Monday, February 7, 2011

New Josh Capon Joint is Pretty Awesome


This is a much-belated post. I think I visited way back in November.

After reports started coming back that the burgers at Josh Capon's newest burger outpost Burger & Barrel were amazing I made a point of getting there. Man was I glad I did. These burgers kick some ass.

Though they are relegated to the bottom of the menu, the burgers are the main attraction at this cozy new 'gastropub' (gag). I had the Bash Style burger, presumably the burger that won Josh top honors at the 2009 Burger Bash in NYC (though honestly, the burger at B&B was way better than the burger I ate at the Bash). The Bash Burger makes use of just a few key ingredients (and some of my favorites) - caramelized onions, bacon (bacon jam?), pickles and American cheese. It takes a big pair of nuts to use American cheese on an upscale burger in Manhattan and I love Josh for having the balls to do so. The beef used, of course, is a special Pat LaFrieda blend and it's cooked perfectly on a flattop and served on a super-soft fresh-made bun. A nice flourish is the stack of perfectly cooked jumbo onion rings balanced atop the burger bun.