[Daniel]

Rare Bar and Grill
228 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 691-7273

Went here yesterday with a buddy of mine.. We walked in to a nicely filled restaurant with a pair of classical guitarists playing off to the side.. Really cool bartender, we liked the scene.. Reminded my buddy of neighborhood bar in Holland where he use to live.. Very chill vibe..



We ordered a couple of beers and looked into the menu.. We ordered fried cheese curds served with tomato sauce.. The curds were fried perfectly served on a bed of housemade potato sticks.. Nice touch..



We then split a cheese burger with fried onions.. The burger was juicy, cooked to order.. A really, really enjoyable burger.. Bacon was pretty terrific too.. I highly recommend this burger..



Another shot:



Truffle fries were great..

[Ron Johnson]

Nice PBR.

[Suzanne F]

Ah, I was sure we had a thread on this place. Or rather, this mini chain.

I ate at the one on Lex and 30-something (Affinia Hotel) yesterday, following an appointment nearby. It was fairly early, 12:30ish, and there were not yet many other lunchers, so they were not precooking burgers, or at least not starting them before orders were in. Mine -- the "Artisanal" (so named because that's where they say they get the cheese for it):

• 9-ounce burger of ground flank steak
• Manchego
• bacon (3 or 4 full strips, well-cooked
• caramelized (whole) shallots
• sliced avocado
• standard slices of tomato and white onion, and half leaf-lettuce leaf
• brioche bun

Came with standard two pickle spears and the truffle-Parmesan fries (which made it a pretty good value).

I could not put everything on the burger (it would have squirted halfway across the room, and anyway, I would never put raw onion on), and so ate bites of burger with separate bites of avocado and shallot. Taken all together and separately, yes, it was a good burger, although all-flank-steak can use a tad more moisture. Big, though, and cooked as ordered.

I have to disagree with Daniel on the truffle fries, though. I probably should have asked to sub plain, or at least with only Parmesan, since truffle oil does not add anything great. Not terrible, but not a necessary addition. In any case, they would have been much better if they'd been hot. For shame that they seemed room temp. What good is any fry if it is not served hot?

But I ate all (except the raw onion). And then kept falling asleep at my desk the rest of the day. Well, maybe the Hendrick's I had before the burger contributed to that.

[Nathan]

Yeah, it's an old NY mini-chain...though the Bleecker location is only about 3 years old.

I've liked all the condiments on burgers but not the meat itself...

[nuxvomica]

didn't the Bleecker location close?

[StephanieL]

didn't the Bleecker location close?

Yes. The location that Suzanne visited is where they moved to, I believe.

[Sneakeater]

No, the one Suzanne ate in is the original. It opened before the one on Bleecker. (Not that long ago: within the last 10 years or so.)

[Nathan]

didn't the Bleecker location close?

Yes. The location that Suzanne visited is where they moved to, I believe.

The one on Lex around 32nd has been there for at least six years. (I distinctly remember eating there once while waiting for the Jitney.)

edit: I see Sneakeater already covered that.

[Orik]

I think it was the last of the bad burger places (Jackson Hole, etc.) to open before the quality of burgers in the city suddenly improved. Amazing that it's still around.

[Suzanne F]

I didn't find the burger bad per se; it just relied on the accoutrements to make it interesting. And I don't think I've had any of the improved quality burgers (you mean the overhyped LaFreida versions, I presume).

Sometimes a burger is just a burger. And that's all you really need.

[Wilfrid]

Jackson Hole and Silver Spurs never served me burgers as bad as the worst I've had from Shake Shack.

I suppose this is analogous to my unfashionable observation that Virgil's has served me more reliably over the years than Blue Smoke.

[Lex]

I had the Jackson Hole burger only once. It was served to me at the Airline Diner out near LaGuardia airport. The diner itself is a classic building so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Yes, you can.



It was like a case of demonic possession. Jackson Hole had inhabited the body of this beautiful old diner.

The burger itself is cooked on a griddle and steamed. The cook pops a steel dome over the burger to get it to cook fast. The result is this huge blob of gray, wet, flavorless meat. I've often said that it's hard to screw up a burger. Jackson Hole has mastered the technique.

[StephanieL]

If you're ever stuck at a Jackson Hole again, get the chicken sandwiches. They're a lot better than the steamed burgers.

[Wilfrid]

That's not how I remember them, but it's too long ago for me to contradict anyone.