Bareburger is Anything But
Lately, all of my friends (and by “all” of them, I mean “two”) have been going on and on about how great Bareburger is. And even before I tasted the burger, I was pleased by the people making it and their commitment to all-natural ingredients like grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, and organic produce. As much as I love my home state of Ohio, my friends there have to hunt for grass-fed beef, while I have easy access to restaurants like this that serve nothing but tasty, tasty, vitamin-rich cowmeat.
Now, the astute reader will recognize that I have a bit of a carb problem, so on the days that I’m being a good girl, I do things like eat burgers without buns and order side salads instead of French fries. Obviously this makes for terribly boring blogging, but luckily for me, Bareburger makes it so it doesn’t have to be terribly boring eating.
Bacon Cheese Bareburger on a lettuce wrap – $9.95
No one should ever order a lettuce wrap if they don’t have to. There, I said it. I really appreciated how this one came contained in a paper wrapper that really did make it easier to keep everything cohesive, but the problem is that the paper held in steam and juices that made the lettuce soggy, unpalatable, and really not helpful at all as a burger vehicle. I really don’t know how to make a lettuce wrap better, though. Maybe just use two really sturdy pieces of cabbage?
Anyway, the burger itself was delicious sans lettuce. Juicy, cheesy, just-blackened on the outside, with crispy bacon and crunchy RAW red onion, which is the only way onion should ever be. Unless it’s in an onion ring. Which is just what was on my boyfriend’s version.
Bareburger Supreme – $10.95
Truth be told, my boyfriend was napping when I ordered these for us, so he had absolutely no say in what he got, and I basically just got him the worst thing on the menu. “Worst” meaning “worst for you” and therefore actually “best”. This was colby jack, onion rings, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, chopped French fries and Bareburger special sauce on a multi-grain roll. See what I did there with the multi-grain roll? Makes the burger totally healthy.
Just as Bareburger put some thought into buying and serving all sorts of sustainable meats in interesting combinations, they also put some thought into their side salad. Can you imagine? Our Caesar salads were fresh and crunchy, with huge slivers of Parmesan all over the place. (And tomatoes and croutons, but of course I didn’t eat those.) Definitely a win, as far as salads go.
One star for quality ingredients. One star for awesome combinations of ingredients. One star for caring about carb addicts and the gluten-allergic (tapioca buns!). And one star for just plain yummy food.
514 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10016 (map)
8 Comments
Hessa Phadie
Haha….love this “I basically just got him the worst thing on the menu. “Worst” meaning “worst for you” and therefore actually “best”.” Yeah…that’s looks incredible! Too bad on yours…but I would attribute that to what you said..the “wrap”, it should be enjoyed as intended…forget all the carb conscious crap :P
plumpdumpling
A burger really is not a burger without the bun. But I have to eat lettuce wraps during the week if I want to be able to eat tasting menus all weekend and not explode all over the table!
diana
tapioca buns?! sign me up!!
plumpdumpling
I know! I Googled them, and they look kind of weirdly crusty, but I sure do love tapioca.
Dishy
You totally write the best reviews ever. Thoughtful, funny, even offering suggestions for improvement. PS: I will take one of those bad boys any day (and by that I of course mean the “best”)
plumpdumpling
Aww, thank you! I shouldn’t really complain, because eating a burger like that is a whoooooole lot better than the way I eat it from other places, which is with a knife and fork with no side at all because I can’t eat the fries and onion rings other places are limited to. But Kamran doesn’t like it when I only say nice things. :)
Mrs. Bachelor Girl
Oh, that’s disappointing about the lettuce-wrapped burger, because it looks really good. But hey, at least they’re TRYING to help out the carb-conscious among us!
plumpdumpling
I definitely appreciate the effort. I think one of the big problems with dieting is that you have to be willing for nothing to be quite the same; it’s not worth it for some people. Of course low-carb ice cream isn’t quite as good, but dude!, I can eat it and not get diabetes.