I’m not a very religious person. But I have imagined what Heaven might be like, and it includes a non-stop array of unique fanciful dishes that make my palette scream with joy. Well, I may have just found Heaven on Earth, and it’s called BSquare Burgers and Booze (the only exception being that in my version of Heaven, everything is fed to me by a scantily clad Channing Tatum while an equally scantily clad Shawn Mendes serenades me).
BSquare Burgers and Booze is located on Fort Lauderdale’s famed Las Olas Blvd, arguably home to some of the best restaurants in South Florida. They offer a variety of options, from healthy to indulgent, as well as a full liquor bar. I was invited in as an unsuspecting guest that truly had no idea the euphoria I was about to experience.
The meal started off the way I usually start off my meals: with booze. I chose the recommended Coconut Mojito, which was refreshing, flavorful, and did what every cocktail in South Florida should do: make you feel like you are on the beach!
Next, we were treated to some B-Licious Bites, aka small plates: The Shaved Brussels, Tommy’s Turkey Meatballs, and Szechuan Style Shrimp and Calamari.
Just look at those beauties. Being from Philly, I know good Italian, and these meatballs did not disappoint! Served with Pomodoro sauce, pesto and fresh ricotta, every bite was like walking straight out of The Godfather.
The Shaved Brussels are served with mint-cranberry, infused truffle, roasted beets and topped with an agave vinaigrette, and served on a quinoa-kale cake. Okay, stop right there. Beets? Truffle? CAKE?? Sold. The dish combined so many flavors that worked together perfectly.
But for me, the favorite of this round was the Szechaun Style Shrimp and Calamari. Ask GrubHub – I love Asian flavors (yes I order Chinese, Japanese or Thai from them more often than a Kardashian orders botox). Served sweet and spicy Thai chili glaze, soy caramel, candied peanuts and radish sprouts, it was spicy and sweet and insanely good.
Time to get to the meat of things. Next up was the Short Rib B-Mini, served with a creamy blue cheese fondue. Anyone hate the word creamy? My insides are crawling just typing it. You probably feel dirty just reading it. Anyways. Description aside, the slider was on point. The meat was extremely tender and tasted right at home with *creamy* blue cheese. Okay, I’m done, moving on.
Admit it: there’s no way your mouth DOESN’T water when I say the words “Truffle Lobster Mac N Cheese.” It’s almost like hearing the words, “Work is cancelled this Friday,” or “You’ve lost 10 pounds,” or “Don’t worry, the stalking charges against Shawn Mendes have been dropped!” (Oh, is that just me??) The Lobster Mac N Cheese at BSquare is made with 3 different cheeses: American, Asiago, and Manchego, and also served with sweet corn and panko. I think you already know how I’m going to rate this: on a sclae of 1 to 10, I give it a “didn’t care how fatass I looked, I went in for seconds and thirds.”
Next we had 2 different kinds of “Messy Wings.” I typically reserve my wing-eating for 2 different occasions: drunk in public or home alone with the lights off while watching Lifetime movies. But even though this night involved neither, I couldn’t resist. The Italian wings were served with Parmigiano, bacon, garlic and butter. They were delicious and perfect for anyone who enjoys any of these flavors, but it was the other set of Messy Wings that really stole my heart…
PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY WINGS!!! I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Peanut Butter goes with everything. EVERYTHING! Wings are no exception. Adventurous eaters, this one is for you. Your bravery will be rewarded – these wings are NO JOKE. YUM.
At the point, we were a bit on overload (yes, even me with the iron stomach), so we moved on to some lighter fare with the Signature Salads. The Chicken Quinoa Salad contains grilled chicken, red and white quinoa, slivered almonds, diced red peppers, cucumbers, charred corn, cranberries, feta cheese, wild basmati rice, iceberg, romaine, frisee, and tossed in a roasted shallot vinaigrette. So many delicious ingredients make this salad very interesting and flavorful, that I almost forgot I was eating something healthy.
We were also served the Crackling Calamari Salad. Served with frisee, radicchio, endive, toasted cashews, diced bananas, orange poppy dressing – it was a great mix of crunch with sweet, Florida influences.
Next… The Decadent. They should call it the Holy Shit, because that’s what everyone says when they see it. A footling Kobe dog topped with sautéed lobster, Truffle oil and garlic butter. Mouths dropped when they saw this thing, and stomachs clapped for joy when they tasted it. AND, it was served with…
PARMESAN TRUFFLE FRIES!!! Shoutout to the other bloggers and media that I dined with who so graciously let me have about half of this bowl after hearing my blog name. They were delicious. But you’re probably wondering, where are the burgers??
Oh, the burgers, the heart and soul of BSquare. One of the things I love about BSquare is that they have fun with their burgers by giving them creative names, like the Big Daddy, the Selfie, the LMFAO, and my personal favorite, the Dad Bod. For this dinner, we sampled the Nacho Mama (pepper jack, tomato, brown rice, guacamole, and black beans inside a warm tortilla topped with sour cream and green chili sauce), the Ahi Tuna (a sushi-grade tuna burger topped with Asian slaw, avocado and wasabi ginger-line spread) and The Phat Boy (a giant burger served with lettuce, tomato and bacon and served between two grilled cheese sandwiches). It was a great variety of ingredients, flavors and meats, but me being me, the standout was The Phat Boy. Not only impressive in size and stature, but it tasted phenomenal. Worth every last damn calorie. You can taste the pride and love that goes in to each and every burger, which I know sounds corny, but these burgers are so good they turned my sarcastic heart warm for the moment
And what would a heart attack of a burger be without an equally impressive side? The sweet potato tots are served with melted cheddar and bourbon bacon bits, and it was after hoarding these babies that I probably made more than one enemy at the table. What? You snooze, you lose. In my world, these were not made for sharing. MINE.
You might think we were done at this point, but BSquare still wanted to show off their amazing variety of plates. We were served the Scottish Salmon, with mango-miso glaze, coconut rice and bok choy. I’m very picky about my Salmon because I can’t stand when it tastes too fishy (there’s another word that makes my skin crawl), but this Salmon was cooked beautifully and the sauce gave it amazing flavor with Asian flair. The coconut rice was a huge standout to me, I could eat bowl after bowl after bowl of it without shame.
We were also treated to the Chicken Las Olas, a lightly breaded breast served with arugula and tomato salad, hand-shaved Parmiggiano-Reggiano, and a lemon-yogurt caper sauce. Breaded… cheese… capers??? Yup. Jill heaven. Sold.
And just like that, it was time for a sweet ending. The Florida Orange Cake is made with fresh squeezed orange juice and tasted like a Dreamsicle. A true homage to Florida: you can’t leave Florida without oranges, a great tan, and a 5 day hangover.
There was also the Johnnie’s Apple Tart and Vanilla Gelato, which is made fresh to order. Let me tell you : Johnnie knows how to do it better than your Grandma.
We ended the meal the way we started: with some BOOZE! BSquare offers a variety of Boozy Shakes, and we sampled the Strawberry Shortcake. Dessert and liquor in one? What will they come up with next, peanut butter French fries?? Hmmm…
All in all, you could eat at BSquare every night and have a different kind of fare, and be pleased with each dish. The fun atmosphere makes for a great night out with friends – just make sure they are friends who have an appetite!
***I received complimentary noms in exchange for this post, however, you cannot bribe me with food, so all opinions are my own.