BAM by Emeril

On Friday night I had the good fortune to receive an invite to preview Emeril's new restaurant concept at the Sands - Burgers and More by Emeril, or BAM for short. Actually, I had my choice of either going to BAM, or the Carnegie Deli which also opened...but since I'd been to CD in New York multiple times, I didn't really consider that one.

Unfortunately it seems that most people had the same reaction and went for BAM....our 8:15 reservation stretched to 8:45, and we were seated with a couple we had never met. To our good fortune Cheryl and Jeff were very nice people and we enjoyed their company.

So...this is a basic review of my experience and my recommendations.

BAM is in the Sands Casino at the opposite end of Emeril's Chop House. As I suspected, it's a nice place for what in reality is an upscale burger joint. Full bar available with top shelf drinks, and as always you can see the line from the restaurant. We were seated on the opposite side of the restaurant...so we couldn't watch the cooking, but when I checked them out while waiting for a seat...they looked busy, but well trained.

Let me start with....we got excellent service. This does not always happen when attending an opening as it's crazy busy, and everyone is ordering far more food than normal since it's all free. Our waitor only had a few tables and was very attentive and helpful. He definately earned his tip on Friday.

I started out with an Appitizer of Andouille Sausage, particularly since it's Emeril's place. Good sausage with a decent amount of heat, but not overpowering. Jeni had the chicken lollipops, which were tender with a nice tasty breading. Not sure why it came with Blue Cheese.....but that was good as well.

Burgers came next.....which was really why we're there. They had 6 burgers on the menu, but what most people dis was to go with the Build a Burger concept, where you get to pick the type of burger, type of roll, how it's cooked, toppings, side dish, etc. This is a great idea unless you're one of those people who have trouble making a decision. You literally have to answer nine questions to order your burger.....

They 4 burgers available were ground chuck, grass fed beef, short rib brisket burger, and a turkey burger. I went with the short rib since I wanted to get something a bit different that usual. This was extremely tasty and cooked perfectly. I went with cheddar cheese and my own littany of toppings. The burger was great...with the exception of the marinated grilled onion, which were too numerous and the taste overpowered the rest of the burger. Once I stripped most of the off.....it was perfect.

Jeni got apple bacon on her burger.....and let me tell you this was the most flavorful bacon I've enjoyed. In fact...they have an array of meats you can top your burger with including pastrami, andouille sausage, and pancetta. As a meat freak, this is exciting to me. Her burger was also perfectly cooked and excellent.

They were out of onion rings....so we both got BAM fries. If you like your fries crunchy...they were good.....if you go in for fries you can fold in half, you'd find them overdone. They obviously spent far more time on the burgers that the sides...although I did like the fact they were served in a mini frier basket.

For dessert, I had a scoop of the apple pie a'la mode ice cream, which tasted just like it's name. I was told the ice cream is from a local creamery...and always will be, which was cool. Jeni has a strawberry shake....which was decent, but nothing special. If you want a better shake, go over to The Cup.

So....we've established I enjoyed the restaurant, and for those who know me and my love of burgers, that shouldn't be shocking. I love burgers....I mean I love them, so getting a well cooked burger with fresh quality toppings was a good thing.

But.....

I now have to talk about convenience and value. We got our meals free.....but I did take a look at the prices, so I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on them.

This is the first BAM restaurant from Emeril....in fact, his first departure from fine dining. While diners (including myself) will pay $50 for a meal you can't make yourself, I'm not sure how the $14 burger will play in the Lehigh Valley. Appetizers and salads are priced from $5 - $9, and my unsweetened iced tea was $3. Good thing it's an unlimited refill situation and I had 7 iced teas. My ice cream was good....but my single scoop was $6. No toppings....just a small scoop. After having an app and large burger I didn't need more food....but I'd have trouble pulling the trigger on that in any event. I calculated that Jeni and I would have had a bill around $50 for our meal before tip....which is what we usually pay for a much nicer meal. Add in the fact that getting in and out of the Casino is not always the easiest thing, and I feel Emeril's will be almost totally dependant on people already there who have doing well in their gambling exploits.

When really taking a look at this....Red Robin keeps popping into my head. Red Robin has the best burgers by far from any of those Friday's, Tuesdays, etc chains....that's where I go when I'm jonesing for my well cooked ground chuck experience. I just don't know why I'd drop $14 when I can get a great burger for $8. Color me cheap....but that's just me.

So...check it out and splurge, but I don't think most people will put this on their weekly or bi-weekly agenda.