Thanksgiving Burgers in Wayne, NJ

What’s the next best thing to Thanksgiving dinner? A Thanksgiving burger! The crew at Burger Deluxe in Wayne has come up with a unique way to usher in the holiday season.

They’ve taken the turkey burger and elevated it to new heights (literally)! The burger, topped with a delicious roasted chestnut stuffing, on a freshly baked brioche bun, is served with cranberry sauce and pumpkin mashed potatoes on the side. This might be just the ticket for you non-traditionalists out there.

And not only can you stop by the restaurant to enjoy this (or one of the many other delicious burgers), but they have provided us with the recipe so you can make it at home!

Let me know if you try this. Send me a photo of your Thanksgiving burger and we will post a compilation of our reader’s delicious results!

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!

Burger Deluxe

1420 Rt 23 North

Wayne, NJ

973-305-0033

The Thanksgiving Burger is available the entire week before Thanksgiving.

Burgers Sizzling in Wayne!

Even if you’ve only paid the slightest bit of attention to the food scene in and around north Jersey, you couldn’t help but notice the many burger outposts that have popped up in the last couple of years. You’ve got everything from fast food establishments and upscale wine bars, to more family friendly venues vying for your burger business. And that last type brings us today to Burger Deluxe.

Set back on Rt 23 North in Wayne, Burger Deluxe has a “retro 60s meets New Jersey Greek diner” vibe (and I mean that in only the best way!). Owned by the Livanos Restaurant Group of New York, this is their first foray into New Jersey. Managed by longtime Livanos Group employee, Zeki Yesilyurt, he provides not only a warm welcome to guests, but also the homemade baklava (which is not to be missed!).

During a recent media event to kick off National Burger Month (May), Zeki and his friendly staff enticed us with quite a procession of delicious burgers. But Burger Deluxe is much more than burgers, as we quickly found out - beginning with their Beef Chili Nachos.  Arriving in a skillet piled high with really good guacamole, these are not your average soggy nachos. Corn tortilla chips crisp enough to hold the beef chili with red kidney beans, pico de gallo, and Jack and cheddar cheeses – quite satisfying.

We were also treated to a delicious Hummus Platter, served with grilled regular and whole-wheat pita, and crisp vegetables for dipping. This platter plus the wonderful Vegetable Burger would be a great combo for any vegetarians in your circle. The Veggie Burger is full of great stuff – onions, celery, lentils, whole-wheat breadcrumbs, mushrooms, barley, and oatmeal. I am a card carrying carnivore and I loved this burger. Vegetarians will also love it and it’s a nice alternative once in awhile for non-vegans.

Next on the burger hit parade, the French Onion Burger – the best way to describe this is a bowl of French onion soup on a bun (that's it at the top of the post in all it's onion-y glory). And the chefs at Burger Deluxe just don’t take some onions and pile them on top of a burger. The onions are first sautéed in a beef base with white wine, which gives them a rich, beefy texture. Then the burger and onions are topped with Swiss cheese and Parmesan “crunch flakes.”  Oui!

Two more burgers were on their way, but let’s focus for a minute on the classic sides that any respectable burger joint must offer. I’m talking fries and onion rings, of course. I sampled the Classic Fries, served simply with sea salt and other seasonings – very good. Burger Deluxe also offers Sweet Potato Fries, which I didn’t get to try (I had to pace myself somewhat). The Onion Rings really blew me away – house made, not at all greasy, with just the right ratio of onion to breading – outstanding!  There are far too many plebian onion rings floating around the world, so when one comes along that is noteworthy, you’ve got to embrace it.

OK, back to burgers. Zeki sent out the Turkish Lamb Kofte Burger and the En Fuego Burger. The lamb burger is served with sumac-spiced red onions and a classic tzatziki sauce on the side. If you like lamb, this is for you.

And if you think you’re “hot stuff,” the En Fuego has your name on it. My lips are still tingling from it! In all fairness, the menu states up front that this is one spicy burger, but on a scale from 1-10, I would classify it at a 20! I would love to see where this falls on the Scoville scale. If you’re a heat seeker, go for it. Made with chipotle sauce, and topped with smoked bacon, pickled jalapenos, pepper Jack cheese, and habanera peppers, this is not for lightweights. Consider yourself warned!

