Burger and Barrel

Burger and Barrel – 25 West Houston, New York, NY, USA

They say if you make it New York you can make it anywhere. Well, Chef Josh Capon and his “WinePub” Burger and Barrel, have been making it for the last 6 years. They’ve now taken out People’s Choice award for best burger in NYC, up against 29 other worthy contenders at the New York City Wine & Food Festival. There’s nothing particularly fancy about B&B; it’s a Gastro Pub with a widespread menu offering several different burgers, pasta, salad and soup. Basically there’s something for everyone. But they must be doing a lot right, because bookings are essential. The only reason I was there was infamy. I ordered one of their Sunday brunch cocktails and a Bash Style burger that came with mustard cooked beef patty, a potato bun, onion & bacon jam, pickles, American cheese, special sauce and a side of fries.

“I wanted this burger to knock my socks off and declare it Burger Royalty. But, I had to settle for a hamburger that was just, “good”. This was not worth the hype. I mean, the patty was great and so were the onions. But there was just something missing from this burger. I wasn’t hungover. It wasn’t overly busy. How could it be awarded people’s choice five times? Surely I got a dud? I wanted an experience that heroed the meat but the burger ended up being too balanced for me. Maybe this is just the nice, polite guy of the burger world? The burger that doesn’t offend. But at the same time, doesn’t excite me. It’s me vs NYC, so if you catch this write-up Mr Capon, I’m free next weekend. Rematch?”