FOOD REVIEW: Burger & Barrel
Burger & Barrel
25 West Houston Street (corner of Houston and Mercer Sts.).
Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, from 11:30am until midnight on the weekdays and 2am on the weekend. Credit cards accepted.
212-334-7320.
Rating: We’d Cross 3+ Streets For That!
1 Sentence Review: Just off the mark in so many ways, Burger & Barrel is a promising work in progress.
Those that know us know we are big fans of the restaurant Lure (Mercer and Prince Sts.). When we found out that the Lure team was opening Burger & Barrel, a semi-casual burger and wine bar, we had to check it out. We have had the opportunity to go to Burger & Barrel on two occasions now, and so are happy to provide the lowdown on a number of dishes on their still-changing menu.
The atmosphere of Burger & Barrel is a bit difficult to describe. The restaurant describes itself as casual, but the atmosphere gives off a more upscale casual vibe. The restaurant is relatively dark and has more of a wine bar feel than that of a casual burger joint. One interesting touch we noticed was that the restaurant uses a variety of different chairs throughout the establishment, ranging from simple wooden chairs to leather armchairs that reminded us of a cigar lounge. The variety of furnishing, along with some other touches, made the environment slightly more casual, but in the end we both thought the atmosphere was more formal than advertised.
To start off our meals, we sampled some of the various libations Burger & Barrel has to offer. Burger & Barrel has about seven beers on tap, about 10 specialty cocktails, about 20 wines by the glass and a large list of wines by the bottle. Their menu and wine list are still not on their website, so it is difficult to accurately quote prices, but the wines by the glass ranged from $8-$30 and the cocktails ranged from $12-$15. Their Sazerac cocktail was nicely balanced and something that whisky drinkers will enjoy. Burger & Barrel also offers a few wines on tap, which are wines still in metal barrels and poured straight from the barrel into the glass. We asked the waiter what the advantage to a wine in the barrel is and he let us know that it merely cuts down cost and makes the wine more “green” because it’s not bottled. He told us there would be no difference in taste between a wine in the barrel and a wine in the bottle. We tried the Red Hook Winery chardonnay out of the barrel, but it tasted diluted and watered down; the flavor may have been due to the fact that it came from the barrel or, more likely, was just the wine itself.
The service at Burger & Barrel was quite good and friendly. The servers were always attentive and patient as we asked questions about the menu and drinks. We also appreciated the table wipe between courses at a more casual establishment.
The menu at Burger & Barrel is varied and provides a number of different dishes spanning several food genres. The Warm Shrimp Topped with Prosciutto ($16) had nice flavors of garlic, leek, and citrus. The shrimp, however, was a little overcooked. We also though the dish could have used some more texture or crunch and therefore the prosciutto could have been crispier, but overall the dish was successful. We were also happy with the Tuna Tartar, which was topped with avocado and a dollop spicy pickled sauce and came alongside homemade waffle chips. The quality of the tuna was excellent, and the avocado had a little kick to it. We thought the dish could have used a little more salt (a criticism we had throughout the meal) and that the restaurant could have been more generous with their use of the spicy sauce, which really made this dish standout as one of the best of the night. Our final appetizer was the Meatballs and Ricotta ($14), which was served with grilled country bread. We thought the meatballs were nicely cooked, but otherwise lackluster. The meatballs came in a marinara sauce that, while fresh, tasted like nothing more than crushed tomatoes and overwhelmed the rest of the dish. A little more spice and flavor in the meatball or the tomato sauce, and more salt, would have done wonders. The ricotta, which was served on the side, was salty and helped flavor the rest of the dish when eaten together on the bread. The texture was creamy and smooth. We appreciated the sizable portion of fresh ricotta, but we thought the portion of bread was lacking.
We also tried several entrees and had generally positive experiences. The Fried Chicken ($19) was actually a fried Cornish Hen, and came with mashed potatoes, gravy, and coleslaw. We thought the fried chicken was nicely cooked, a little greasy at times, but had an outstanding, crispy crust. The mashed potatoes were a little off-putting because they were very heavy, dense and lacking flavor, as if very little cream or butter had been used. The potatoes were saved however by a nice gravy on top.
Since this is a burger bar (you didn’t think we’d forget did you), we had to try some of their burger and sandwich offerings. Their signature Bash Burger is hailed as a 2009 NYFF Award winner and comes with caramelized onion, bacon jam and American cheese. We thought the burger was good but could use some improvement. We thought the burger could use more texture, although it was cooked nicely. We also thought the meat could have used a more meaty flavor, perhaps by choosing a better quality mix of meats. The burger jam could also have been a bit stronger and more prominent to really elevate the flavor of the overall burger. The Puebla Burger ($14), topped with roasted poblanos peppers, red onion relish, and queso fresco, exceeded our expectations. While the beef patty was the same as the Bash Burger, and so had the same issues, the addition of the spicy peppers provided a nice kick, and the creaminess of the cheese gave it nice balance and a new dimension of flavor. The final sandwich we tried was called the Sloppy Josh ($12), and is their version of a sloppy joe made with a “special sauce” and coleslaw. We both found the Sloppy Josh to be very good, with a nicely spiced and tomatoey filing of beef, red bell peppers, and onions. If we had any criticisms to make, we’d say that it could have been a little sloppier (we know youse kids like ‘em extra sloppy!) and the bun could have been a little smaller. However, we were both very happy with the dish. Each of the sandwiches we had were topped with two onion rings, which we really enjoyed; we wished they had offered the onion rings as a side on the menu. The onion rings were nice and crispy without being too greasy.
For sides, we really liked the sweet potato fries ($5), which had a soft inside and a crunchy outside. The regular fries were also quite good, but the sweet potato fries were excellent. We should note that fries also come with the sandwiches, even though that is not indicated on the menu. When we ordered the sweet potato fries, we were not given an option to substitute, and ended up having a lot of fries at the table. We also tried the special side dish of Brussels Sprouts and Slab Bacon. This side had potential, but suffered from many of same salt and pepper seasoning issues as previous dishes. In fact, we ended up taking this side home, seasoning it with salt and pepper, and sautéing it for a few minutes to crisp the Brussels Sprouts a little more. The result was an outstanding side dish that we wished was served to us at the restaurant.
In sum, Burger & Barrel is a decent, yet relatively expensive, meal that has the potential to be good. The variety of the menu provides something for everyone, but most of the dishes had execution problems and were slightly off the mark in the seasoning department. If these easily fixable problems are in deed rectified, the result will be a smart casual wine bar that serves a mix of both gourmet and comfort foods.
