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Well first of all I was excited to eat at Bobby Flays place so I had high expectations but that shouldn't a affect my review. I ate at the Lake Grove restaurant. I ordered a blue burger medium rare, a dark chocolate shake and onion rings. The burger was actually raw! and the bottom half of the roll was not usable because it was saturated and I was unable to pick it up. I sent the burger back and this time I got one that was well done. They can't seem to get the cooking process right. Even that bottom half of the roll was wet. The shake was nothing more than ice cream stirred up to be soft, it was too thick to drink, and surprisingly for that price ($5.00) it was pretty small. The onion ring order was also small for the price and not so great, not crunchy or that tasty, rather bland. I have to say for the value, the whole meal was definitely not worth the price and the atmosphere was very cold and uninviting. I will definitely not be visiting this place again and I will not recommend this place to anyone either. I can honestly say that burger king is better than this place. Sorry Bobby, I think you better visit this location and straighten out your good name.

@ sbushore ..The Dominican Republic... my husband was sooooo sick from food poisining and he doesn't eat meat.

Bobby Flay's restaurant sounds disastrous and who needs to pay those prices?? I like buying really good meat and cooking it, it gives me a feeling of control.

Worst case of food poisoning I have ever had . The only thing that comes close is one other time in the Dominican Republic . I ate at the Monmouth Mall location on 12/8/08 . Word of advice if you do eat there make sure your burger is well cooked! Mine did not appear to be to rare which is even more disturbing .....

Recently visited Bobby's burgers! It left me flat...they are sissy mary burgers! The Good Steer a mile down the road beats them hands down..and you get fries or onion rings with them! If you love a real burger..don't bother..Bobby this is Long Island...We take our burgers seriously! Go visit the Good Steer! They have been in business for over 50 years and still going strong..bet you can't pass it without stopping in!

Sorry about all the typose and spelling errors. Looks like it was written by a lazy illiterate who doesn't proof before posting. I'm not an illiterate.

Palena in Cleveland Park (a block or two down from the natl zoo).. fantastic little place. the prix fixe menu is a steal if you want 3 courses, and their bar menu burger is consistantly ranked one of the best in dc. my favorite certainly! great drink menu- best old fashioned in town.

2 Amys has the best neapolitan pizza (glover park/cathedral area), but Faccia Luna (old town alexandria and arlington) has the best overall pizza around.

Georges for a cheesesteak, if you find yourself in Georgetown.

I second Cafe Atlantico and Zaytinya. Both are Jose Andres's restaurants are fabulous. Also, the Minibar at Cafe Atlantico is suppose to be superb and quite the dining experience. Unfortunately, I too have yet to get a reservation. They open up a month prior to the date (ex. call at 10 am, July 24th for reservation on August 24th). If you've been or heard of the tasting menu at WD50 in NYC, I believe it is similar. If price isn't an issue, I would also suggest trying to make reservations at Citronelle, Michel Richard's other place in DC. AMAZING.

If you can plan ahead and have the cash, go to Jose Andres' minibar (inside Cafe Atalantico in the District). This is a very tough reservation to score (only 12 seats per night), so go here:

http://www.cafeatlantico.com/miniBar/reservations.htm

to read the policy and get ready to dial. I have yet to get lucky enough to get a reservation or off of the waiting list, but it would be worth it if you were so lucky! (See the phots of the food on the webiste.) I also am told that Cafe Atalantico is very good, but have not been because I would be gobbled up with envy of the people who got the rez at minibar.

For a place that is somewhat easier to get into, call now to book into Central, Michel Richard's fabulous (but relatively moderately priced) restaurant in the District. If you cannot get a rezzie, show up just as it opens at 5:30 pm and sit in the bar to dine.

I highly recommend starting with the gougeres (we ate two orders between two of us), and then moving on to the oysters, the lardon tart, the fried chicken (not a joke; even though the menu here is heavily French, the chicken was some of the best I ever had and comes with a tasty mustard sauce) and then the cassoulet. Delish!!

