As long as we're talkin' about chains from The South penetrating our borders and tickling our tongues, let's talk about Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries.
It will open at South Coast Metro Pointe, next door to Arriba's (no word yet on an actual date).
If you're paying attention, this is the space left empty by Irezumi Sushi, from the now failed and infamous Mor Project .
The burger chain is actually an offshoot of Broadwalk Fries, a Maryland based chain that made its name selling fries and other boardwalk snacks like funnel cakes and hot dogs.
A glance at their menu sees no surprises. Burgers customizable with toppings like sauteed mushrooms, yadda yadda yadda.
And of course, there will be fries fried in peanut oil (like our friends at Chik-fil-A) and served in a paper cup. But here's something interesting: Since they're out of Maryland, a can of Old Bay is featured prominently on one of their pictures as a possible french fry seasoning.
It's anyone's guess how Old Bay dusted fries and the whole beach-themed enterprise will be received by OC, especially when we've got plenty of home-grown burger joints here.
So let's get the formalities out of the way: TK Burgers, In-N-Out, Fatburger, The Counter meet Boardwalk. Shake hands. Now fight! Fight to the death!
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.