Cheeseburger in Paradise opens

When Jimmy Buffett wrote songs about food, he might have written them someplace similar to Cheeseburger in Paradise. \nWhen he wrote songs about the beach, he certainly would have been somewhere else.\nBloomington's newest Buffett-themed burger joint, located at 2550 E. 3rd St., debuted Tuesday, and we got a taste of the islands on opening night. It was so new that the hostesses didn't know how far our electronic pagers would go.\nThe restaurant offers an array of burgers as well as a vast selection of alcoholic treats, for the over-21 palate of course. The chain's signature sandwich, the $7.75 "Cheeseburger in Paradise" -- which is also a drink, oddly enough -- and barbecue cheddar burger ($7.95) were both tasty options. "Cheeseburger" never freezes their meat -- all beef is prepared fresh daily, and the taste difference was evident.\nAnd yes, the signature sandwich came prepared with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes.\nAnd the seasoned fries really brought home the flavor.\nThe menu also features salads, sandwiches and other entrees like fish and steak.\nBut the highlight of the evening was the Cadillac Margarita ($6.50), a frozen concoction that helped me hang on (after I dumped an extra shot of Grand Marnier, included). Not only was the adult Slushee sweet as could be, it came with "Lizard Lips," a fruit wedge face with a plastic sunglasses pin. (The waitress explained that seasoned "Cheeseburger" veterans collect shirtsful of these pins as some sort of Jimmy Buffett merit badge.)\nAnd the food and refills all came promptly to boot.\nBut while the food is good, the atmosphere at "Cheeseburger" is what attracts people, and for our money it wasn't worth it.\nThere was enough beach paraphernalia -- painted oars on the ceiling, a straw hut over the bar and beach murals on the walls -- it felt more like an amusement ride than an actual island. The place was too loud to be a beach, and seriously, is it too much to ask for a little sand on the ground? When the hostess said to us, "Welcome to the island," we were left asking ourselves, "Where's the beach?"\nSome aspects were completely annoying, like the dock-style lights than hung down over booths and blocked out the top halves of our faces. These would be fine if they were adjustable, but the mid-air obstructions are fixed in place.\nBut some features fell just under the campy line, like the electronic thermometer that displayed the temperature of their draught beer. It fell from 40 F to 35 in about an hour -- impressive! Some small state-of-the-art TV screens placed under the bar's straw hut top made for a fun and cozy bar aura.\nDespite some defects in atmosphere planning, the food and service won the day. While the prices aren't unreasonable, they certainly aren't cheap, and if you're lucky you'll be serenaded with Buffett's "Margaritaville" -- the song, not the drink -- at the end of the night like we were.