If you have yet to discover the addictive game of Bistro Cook, get ready to put on your digital apron and go download this application from the Android Market. The concept is simple, the game play is straightforward, and the lunch rush never ends. In both game modes–Casual and Adventure–Bistro Cook is all about speed.

In Casual mode, you are behind the counter, pushing out orders as they appear along the top of your screen. The order appears below each plate. Your job is to select the appropriate food, place it in one of your four frying pans, and transfer it to the corresponding plate as soon as it is properly cooked. If you wait too long to serve the food once it is cooked, it will burn and you will have to start that order all over again. As you complete more and more orders, they become increasingly difficult, going from one item per plate to two or three (maybe four, I could never get that far). And as if that isn’t hard enough, the plates also come more quickly as time progresses. As best as I can tell, there is no final objective to “win” the game. You play until the plates get backed up too far. Your goal is to complete as many orders as possible and with the highest customer satisfaction rating, which goes down based on how long it takes for you to plate their order after the food is cooked.

Adventure mode is very similar, but has more of a “career” game play feel to it. You start with a single pan and with each order that you complete, you earn money. The goal is to earn enough money to purchase better quality pans, and after that, to earn as much money as possible. The game itself suggests that users become familiar with the process in Casual mode before playing Adventure, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

Overall, Bistro Cook is a lot of fun to play. First time users should definitely take the time to go through the very brief tutorials before playing. I would imagine that it could eventually start to get a little mundane after you’ve played it many times, but the process to get to that point is very enjoyable. It eventually becomes obnoxiously hard, but then again, you are supposed to lose. The worst part of the whole experience for me was that when I placed the food in the pans, the sizzling noise always made me incredibly hungry.

Key Features

• Easy to learn
• Great for almost any age group
• Smooth, fast graphics
• Submit high scores online

Cons

• Could become mundane very quickly for some people
• Makes you hungry

App: Bistro Cook

Price: Free