Casino sign
Emeril’s giant face
Burgers and More (BAM!) is Emeril Lagasse’s burger joint in the Sands Casino in Bethlehem. Casino food can be a bit of a gamble in itself- I’ve had some amazing meals at casinos, as well as some not so amazing meals. BAM falls somewhere in the middle- honestly, it’s about what you would expect of a sit-down burger shop.We started with an order of their crispy chicken wings with a Thai chili sauce (10 wings for $12) and the crispy fried artichokes ($6). I’m typically a fan of the thai chili style of wing sauce, and this one was no different- sweet, spicy, and sticky. However, the crispy wings were not crispy, which was disappointing. Flabby wings are a pet peeve of mine, so this was a bummer. They also came with a ranch dipping sauce that was oddly…herby. A bit too much, it didn’t have the flavor you expect that pairs so nicely with fried chicken wings.
Not-so-crispy Crispy wings
Crispy artichokes
The artichoke hearts were very tasty, and they came in a *huge* portion for the $6- we actually didn’t even finish them. The large chunks of artichoke were coated in perfectly crispy panko breadcrumbs (*this* crispy dish was actually crispy). They came with a spicy chipotle mayo that had a pretty nice kick. Finally, we got the BAM Prime burger ($14), which was prime chuck with cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pickle. We requested medium, but got mid-rare. The burger overall actually tasted just like a Five Guys burger, but without the crust or char you sometimes get on a good Five Guys patty. It had a great texture and was seasoned nicely. There was no sauce- I think some kind of pickle-y remoulade would have made it pretty tasty. The bun was a nice standard white bun, sturdy, but not toasted. The fries that came along with the burger were about average- your standard diner fry, not very crispy, but not anything that would make me angry 😉
BAM burger
Service was friendly, attentive at first, but then faded over time… We ended up waiting quite a bit for the check and a refill. Fortunately, there was a giant TV with one of those home remodeling shows on, and we wanted to seethe final product anyway…
So, overall, BAM is a pretty good value for the $ and the food is about average- nothing to write home about, but nothing that will have you storming out of the place. Plus it’s fun to swing into a casino for a reasonably priced meal every now and then… and if you’re feeling naughty, Emeril’s Chop House down the hall has the *best* banana cream pie…
Food/Drinks: 14/20
Service: 7.5/10
Total: 21.5/30