And any burger emporium menu worth its salt must include shakes and floats and Burger Deluxe indeed does. On the line up, four absolutely luscious shakes that would make any soda jerk proud.  We started with the Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Shake (fresh strawberries with a rich, dark chocolate sauce swirling at the bottom of the glass); following closely behind was the Caramel Shake (house made caramel with coffee ice cream); next, the Brownie Milkshake (double fudge brownie blended with vanilla ice cream – oh yeah!); and saving the best for last (IMHO), the Espresso Shake (coffee ice cream with a shot of espresso) – simply “deluxe!”

May I suggest the perfect dessert to end your Burger Deluxe meal? Zeki’s authentic baklava washed down with an Espresso Shake. He makes the baklava according to his mother’s recipe and it differs slightly from traditional Greek baklava as this version is loaded with walnuts rather than pistachios. The tender layers of phyllo are moistened with simple syrup instead of honey which eliminates that cloying sweetness that some baklava recipes fall prey to. Of course, that just means that you can eat more of these lovely little squares!

Pat LaFrieda Meats (purveyor of choice to star chefs) supplies the Angus chuck, sirloin, and brisket cuts to the restaurant so you know its top notch. With over 15 burgers to choose from, along with sandwiches, wraps, salads, and a menu that changes seasonally, Burger Deluxe is certainly a welcome addition to the Wayne area. But above all that, the Livanos’ long tradition of excellent service, good value, and commitment to high quality food, should make Burger Deluxe a tough contender to beat in the burgeoning burger wars.

Burger Deluxe

Rt 23 North

Wayne, NJ

973-305-0033

www.theburgerdeluxe.com

Sunday-Thursday: 11am – 10pm

Friday-Saturday: 11am – 11pm

Bucu Burger Bar and Bakery

Burgers AND a bakery?  Bucu stands for Burgers and Cupcakes. What??? An interesting establishment has popped up in Paramus offering burgers and house-made cupcakes.  Where two of my favorite foods are involved, I knew I would have to investigate.

Started by Rick Ross and his wife, Kathy, they got the idea for Bucu as a compilation of everything people like: burgers and shakes, cupcakes, ice cream. They have not cut corners on any of the ingredients. The meat supplied by Pat LaFrieda (you’ve heard of celebrity chefs, LaFrieda is a celebrity butcher), is a special formulation made just for Bucu. The burgers are on the smaller side, as compared to the burger towers you might get at other joints, and while the meat had a nice texture, it was overdone for my taste. The people manning the counter do not ask how you’d like your burger cooked and when I spoke to Ross later, he assured me that you can get a burger cooked to order. Next time, I’ll be ordering up a rare, juicy burger-cheese combo.

The tidy menu offers 5-6 “composed” burgers and the option to “build-a-burger.”  Some of the composed options include the “Jersey Burger” (applewood smoked bacon, blue & cheddar cheeses, topped with grilled onions), the “SB 48 Burger” (cheeseburger piled high with hand-cut fries and chili), and the “Pig Out Burger.”  We sampled this last burger because we thought it was actually a pulled pork sandwich, but it’s really a burger topped with pulled pork, Jalapeno Jack cheese, and horseradish coleslaw.

We loved the Haystack Onions – thinly sliced and so crispy with not a trace of grease. The Hand-cut Fries were nicely salted and seasoned.

Bucu also offers chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and a few sandwich choices.  We didn’t sample any of these because, really, we came for the burgers.  Oh, and maybe, a cupcake.

Kathy is the head baker and creator of all the cupcake and cookie recipes.  She uses only Callebaut chocolate and rotates the selection of cupcakes daily, ranging from carrot to red velvet and everything in between.  I forced myself to try the Pistachio and Coconut.  Both had a really nice crumb and creamy frosting.

They’ve come up with an interesting twist using their cupcakes and ice cream – it’s called a “Cupcake Shake.”  Take a cupcake, add ice cream, whir it in the blender, and voila – a cupcake shake!  The owners said the Red Velvet Cupcake Shake has been flying out the door. 

