Parking was proclaimed as free on the recent night when we visited Lumiere Place, and it proved to be the most positive – or least negative – experience during an evening when the blackjack dealer turned hot, the slot machines turned cold and dinner at the Burger Bar was way too expensive, though we had been warned of that.
And we did get some exercise because the restaurant entrance is diagonally opposite the garage elevators, meaning a lengthy stroll through a gauntlet of all the other eating spots in the casino on one side and the ka-ching ka-ching of the slots on the other.
Burger Bar has received some mighty mixed comments during its rather brief lifetime, and that always attracts our attention. It’s essentially a sports bar, with lots of televisions, including individual ones in the booths, and a bar that gives gamblers the chance to sit on the casino side and play computer games of chance while dining and drinking. Not surprisingly, especially on the weekday of our journey, most of the crowd is relatively young. The employees certainly are.
Yes, it’s all about the burgers, although there are a few other options available, including a couple of vegetarian possibilities as well as salmon and chicken. And then there’s the Rossini burger, which arrives with the classic foie gras and shaved truffle on top, the latter two items accounting for the $60 price tag.
The burgers arrive with lettuce, tomato and a thin, thin slice of red onion, as well as any of five types of bun. Mustard and ketchup, both garden-variety, supermarket-available brands rather than anything upscale, gourmet or unique, are on the tables. Beyond that, it’s cash or credit cards for the trimmings, an entire column of them. A fried egg? Yup. Truffle sauce? Mais oui. But why on earth does fancy California chef Hubert Keller use the British name for beets? We’ve never seen pickled beets on burgers coming out of St. Louis kitchens, or been offered them, either. Calling it "pickled beetroot" doesn’t help any.
The burgers are a little larger than a slightly flattened baseball. Their thickness is nice, but if you order the burger anything short of well-done, we suspect the ooze factor is a serious problem. We decided to use forks.
Both the basic burger and the Angus that was part of the surf ‘n turf combination, were cooked as ordered, though the latter was closer to medium than medium-rare. But the flavor of the basic was richer. We ordered the basic on ciabatta bread, with avocado and jalapeno. The individual ciabatta was fresh and chewy, which is just how it should be, four wedges of avocado were splayed across the meat, and canned jalapeno slices came in a separate dish. The surf ‘n turf combo placed a whole shelled claw of lobster meat atop the Angus burger, and another large lump of lobster alongside. From the list of toppings, the oyster mushrooms arrived buttery and full of flavor, the grilled onions room temperature and bland. The requested onion roll was fresh but lackluster, or at least lackonion. Deeply boring fries finished the plate. A mixed bag, on the whole, we were thinking. And our check was dropped on the table, unrequested.
Whoa–hadn’t we seen dessert "burgers" on the menu? Yes, we had. Chocolate, PB & J, and cheesecake burgers are available. Our chocolate burger was head and shoulders above anything else we tasted, and also offered a brilliant visual joke, looking like a hamburger. The patty is a slice of chocolate ganache, rich with high-quality dark chocolate. What appears to be a slice of cheese is actually a tart mango gelee, the slightly chewy jellied confection usually found coated with coarse sugar. "Lettuce" is a layer of fresh mint leaves, and "tomato" is provided by sliced fresh strawberries, and very good ones for this time of year they were. And the bun? Mmmm. A doughnut, shaped like a jelly doughnut, not filled but rolled in finely granulated sugar and split in half. It was very, very fresh, and the final touch of expertise to hold this imaginative dessert. It’s the sort of dish that’s normally found in much fancier restaurants, and very worthwhile.
Service is a little slapdash. Hostesses engage in quiet conversations without noticing guests awaiting them. Perhaps the noise levels interfere with servers hearing orders. Table-bussing can be erratic. And even with just two of us, the food runner from the kitchen did the "Who gets the, uh…" routine. And this was on a weeknight with maybe half the tables occupied.
This is a beer-drinking sort of place; the wine list is slender. And the tobacco-averse should note that there seem to be no smoke-free areas in the casino or in this restaurant.
Whether or not the Burger Bar works for a dinner is up in the air. But it might be worth dropping by for a dessert burger.
Burger Bar
Lumiere Place
999 N. Second St.
314-881-7777
Lunch and Dinner daily
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: Yes
Entrees: $7-$60