Delux

It was Wednesday night, and with mom still out of town, dad was again looking for some dinner companions. I felt that it was my daughterly duty to join him for dinner (i.e. get a free meal) so I asked him where he wanted to go. His response, "I don't care, just tell me where and when and I will be there." My dad is usually the type of guy to have an opinion on restaurants, so by him giving me free range it could only mean one thing.....he was really bored!! It took me a bit of time to scan my memory banks and think of a place that I had been wanting to try, but suddenly it came to me...it was Wednesday...and Wednesday at Delux meant that the soup of the day would be Lobster Bisque....sold!

I called dad and told him the plan, he agreed and said that we should probably ask my sister to join us as well (so he doesn't look like he is playing favorites). I called her up and she too wanted to join us, especially after she heard about the soup of the day! For some reason, my family has an obsession with lobster bisque, wherever we are, if it appears on the menu, we are going to order it. As a child, I detested seafood, but for some reason I was obsessed with clam chowder and lobster bisque...go figure...so I am always on the lookout for a new place to get my fix....even if it is in such an odd place as a restaurant specializing in burgers! This was going to be the first time at Delux for dad and my sister, but I had eaten there once, about five years ago, I didn't remember much about it, so I was excited to give it another try.

We arrived at Delux at about 6:30 and were immediately seated on the patio. It was a beautiful night, and they had the misters going as well, so it was nice to sit outside. The waitress came by to take our drink order and we immediately ordered two bowls of the lobster bisque as well, because we just couldn't hold off any longer! We then looked over the menu, which for those of you who have never been to Delux, is quite small. They basically serve three different burgers, a few different sandwiches and paninis and a handful of salads. For those who are overwhelmed by Cheesecake Factory style menus this is a bonus, for those that are picky this can be a negative. I fall somewhere in the middle, but felt that there was enough variety to find something that I was in the mood for. Dad went with the namesake Delux Burger, and Laura and I decided to each order a dish and swap half, she got the classic Cheeseburger with cheddar and I ordered the Panini Grilled Cheese sandwich. We also got a "basket" of the mixed fries (regular and sweet potato) to share.

Shortly after ordering the rest of our meal, the bisque arrived. It was sprinkled with parsley and had some thin Italian bread sticks served on the side, which was a nice touch. We all took a spoonful and took a taste. It was delicious! Bisques can be really heavy, but this was the perfect creamy consistency without feeling too heavy. The lobster flavor really shined through, and there were lots of large chunks of the lobster swimming around the bowl. We all decided that there was a hint of a peppery flavor as well, which really complemented the other elements. As far as bisques go, we all really enjoyed this one, and declared that we would return for it...too bad you can only get it on Wednesdays.

We hadn't quite finished our bisque when the "basket" of fries came out. They presentation of the fries is so clever, they serve them in a mini shopping cart (get it, a "basket")! The fries were thin and crispy, and served piping hot. They were served along side two dipping sauces, one being ketchup, and the other being an aioli with a bit of a heat factor. I sampled the sweet potato fries with the aioli, and it was a delicious combination, in fact, the regular fries went well with it too. I finally asked the waitress what was in the aioli, she said it was a mixture of mayo, sour cream, garlic and cayenne pepper....so simple, but so delicious. Just as we were starting to do some serious damage to the fries, our entrees arrived.

Dad had ordered his Delux burger medium rare, and it was cooked perfectly. The burger was topped with a combination of Gruyere and Maytag blue cheeses, grilled onions, arugula and applewood smoked bacon. Dad took one bite and was immediately pleased with his meal. Delux uses a special blend of beef, and he said that the meat and the other elements made for one delicious burger, by the end of his meal, he declared it to be the best burger he had ever had. We did find the garnish that was on his plate and the rest of our plates to be a bit odd, it was something that you probably wouldn't really eat, but I guess they figured they had to throw something on the plate to cover up the space that is usually reserved for the fries!

I sampled my grilled cheese and was immediately perplexed. The menu described it as having three types of cheeses; jack, cheddar and mozzarella, but my taste buds and my eyes could really only pick up the mozzarella. Secondly, the sandwich had not been cooked long enough to let the cheeses melt properly...which is a huge problem for me....half melted cheese just does not fly! I tried to overlook that, but I was then having a problem with the overall flavor. I could only taste mozzarella, and then the flavor of the oven roasted tomatoes was overwhelming. I felt like the sandwich tasted more like a toasted Caprese sandwich than a grilled cheese, maybe this is just a personal preference, but it still doesn't make up for the half melted cheese!

Laura and I were sharing our meals, so she tried the grilled cheese as well, she didn't have such strong objections to it as I did, but she much preferred the burger! The burger came out cooked properly and covered in cheddar (fully melted!) cheese. The presentation allowed for you to build your own burger as far as toppings, so there was a side of shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions and pickles. Laura piled on the toppings, minus the onion, and also added a slather of mayo and ketchup. After her first bite she was very happy with her burger. I tasted my portion of the burger and was very happy with it, it was an excellent burger, and far better than the grilled cheese; I quickly abandoned my efforts with the grilled cheese after tasting the burger!

Even though we were quite full from our meal, Laura and I were in the mood for dessert, so we decided to just take a "look" at the menu....well....looking turned into ordering! We were both drooling over the description of the Delux Banana Split Chocolate Lava Cake. Dad, who is not a big dessert eater, was even on board once he was informed that it would be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...his weakness in life! While I think we anticipated that it would be a good sized dessert, we were stunned when it was set in the middle of our table. Inside the large, shallow bowl was a chocolate lava cake, surrounded by 2 bananas sliced in half, a scoop each of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream and topped with whipped cream and cherries! A tureen of hot fudge was placed on the side....this was one massive dessert! We dove right in and were in dessert heaven! The different components were delicious both together, and individually, and we all had our favorite parts. Dad's was the vanilla ice cream, Laura's was the chocolate lava cake, and I was really digging the bananas and chocolate ice cream. It was a wonderful, and sweet end to our meal.

All three of us really enjoyed our Delux experience, even with the half-grilled cheese! The food was tasty, the atmosphere was relaxed, the service excellent, and we had a great table for people watching. Dad and Laura said they would definitely return...and like me....it would probably be on a Wednesday! As we said our goodbye's, my mind wandered the next day, mom would still be out of town....was I going to have to pull babysitting duty on back to back nights?!

Delux

3146 E. Camelback Rd.

Phoenix, AZ 85016

http://www.deluxburger.com/