An Interview with Award-Winning Celebrity Chef and Author Bobby Flay
Have a craving for a delicious, juicy burger? Maybe one with bleu cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato? Then you MUST go to Bobby’s Burger Palace.
Are you a “foodie”? Want to get one of Bobby Flay’s new cookbooks personally autographed?Then you MUST go to Bobby’s Burger Palace.
On November 23, you can do both.
Chef Bobby Flay will be signing his newest books at his restaurant, Bobby’s Burger Palace, at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. Barnes & Noble will begin selling books at Bobby’s Burger Palace at 12:00 PM and people can line up at that time. People can come at any time during the event to purchase the books at the Burger Palace and find a place in the signing line. Books, of course, are always available at Barnes & Noble as well.
•The Restaurant
Bobby’s Burger Palace, located in the Smith Haven Mall, opened this past summer. Owned by award-winning celebrity chef and author Bobby Flay -catch him on the Food Network’s “Throwdown With Bobby Flay” and the “Iron Chef of America”. BBP serves some of the best burgers, onion rings and milkshakes around. Each burger can be made with their Certified Angus Beef, ground turkey, chicken breast or “topless”-on a bed of lettuce sans the bun. On a recent visit I tried the “Dallas” burger—awesome with coleslaw, Monterey jack cheese, barbeque sauce and pickles. And I can’t forget to mention the onion rings—big but tender, fried but not greasy, they are the perfect side with a burger. Each menu item, i.e. the “Dallas”, “Miami”, and “L.A.” burgers are inspired by Bobby’s travels throughout the United States.
And don’t forget to “crunchify” your burger with a topping of (free of charge) potato chips.
Finish off your meal with a delicious milkshake or malted—the dark chocolate is my favorite.
New service: food is now available “to go”—check out the menu on the website, call in your order, and pick it up in fifteen minutes!
Bobby’s Burger Palace
355 Smith Haven Mall
Lake Grove, New York 11755
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com
• The Books
Chef Bobby Flay has two books he is promoting at the November 23 signing: Grill It! and The Mesa Grill Cookbook.
Grill It! is full of basic grill recipes, most with Bobby’s signature southwest flavorings thrown in. There are great ideas for steaks, shrimp, and of course, burgers, but also for grilling fruit and vegetables.
The Mesa Grill Cookbook is full of recipes from the kitchen of his famed Mesa Grill. There are over 150 recipes for salads, desserts, entrees, drinks and brunch dishes and a guide to tequila as well.
• The Interview
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Chef Bobby Flay. Just as personable and friendly as he is on television!
LI Exchange: BBP in Lake Grove is always hopping; what made you choose this location as your very first “Burger Palace”?
BOBBY FLAY: We were researching where we wanted to put our first burger place and wanted it to be someplace that is not in NYC, per se, which is where I have lived my whole life. We wanted to reach people outside of the city as well. Just going around, looking at real estate, we felt this was the perfect place to start.
LI Exchange: The desserts at your other restaurants, for example, Mesa, are wonderful…any plans for some sweets at BBP?
BOBBY FLAY: I was going to do a couple of desserts but basically what we found is that people use the shakes as dessert—11 oz of ice cream in each shake—and we have a pretty extensive list of flavors for our shakes.
LI Exchange: OK, what’s up with the “burger crunchification”—where did this come from?
BOBBY FLAY: I remember as a kid always enjoying when my French fries and potato chips got the melted cheese from the burger. Then I started actually putting potato chips on my burger. I am a person who really thinks about flavor of course, but also textures of food, so if you put the potato chips on the burger, it just adds this great crunch to it—it’s way more food to eat!
LI Exchange: Your book, Grill It! is full of great grilling recipes and tips. If you had to give one crucial grilling tip for the perfect burger or steak, what would it be?
BOBBY FLAY: Be patient! Meaning, people who are not very good at a grill, or don’t have a lot of experience at a grill, the first thing they do after they put something on the grill is they check to see if it’s sticking. I always tell people to stay away from it; you have to actually let the food cook for awhile before it will come away from the grill. If you are just patient, you will have a lot of success.
LI Exchange: You have said your favorite food to eat is a cheeseburger. What is your favorite food to prepare?
BOBBY FLAY: I cook everyday of my life and it changes often, but if I had to categorize it, probably shellfish. Lobster, crab, these are the ingredients I reach for first.
LI Exchange: When did you realize you wanted to become a chef?
BOBBY FLAY: I started cooking professionally at 17; dropped out of high school, got my GED and started culinary school.
LI Exchange: Do you have any pet peeves in the kitchen?
BOBBY FLAY: Not really any pet peeves, but I really try to instill really good work habits. I always tell people in my kitchens that good habits make good food.
LI Exchange: Any ideas for a recipe to “wow” my family at Thanksgiving?
BOBBY FLAY: I like Thanksgiving at my house every year. I think the best thing to do at Thanksgiving is to take things people will recognize, but put some twists on them. I make a dish with sweet potatoes and chipotles and I make Brussels sprouts with pomegranates and walnuts.
