Palm Beach Dining: Shula Burger

Shula Burger @ Delray Marketplace
14917 Lyons Road, Suite 114
Delray Beach, FL 33446
(561)404-1347

Web Site: http://www.shulaburger.com

Twitter: @shulaburger

In the last three years, I’ve been to a lot of soft openings and press events for various quick serve restaurants that are burger-themed. But since I’ve moved to South Florida I hadn’t yet attended one of these.

Shula Burger is new QSR concept restaurant chain owned by Shula’s, the restaurant group founded by legendary Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts football coach Don Shula.

The Delray Marketplace store, which is located in a brand-new upscale and entertainment-oriented shopping plaza, marks the fifth location of Shula Burger, all of which are located in Florida. There will soon be a sixth opening near Orlando.

Frankly, there isn’t that much new ground you can cover in burgers. And there are so many burger places in South Florida that it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.  So the bottom line is, are the burgers good, and are they good value?

Is Shula Burger a champion, or a chump? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Coach Don Shula himself was present at the press event. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him as he was surrounded by other media outlets vying for his attention.

Frankly, I have no idea what I’d even ask Don as I’m so not a sports person. The only football I ever watch is the Superbowl and I do it almost exclusively just to hold a big party once a year with lots of food, which I pay far more attention to than the actual game itself. But it was cool to see him there.

Okay, on to the burgers. I mostly photographed stuff coming off the pass so I did not get to try every burger combination.

This one is called “The Beach Burger” and has fried shrimp on top with pepper jack cheese, cilantro lime cole slaw, pico de gallo and a chipotle crema.  The standard burger bun is a brioche, but there is also a multigrain offered.

This burger was on the list of “Signature” burgers which range from $6.49 to $8.99, with the Beach Burger being the most expensive one on the list.

The Shula Burger, shown above ($6.49) is the basic cheeseburger, which has lettuce, tomato and pickle on it.

Shula Burger uses a blend of Black Angus Chuck, Short Rib and Brisket for their burger mix, which is delivered fresh, never frozen to the store already ground by a trusted supplier. The  head chef told me that their blend  has a fat content of about 23 percent, which is a nice ratio for a burger.

Another one from the pass. This is a “Southwest” with Roasted corn and black bean salsa, charred red onion, roasted tomato, shaved lettuce, pepper jack cheese and chipotle spread.

This one is called “Wine Country” and it has roasted pepper, goat cheese, balsamic greens and roasted tomato on it.

One of the two burgers Rachel and I actually did try is called “The Don” ($9.99). This is a burger patty with a huge beef hot dog, merged together with melted cheese, pickles, onion sauce, ketchup and yellow mustard. I like the idea but Rachel and I thought this had too many condiments loaded on it.

This is one another customer ordered, with a multigrain bun. “The French Onion” with caramelized onions, double gruyere cheese, garlic mayo and crushed garlic croutons. I think this one is probably a winner.

While Shula’s is known for their signature burgers you can also build your own from a long list of toppings. I asked them to make me a double Shula Burger, but with double cut peppered bacon on top and BBQ sauce. I dub this one “The Big Game”.

My “Big Game” burger bisected. They did a nice job of cooking it medium, a little on the rare side like I asked, still pink inside. Nice and juicy, both Rachel and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I think the key with ordering burgers here is to stay simple with the toppings and don’t go too crazy with condiments.

If you DO want to amp up your burger with condiments, there’s a full selection to choose from at the condiment bar.

A lot of folks were ordering these Blue Cheese and Bacon Chips which looked really good.

Rachel and I tried the Sweet Potato Tots and the “50/50” which is half fried pickles and half fried banana peppers. I loved the 50/50, the briny pickles and banana peppers are absolutely addictive. Rachel really liked the tots, I thought they were a bit sweet, but then again they are sweet potatoes.

If you don’t want a burger there are salads. This is  Santa Fe salad with Grilled Chicken that Rachel ordered.

Normally these come pre-dressed and we asked for it that way to see how it would come out. That being said, I’m of the opinion you should probably order your dressings here on the side, as I found the honey lime dressing to be pretty sweet. But it was a nicely prepared salad nonetheless.

Last, but certainly not least is the Shula Steak Sandwich. At $13.49 it’s the most expensive item on the menu, but we’re talking about 8 ounces of nice juicy steak here with grilled onion, gruyere cheese, herb mayo on a baguette. And they cooked it perfectly medium with plenty of juices and it had a nice grilled flavor.

So the verdict on Shula Burger: I would not necessarily drive out of your way, but if you are in the area and are coming to shop or to visit one of  the other entertainment venues (like the IMAX movie theatre) at the Delray Marketplace it is definitely worth a stop and is a solid burger experience.  Shula Burger also serves beer on tap and has a selection of wines, although personally I’d go for one of their Haagen-Dazs shakes.