Bobby's Burger Palace - College Park, MD

What a storm! I hope everyone is safe because Sandy was quite destructive, but thankfully our part of Rockville wasn't affected much. Just a few hours without power.

So we haven't started our 'wedding' diet yet, so I'll just continue to write about fattie places like Bobby's Burger Palace. The Fi (I guess that's his new name? Let's test it out.) visited the University of Maryland location. We met at UMCP, and things have changed. We never had nice buildings and restaurants like this when we were there! I'm not that bitter though...

The name is self-explanatory - they serve burgers. Gourmet ones created by Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay to be exact. The interior is bright with warm lighting. It's filled with bar seating/communal tables and very comfortable chairs that spin! It's a casual place where you order/pay at a register, they give you a number, and they bring food out to wherever you are sitting. 

Many of the burgers are named after cities and characterized by a food that represents them. For example: The Fi ordered The Philadelphia Burger is topped with Provolone Cheese, Griddled Onions and Hot Peppers ($7.75). He thought it was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

If you're not in the mood for a burger, they offer sandwiches, salads, sides, milkshakes and other beverages. Also, if you don't eat beef, you can substitute the beef patty with turkey or chicken breast.

I wanted a flavor explosion so I ordered the Bobby Blue Burger with Blue Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato $7.75), and it wasn't as pungent as I was hoping. Again, it was an ok burger, but nothing particularly special. Ray's Hell Burger's equivalent is much better.

I love Sweet Potato Fries ($3) and these came with a Honey Mustard Horseradish Sauce which was awesome.

If you like dipping sauces, they have a variety including Jalapeño Hot Sauce, Chipotle Ketchup, Burger Sauce, and Barbecue. Sadly none of them really stuck out for me.

Overall, we weren't wowed. So if we were visiting our Alma Matar again, we'd probably stop by Cluck U. However, I will say their service was impressive. We weren't there for long, but 3 different times someone would check on us. Pretty nice!

8150 Baltimore Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
240-542-4702
www.bobbysburgerpalace.com

Plato's Diner - College Park, MD

A few weeks ago I went to Plato's Diner in College Park, MD in memory of my late friend D.Ellis. During our junior year of college he passed away in his Knox Box apartment in a fire. Plato's was his favorite place to go eat, so once a year a group of us meet up and reminiscence.

It is located in on Rte. 1 right outside of the University of Maryland campus. There is a free parking lot, and the closest metro stop is College Park on the Green line. We met up for lunch this year, however I forgot to take a picture of the outside, so I came back at night.

The place isn't that big but then again most diners aren't. There are booths, some tables and some sort of ancient Greek decor.

This is the main dining room, and it was actually really packed on this Sunday afternoon.

The menu consists of everything from breakfast, Greek & Italian food, sandwiches, soup/salads, burgers, cakes, pastas, to seafood.

I ordered the 'French Shorty - 4 French toast triangles' for $4.79. So good and cheap! I like how they give you individual maple syrup packets. I ate the entire thing really fast. Maybe I just have a thing for french toast now (see Firefly).

We had a great server who was friendly, and everyone seemed to enjoy their food. Its a very casual place, however my only gripe is they won't let you split the check between multiple people before a certain time of day. So someone needs to pay for the whole thing, or remember to bring cash! The most expensive item is the 'Surf and Turf' for $22.99, however you can find food like I did for very cheap too. One cool thing is all baking happens on the premises. 7150 Baltimore Ave College Park, MD 20740 301-779-7070