Corner of East 37th St. and Lexington Avenue
Overall: A much-needed Murray Hill burger joint, with a solid burger, but a bit too pricey and a bit over hyped. The sides are more than adequate (perhaps a bad sign—the burger should always take center stage), and overall it is a pleasant experience. The ambiance is a little higher-class than your neighborhood greasy spoon- wear a nice shirt or one with a sheep suspended by a ribbon. The quality of the ingredients is above average, I’d say, and, if you are tired of the standard beef burger (though I wouldn’t understand HOW that can happen), you won’t be let down with the variety of the menu (any meat that you can imagine being shaped into a patty has been at Rare). A good place for a date, but don’t come here with your Hell’s Angels buddies.
“Hi, I’m….”: “Melissa, and this is Rachel, Sarah, Allison, and her boyfriend Craig.”
It’s Murray Hill, after all. There is a West Village location, but this is the original. Granted, the burgerboy used to live two blocks away, so I am a bit partial to this location, but I am in no way endorsing Murray Hill.
It’s convenient to any part of the city, ok?
I’m Here, What do I see? : Depending on the time of day, the scene can vary. Either you’re affronted by a crew of Murray Hill guys who all just left their desks at Lehman, or you enter a calm, civilized bar scene, with dark wood and soft lighting. