Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Gourmet Burgers @ Bouchees Bistro (Long Beach)

Coming to Long Beach sometimes would meant that a compromise would need to be made.

It's hard to convince anyone to come down to the Marketplace plaza unless you're looking for a bargain at Walmart. The area around downtown Long Beach had revitalized a bit in the recent years with more upscale shops that replaced the run down empty spaces of the seedy side of the town.

So it was a breath of fresh of air to see a very nice looking bistro opened up on this side of the town. It's not frequented often, even by some of my companions who lived in the Long Beach area.

I can see how there was no wait service originally. It seemed like when you walk in to the place, there's a cash register with a staff getting ready to take orders. However, I think they changed the format of the restaurant with table napkins and silverwares with a very nice looking glass for water.

Here is the interesting concept I noticed they offered on their menu. A lot of the reviews mentioned mini burgers and smaller portions of the item listed in the menu. This reminds me of either a tasting menu or tasting sample you can choose before getting the real mccoy.

The idea which was straightforward was that you can choose the smaller burgers and sandwiches in a cute miniature version of the original that will set you back anywhere from $2.50-$5.50 each. It is like you taste a nibble of your companion's plate to compare the dishes and next time you will know what to order. Tasting Menu is popular with many of the restaurants because you want to try a taste of everything or a lot of things where you can get the feeling if you like the taste of the food or not.


Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with lemon caper aloli , sautee wild mushroom, vegetable medley and parmessan herb fries

It works great for me because I definitely have a strong feeling on what to order from this place.Some of my highlights of what was in store for me:


Jumbo Crap Lump Sandwich

The Jumbo Crab Lump Sandwich was my sandwich or burger of the night. This was the most satisfying item I had as it was fabulous to stuff down. It felt like a crab cake in a bun that was devoured within two or three bites. It was fresh and hot off the grill and should be eaten right away.

American Beef Burger with Cedar Cheese

The American Beef Burger with Cheddar Cheese is the most seasoned burger I had for the night. I think of all the dishes I would ordered for a gourmet burger at full size would be this one. Burgers are very contemporary and a classic that often can be easily made without a regards. This one took some care to it.


Turkey Burger


Apple Bacon Chipotle Bacon Chiptole

I also ordered two other burgers like an Apple Bacon Chipotle Cheeseburger and a Turkey burger. All four of these mini would go well with the garlic Parmessan fries. Very well seasoned and worth getting it on the side.


Garlic Parmessan Fries


They also have some wonder milk shakes that goes well the burger. It would be a shame not to include that with the meal. The one big thing that goes great with an All-American meal like this would be the dessert and nothing says it better than an awesome Peanut Butter Oatmeal Gelato Ice cream sandwich.


Peanut Butter Oatmeal Gelato Ice Cream Sandwich

If you were not full before, this will test the stretchy pants you forgot to wear. I heard the cupcakes were excellent here also as the chef made the frosting with his own unique recipe. That cupcake wowed the entire table.I like the service at this place. Even if we have a good number of people in our table, our waitress pretty much worked all the tables that day and still wound up catering to everyone's need. On a slow night, it's still pretty good job considering she manned the register and wait on every table.

Parmessan and Herb French Fries

The place at least put some imagination on what to do with a burger with some unique twist. Getting the mini on all the burgers, sandwich, and soup is a good idea to get the people to try out many items on dish. The whole purpose was to sell and in a way on that I would wind up spending more by ordering a bunch of the minis than I would have if I only one full size burger. That was a brilliant strategy in my mind.

I would definitely come back to this very inviting place and try out the rest of the mini items. I have more fun doing it this way than just ordering one thing on the plate.

The only thing that is needed to be super-size would be the ice cream sandwich. That will bust the gut!


Bouchees Bistro
515 Long Beach Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 951-8222

Grade:

Bouchees Bistro on Urbanspoon

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