Burger Prime (PPL Center) / Blue Burger – $10
Allentown, PA | pplcenter.com/
I recently attended a Sunday Phantoms game with a puck-drop at 5:05pm. What better opportunity to have dinner and grab a burger at the PPL Center?
There are a couple places to grab a burger in the arena. One is Grill Masters, which offers a “burger basket” for $9. But I’m looking for what is supposed to be the best, so I walked over to the Burger Prime kiosk.
Burger Prime claims to offer “gourmet” burgers, with 3 options such as the Surf & Turf burger ($12), which comes topped with shrimp and creole sauce. Another cheeseburger with the standard lettuce, tomato and onion ($10), and the Blue Burger, which comes with blue cheese and arugula.
Blue cheese and arugula usually grabs my attention. Blue Burger it is!
While I’m not here to pick on the PPL Center for the quality of its food, being that this is a stadium burger, my expectations were obviously on the low side. This burger met those expectations, more or less. The burger itself was tough, mostly flavorless, and overcooked, while the bun was mostly dry and bready. The blue cheese and arugula was nice, however, and made the meal somewhat decent.
Surprisingly, the fries were quite good. Although a bit mealy on the inside, they were crispy and crunchy on the outside, and were seasoned fairly well. With ketchup, the fries were actually better than I’ve had at some restaurants in the area.
Final thoughts: Even though this wasn’t exactly the greatest burger in the world, if we’re talking dollars and cents, it might be one of the best values in the entire arena. An OK burger and better-than-average fries, all for $10, is actually quite a steal at a place that charges $4.50 for a bottle of soda. If you’re hungry and looking for a quick, filling meal, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option at any of the arena’s food stands.
