3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South (Mandalay Bay)

Our decision to Dine at Burger Bar was based pretty much on two simple criteria - we'd be in Vegas and Hubert Keller is the chef.  Perhaps a lot of people used the same logic because we had a half hour wait for a table (out on the concourse because even the bar was full) on a Monday at about 2pm?  We rarely would wait when told it's a half hour, but we like what we've seen of Hubert on TV so decided to break with that tradition and persevere.

Bar is probably they keyword.  Our Server clearly was 'trained' to get us in and out and 'encouraged' to show some skin thanks to the uniform provided.  We were in anything but a rush so her 'training' went to waste...  Ordering one course at a time was allowed, but not enthusiastically accepted by her.  The bar area was as busy as the restaurant, but we couldn't tell (and didn't try hard to figure out) if that was just where people who couldn't get a booth were put or if it's treated differently.  Although to be fair, the very fresh decor did suggest a feeling much closer to restaurant than bar.

The Menu basically has 2 sections.  Ultimate Burger Experience & Chef's Burgers.  The Experience gives you the opportunity to build your own burger with a pretty good list of options.  Catch is, we want to enjoy what the Chef has constructed / created / imagined / dreamed, therefore we went with the Chef's Burgers.  [On a slight side note, is a Build your Own Anything in a Restaurant a cop out??]  There's also a list of Dessert Burgers that looked appealing, but by that time of the Meal we just weren't up to it.  Our Server did a fine job making sure we knew what options we had with the different things, but didn't offer anything to help us make selections.

A nice list of beers, especially if you know your beers.  Perhaps 20 drafts and at least that many bottles.  We just played the lottery and picked 2 drafts that sounded fun.  No reason to be upset with what we chose, but we've had better beers.

Our meal went something along the lines of:

• 2 Drafts - Not memorable in terms of the names, and one of them was much more suited for burgers than the other
• Onion Rings - big and crunchy.
• Burger Bar Sliders (Buffalo, Angus, and Country Beef, each with different toppings) - the one with Onion (perhaps Buffalo) by far the best, the one with Bacon (perhaps Angus) nothing special.
• American Classic - crispy bacon, tasty bun and a whole lot of 'skinny' fries.
• Chocolate Shake - although not the plan at the time of ordering, a great substitute for dessert.

By no stretch of the imagination could we say we were displeased with our meal and experience.  If somehow we were in the neighborhood and someone invited us to join them for a revisit we would (maybe our as-yet-unknown-hosts could spring for a Kobe Burger?), but ultimately it was just quite good burgers with a really really good chef's name on the door.

Stay JOLLY!
D