Speaking of ice cream, they get their ice cream delivered weekly from “Max & Mina’s” in Flushing.  Known for inventive, bold flavors, Max & Mina’s offerings the day I visited were Dark Chocolate, Madagascar Vanilla, and Cookie Monster.  Just as you might imagine, Cookie Monster ice cream is blue and studded with Oreos, chocolate chips, and graham crackers.  It was really good!  But being the vanilla snob that I am, I turned all of my attention there.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Rich, creamy, and full of intense vanilla-bourbon flavor – I emptied the cup in no time flat.

Open only a little over two months now, the restaurant is humming along. Prices are reasonable and decorated in warm earth tones; Bucu sets itself apart from traditional fast food operations. Even though you order at the counter, your meal is delivered to the table when ready.  All the food is made from scratch, and all the confections made daily in-house. The owners are on-site and hands-on.

When I asked Rick how he came up with the name (after all, it is a little unusual), he said he toyed with other, more traditional, names but thought Bucu would grab attention and draw people in. That it will, and the food will keep them coming back.

Bucu

65 Rt 4 West

Paramus, NJ

347-470-2828

www.eatbucu.com

Open 7 days, 11am-10pm

The Great Burger Search is Over

Good Sunday evening to you.  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Here in the northeast (specifically New Jersey), on February 8th, we had temperatures reaching almost 60 degrees! What a pleasant experience it was to be outside with a light jacket and not my heavy-duty winter leathers. To celebrate this all-too-brief weather interlude, we jumped in the car and headed to the shore to try the newest location of Bobby's Burger Palace - owned by Bobby Flay, of Food Network fame and restaurants in NYC and Atlantic City. Some of you may remember one of Bobby's earliest Food Network shows entitled Grillin' and Chillin' where Bobby and Jack McDavid would spar off with dueling grills (gas vs charcoal). It was a great show. Bobby has always been a burger aficionado and now he brings fabulous burgers to the masses.

His first NJ location (Paramus is opening in the spring) is in Eatontown - a standalone site on the outskirts of the Monmouth Mall, which is nice so you don't have to serpentine through the mall to get to the restaurant. We arrived about 12:30pm and there was a line out the door. Within 15 minutes, we were up to the counter where we submitted our order and then found seats at the counter right in front of the semi-open kitchen (how lucky was that for picture taking?!). Efficient, pleasant servers deliver your order to your seats. I like that - kind of self-serve, but not.

With a name like Bobby's Burger Palace, obviously the menu largely consists of burgers - about 10 different burgers ("Bobby Blue Burger," "Miami Burger," etc). You can also get any variation made with ground turkey or chicken. There are a couple of "griddled" cheese sandwiches, one salad, two kinds of fries (regular and sweet potato fries), and beer battered onion rings. Also available are 8-10 flavors of milkshakes and malteds - when was the last time you saw those on a menu? The usual iced teas and sodas are also available. I believe the Long Island location has alcoholic beverages on the menu, but not in Eatontown. 

So, we both ordered the "Crunchburger," which is a burger with double American cheese and potato chips (my husband ordered his with cheddar). Barry also ordered a side of onion rings, because he can't go to any restaurant that offers homemade onion rings and not try them. A coffee milkshake and a dark chocolate malted topped off our lunch. When I tell you that, by far, this was THE best burger I have had in years, I am not kidding. Juicy, flavorful, done to my requested temperature (medium-rare), on a great sesame bun. I loved the crunch of the potato chips with the juiciness of the burger. The onion rings were very good and the milkshake and malted were outstanding. And, by today's standards in the northeast NYC/NJ area, the prices were not outrageous (all the burgers are $7.50). 

It was a good thing I got in some time on the treadmill early this morning because it was not a "light" meal, and it's also a good thing that this is not closer to our house (those coffee milkshakes could definitely be calling me...) but for those times when I need a burger, Bobby's Burger Palace is definitely where I'll go. And, I gotta tell you - there is nothing better than a ride to the shore on an oddly-warm February day coupled with a great burger and a coffee milkshake. It does wonders for cleaning out those winter cobwebs in your mind.