Several other people have recommended Zaytinya, but a word of caution -- get a reservation and be prepared for a VERY loud room. The bar always is packed, so waiting can be both uncomfortable and time-consuming. The food is good, but in my view not fine enough to merit a seventy-five minute wait for a table.

I have enjoyed Thai Square (multiple locations, but I like the one in Arlington) for some very authentic and moderately priced food. The duck curry is great!

For something informal, I recommend trying out a Five Guys burger (multiple convenient locations in DC). Order the spicy fries and accompany with your carbonated beverage of choice (try the root beer!!).

I wished, I waited and hope springs eternal . . . . . however the Iron Chef was not to deliver on his promise.
God, I hate disappointment. Actually I have been to BBP on three ocassions, always varieing my order and never being very pleased. Too
many flaws. Perhaps I'll wait a year to return. It was stated earlier 'hope springs eternal'
By the way, does anyone know what ever happened to Jackie Malouf ?

Never go to a restaurant the first month of opening with any expectations other than low. No matter what the restaurant, or who the restaurant owner may be. Soft opening or not there will be lots of issues & lots of disappointment.

Well I just ate there and had a terrible overall experience.

First, you stand in line and order your food. Well they have 3 registers at the front desk area, but only staffed by one person. The line moves VERY slowly, and when it was my turn to order the cashier said I'll have to wait awhile as the retaurant was very busy. I explained to him I don't need a table that counter service was fine. So I place the order for my son and I,($27.00 for 2 burgers, 2 fries and soft drinks)and go wait. The way it is set up is you order, they give you a plastic number, you find your own seat and the waitress looks for you when the food is ready. This from a place that charges 27 for lunch. I don't think many Long Islanders will come back for service like this, especially when you can have a larger and better meal at the other Smith Haven Mall franchise eateries.(Houlihans, TGIF's,)

Well the give you a glass bottle of soda but no cup of ice to keep it cold. They are afraid if you get a cup you'll ALSO hit the fountain machine for more. So we waited about 20 minutes for the food and of course the drinks are now not cold.

Food was OK...I had the Dallas burger, VERY SMALL for 7.50 and my sons burger was SMOTHERED in hot wing sauce and blue cheese making it IMPOSSIBLE to pick up. Do they give you forks to eat this mess with the food...NOPE...had to ask for that too. Fries were OK, nothing special. Once the waitress brings the food, she's ghost as they are trying to hustle the food to all the tables and churn business. No water, no service?

That was and will be my 1st and last visit to Bobby's Burgers!

JUST playing my favorite role of Devil's Food Advocate here:
We are such a forensic culture! ("CSI: Burgers")...That "It's proprietary" line may seem terse, but...it's true (plus, Adam made the context clear, following up). Restaurant practices are not like our own medical records, for heaven's sakes, where we're entitled to them.
My guess would be Bobby Flay makes his own burgers Medium-Rare.
I don't want to hector the point, but it occurs to me that we (and I'm guilty of this, because I LOVE to deconstruct dishes) tend to assume we're entitled to information, simply because we assume someone COULD tell us if they WANTED to. When you own a business, people ask you the most oddly intimate (and what could be more intimate than "what's in one's squeeze bottle?..") questions, with a look of complete entitlement on their faces. Sometimes you can tell them, sometimes you can't, and sometimes you're just drawing an arbitrary line in the sea-salt.
At the risk of being dismissed as a Flay-struck female, or appearing to receive a stipend from BF PR, my own experience "interviewing" Bobby, he was nothing but generous, witty, AND gave me a personal recipe, to boot. And I'm no one.

http://www.happyhoarfrost.blogspot.com/2008/03/bobby-flay-apple-of-my-ribeye.html

He took a lot of time with me--because he had it just then. My guess is he's flat-out tired, as the current Trojan Workhorse of the Food Network.
Bobby Flay gives away plenty--I adore him and even I will let his squeeze bottle remain sacred.
Not that I won't wonder....

secret oils in little bottles are not my thing , also if you are confident to order a steak rare you should feel the same way about a ordering a burger rare.. if you sense you are going to get sick why the hell are you in the joint ?