My long-ago “toasted” bun wasn’t fresh or crispy.

As for the burgers, the quality of the meat was pretty good, but they had a tightly packed consistency that gave them a pre-fab feel that would be unremarkable if you encountered it at your next block party. It was the cooking, though, that was most. They failed twice to cook my burger medium-rare, and the second version (which was at least vaguely pink) was jarringly over-salted. Granted, new grill guys need might need a while to get in the groove problematic – but maybe Bobby Flay, who skedaddled town shortly after the grand opening hoopla, should come back for a little extra training.

I lambasted 500-degrees a few weeks ago for a similar offense (three tries to get it right). But all things being equal and perfectly cooked, I’d say the quality of 500’s burger and fries beats Bobby hands-down. And in a hand-to-hand between Iron Chefs (Flay vs. Garces’ Village Whiskey), there isn’t even a competition. The Village burger is still king. Of course, I’m sure I’ll be going back to BBP in a few weeks to check on progress….

Talk food with LaBan [Philly.com]