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“Bill's Bar & Burger”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	MeatPacking	Cheap Eats	Good

a squeeze of ketchup and one of Golden’s mustard, too. If you want cheese, they’ll add a layer of American for ya’ ($5.95), or even pump it up with Jack cheese and New Mexican green chiles ($6.50).  You can also build-your-own burger by topping the Classic with the likes of mushrooms, chili, pickled tomatoes, caramelized onions, or bacon for just 50 cents each more.

I’d go that route rather than order The Fat Cat, the biggest burger on the menu ($6.95). Not that it’s bad, it’s just too much. There are two patties, topped with a mound of caramelized onions and what turns into a Velveeta-like squish of American cheese melted on top. It’s all sandwiched between two halves of an English muffin that’s way too meager for the weight of all that meat, cheese, and onions. The burger becomes one big cheese and onion avalanche, and through it all you really can’t taste the beef.  And you want to taste the beef here. It’s from the meat maestro, Pat LaFrieda, and it’s deliciously fatty and flavorful. But you’d never know it in the Fat Cat.

But that’s my only quibble with the menu and the concept here. I loved the “adult” shakes—there’s one with Stout that’s terrific for winter, and another made with peanut butter, banana, and Frangelico that’s just ridiculous good fun. Underage buddies (or pregnant friends) can easily enjoy any of the regular shakes (choose chocolate, vanilla or strawberry), served in tall sundae glasses with bubble tea straws for easy slurping.

I also thoroughly enjoyed my (two) orders of fries ($3.50)—nicely salted, hand-cut, skin-on potatoes. These really are remarkable. My first order was an appetizer, and my second a side dish. Yes, these fries are the ultimate multi- tasker. You can disco up your fries with cheese and gravy ($4.50), but this just tends to make them soggy. Instead, go for an order of onion rings, really the size of bicep bracelets, battered in beer until golden and crunchy on the outside, sweet and slippery on the inside ($3.50).

I was taken with the place from beginning to end. There’s nothing fancy about it. It’s pretty much the same sort of lovable dive as the Hog Pit was, just cleaned up a bit around the edges, but there was no need to roll out a David Rockwe ... [more, click below]

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Posted: November 22, 2009

Other restaurants in MeatPacking :
+ Paradou   + Florent   + One   + Bivio   + Spice Market   + Ono   + 5 Ninth   + Fatty Crab   + Del Posto   + Morimoto   + Los Dados   + 5 Ninth   + Merkato 55   + Scarpetta   + The John Dory   + The Standard Grill   + Bill's Bar & Burger   

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