Westhampton Beach Restaurant Review: Boom Burger

Located on Montauk Highway in an unassuming building, Boom Burger perfectly encapsulates the true definition of a neighborhood burger joint. The menu features a number of burger options sure to please even the most discerning of burger enthusiasts, as well as Atomic Wings, fresh-cut salads, multiple side items and milkshakes.

The interior is decorated 1950s-style, with a checkered floor, booths and high top tables. A decidedly 21st-century feature, however, is the large flatscreen TV that was turned to ESPN’s SportsCenter when we visited. With the most classic of game-watching foods on offer, Boom Burger makes for a very solid game-viewing party option.

The large chalkboard menu greets customers as they enter, highlighting the wide variety of burger options. Will it be a single, double or triple patty? Cheese or no? Choose your toppings, which range from the classic tomato/onion/pickle/lettuce variety to the fancier grilled mushrooms and onions. Then, there are the intriguing options—like crispy onions and cream cheese, the super fancy—think: truffle oil—and the “I didn’t know that could be put on a burger”—mac ’n’ cheese.

For those who feel overwhelmed by the eclectic toppings, Boom Burger has a menu of Beyond Burgers—a list of 15 burger combos that have been tested and approved. I went with the Avocado Crunch, a double feta cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, avocado, mayo and fresh tortilla chips.

My burger arrived looking picture-perfect, two thin patties sandwiched between a potato bun, with tortilla chips protruding out. The chips, which were freshly fried and served warm between the patty and the bun, added an amazing salty crunch to the burger, pairing well with the large avocado slices.

Luckily, the burger was served with a side of tortilla chips and salsa, allowing me to indulge even further after I had finished the main meal. Another indulgent side I tried was the fried pickle spears. The presentation was not at all soggy, giving the breaded pickles a nice crunch. I pregamed my burger with a coffee milkshake, which was light and creamy and topped with real whipped cream.

In addition to burgers, Boom Burger is famous for its Atomic Wings, served on the bone or boneless, with flavors as benign as “mild” and as intense as “suicidal.” The wings also come in flavors like garlic Parmesan, Thai chili and honey mustard. Mixing flavors is encouraged.

Our Buffalonian, Dan’s Papers Senior Editor Stacy Dermont, enjoyed the mild wings, which she found genuinely mild and largely true to the Buffalo wing tradition. Boom Burger’s sauce is a bit thicker/less messy than the original—kudos for that! The wings are traditionally greasy with a crispy touch. But the bleu cheese dressing saddened Stacy. It was not chunky and did not offer that fresh, housemade tang that purists crave. Not that she didn’t stuff her face.

Even at her advanced age, Stacy reveled in sucking down an entire peanut butter shake, which she found “very smooth and tasty,” and completed her meal with a “healthy dessert” of Cobb salad. She found it “very fresh” and the pieces of Romaine, hard-boiled egg, cherry tomatoes and avocado nicely chopped—not too big. The bacon and crumbled bleu cheese bits were nicely dispersed throughout.

Fellow editor Lee Meyer, who fancies himself a burger snob, was in his element as he ordered a burger with American cheese topped with mac ’n’cheese. We were concerned that Lee would hit cheese overload, but he happily devoured the crunchy, messy burger.

For dessert, we sampled fried Oreos. They melted into the batter, becoming a soft, gooey concoction enhanced by chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.

Boom Burger, 85 Montauk Highway, Westhampton Beach. 631-998-4663, boomburgerwhb.com