Breakfast in America: Try Their Burger… Only

Anthony's Restaurant Rating: 67/100 X

Welcoming:7/10 Menu Choices: 7/10 Food Presentation: 6/10

Food Temperature: 7/10 Food Taste: 12/20 Service: 7/10

Ambiance/Music: 8/10 Architecture/Interior: 6/10 Air Quality: 7/10

Total: 67/100

Breakfast in America: Try Their Burger… Only

More about: Breakfast in America

And here we go again… Another day in Paris and I am on my quest to finding a burger joint in this city that will really impress me. I found Marky’s in Lebanon, why not continue the mission and find the best burger place in other cities around the world. Now we’re in Paris and this famous American signature sandwich is a worldwide trend. Meaning, I may have different tastes than the Parisians but we can all agree that this piece of international food should carry certain standards.

During my last trip, Shwartz’s, what many call the best burger in Paris, didn’t even tickle my appetite. I decided that every time I am in the French capital I will make it a point to try and find a new burger place, which hopefully, we can call the best. Breakfast in America (BIA) was next on the list. Calling to book for places, we were informed that they don’t take reservations, so we jumped into a car and headed towards the direction La Rue Des Ecoles where one of BIA’s restaurants is located.

You reach a small shop with two doors located on the main street. A wooden box cover a small space on the sidewalk where they host a couple of tables. Here, don’t expect to smoke as no outside seating is available.

The space is simple with no pretension making it look and feel like a real American diner:

A small place which looks like a small rectangle
Low ceiling painted in white and red
A general red ambiance, felt around the walls, ceiling, napkins and decoration
A typical American breakfast diner in the heart of Paris
5 closed windows with wooden shutters decorate the right wall
A bar on the left prepares drinks and desserts
Behind the bar, at the very end is the open kitchen dissipating some fine pleasant grilling aromas
Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper are already prepared on all tables
Three fans, pending from the ceiling refresh the area
Shelves with money notes from around the world are seen on the left side
A mosaic floor with the BIA logo welcomes you
Benches are installed around tables of four on the right and chairs in the left side
An American 70s music plays in the background
Two red poles, in the middle of the place, cannot be missed
Toasters are installed on every table and used during breakfast
Three black boards over the bar display the house’s specials

As soon as we entered, a pleasant mouthwatering smell of grilling activated all our senses. We felt the need to eat fast. We were welcomed by a smiling hostess and handed a couple of menus. The menus include plates for breakfast, lunch and dinner:

Eggs & Omelettes
Breakfast Sides
From the Griddle
Lunch formulas (Students and others)
Burgers
Sandwiches and wraps
Starters
Salads
Sweets
Drinks

We Ordered:

Nachos (Chips, salsa, cheddar cheese, guacamole, sour cream) 7,95€. The Nachos don’t look or taste fresh. Those that are not homemade are chewy and not crunchy. A plate I’ll surely don’t recommend you try. It is not even appetizing

Chilli Cheese Fries (Home made chilli con carne, fries) 7,50€. The chilli sauce is too dry covering the first layer of fries without soaking them or entering to the deepest levels. If you eat the upper layer of meat, the below fries are tasted dry, like a simple average plate of potatoes. This starter is a no

Cheese Burger: (Tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese) 9,50€. A good burger. Juicy, fresh and tasty

Super B.I.A Burger: (Grilled onions, cheddar, peppers, BBQ sauce) 11,95€. A nice burger, non complicated, tasty with fresh crunchy pork bacon slices the way they should be

So Cal Burger: (Swiss cheese, mushrooms, avocado) 10,50€. Since it’s still new on the menu, it is never too late to remove it. It is too dry and too heavy for nothing. The cheese is not even melting. Don’t get caught with the “NEW” thing like we did. It’s not a burger you will appreciate

New Mexican Burger: (Grilled pepper, salsa, cheese) 9,95€. I enjoyed this burger so much. Juicy, spicy and close to perfect. Good proportions, a soft juicy meat without being oily, great quality bread and an overall mouthwatering taste

The Burger Verdict:

If I had to compare, BIA’s burger is better than Shwartz. Much better if I want to be precise.
The bread is fluffy, soft and tender without being sticky
The meat, a 170g, is juicy without being neither oily nor fatty. You don’t feel any fat chucks crunching under your teeth
Well seasoned, with the needed amount of sauce, the overall taste is good
A good size, three fingers, edible without effort with your hands
I liked Breakfast in America’s burger and I do recommend it

Desserts:

Chocolate Sunday (Vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream) 5,95€. We received a cup of melting ice cream that tasted pure sugar and covered with too much whipped cream that we had to push it away. The ice cream quality might be the cheapest around the market, crunching under our teeth, super creamy, over sweet and extremely heavy. Chocolate sauce is only used as a decoration since you don’t even feel its presence

Banana split (Banana, ice cream, different sauces, whipped cream) 6,95€. What a failure! Different sauces they say! What are those? Ice cream! What kind? We received a black banana, with strawberry and vanilla already melting ice cream scoops, covered with too much whipped cream. It’s not only inedible, but disgusting. Unacceptably inedible.

I liked:

The grilling smell is pleasant without lingering on t your clothes
The burgers are good
The three waitresses are welcoming and professional
Coke is served in 33cl glasses and a pie inside
They serve Dr. Pepper, the American way

The minuses to look out for:

A burger platter with no coleslaw! Come on! They ask you to choose between fries or coleslaw! This is illogical. American burgers are served with coleslaw and fries. It’s a given
The fries are too commercial. Frozen and fried. Nothing special about them even though I enjoyed them
The starters are not tasty at all
The desserts are not acceptable
I think Breakfast in America should stick to serving “Breakfast ” and Burgers only as the rest is close to inedible
The cups look dirty: Machine washed, they are covered with a thin layer of slippery white calculus that is not acceptable to have in a restaurant. These should be wiped before reaching the customer’s table
My ice cream spoon was dirty
They don’t have wet napkins? In a diner? Bizarre no!
Don’t order the disappointing desserts

Simple, Breakfast in America has a good burger and nothing else. Starters, fries and desserts are not even worth trying. I’m intrigued to see if the breakfast is that bad too. Anyway, if you’re passing by, try their burgers, you’ll enjoy them. Searching for Paris’ best, two have already failed.