Bill's Bar & Burger

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
October 28, 2009

Burger
22 9th Ave
@ 13th St
New York, NY 10014
212-414-3003

Melissa Hom

A stark contrast to its humble beginnings, today’s hamburger lives under the scrutiny of aficionados and critics. And now Stephen Hanson, one of New York’s preeminent restaurateurs, has voluntarily subjected himself to the scrutiny by opening a new burger joint, Bill’s Bar & Burger.

Located in the Meatpacking District, in The Hog Pit’s former location, there’s nothing fancy about Bill’s Bar & Burger. It’s low key and old school, just as the name suggests. Checkered tablecloths, mixed furniture, a blackboard menu, and sports on TV sum up the décor of the 75-seat bar and dining room.

Like the blackboard it’s written on, the menu is also simple, with Bill’s Classic — a burger on a toasted sesame bun with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles on the side — the foundation on which all variations are built. Besides the standard option of cheese on your burger, variations include chiles and special sauce as well. There are also hot dogs, a grouper sandwich, fries, shakes, desserts and drinks (beer, wine and full bar).

The highlight of Bill’s burger is the patty, a special Pat LaFrieda ground beef blend made just for Bill’s. Pressed flat on the griddle and cooked to medium, the thin patty is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

My sister and I shared both the Fat Cat (Bill’s patty topped with caramelized onion and American cheese on an English muffin) and the Bobcat (Bill’s Classic topped with New Mexico green chiles and jack cheese). The thin and juicy yet crumbly patties really hit the spot. I enjoyed both burgers but favored the Fat Cat because I love burgers on English muffins — the nooks and crannies capture all the juices. The regular sesame bun on the classic was a little too soft. But the Bobcat ended up winning my heart later when the subtle heat of the New Mexico green chiles finally kicked in.

Bill’s Bar & Burger serves regular French fries, disco fries (with gravy and melted cheese), and crispy veggie fries (deep-fried broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots and red peppers). We wanted to try both the regular and the disco, so we ordered the gravy and cheese on the side. While the fries are hand-cut and not frozen, the texture didn’t work for me, being neither crispy nor soft, so I kept dipping them in the gravy and cheese. It reminded me of poutine (fries with gravy and cheese curds) from Canada! “Crispy veggie fries” is a bit of a misnomer, as I was expecting something like sweet potato fries, but they are actually tempura-like fried vegetables and quite delicious and fun!

We couldn’t leave without trying the shakes, so we ended up ordering two: the Oreo (vanilla ice cream, loads of Oreos and chocolate syrup) with amaretto, and the Stout Float (vanilla ice cream with Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout). Both were decadent, and better choices than the key lime pie we also tried, but the Stout Float took the prize. There’s something about stout in desserts. Like the chocolate Guinness cake at Vinegar Hill House, it just works. Though the stout was a little bitter, it cuts the sweetness of the ice cream, creating the perfect balance for a drink/dessert.

I struggled trying to decide between beer and wine — didn’t want to fill up on beer before the burger and fries but wasn’t too keen on their wine selection either. We ordered wine and beer to start, but once the burgers arrived, Cyn, instinctively, ordered a Bloody Mary, and I immediately jumped on that bandwagon. The Bloody Mary was the perfect complement to the burger — especially for a spice lover! I enjoyed the pairing so much, I ordered another.

For a bar/burger joint that serves a simple menu, we reveled in all the options and found things that we liked, and the friendly staff made our overly long stay extremely pleasant! It seems that Mr. Hanson and Bill’s Bar & Burger will do just fine under the scrutiny of tough New York burger aficionados.

Also in American, Burgers, Meat Packing District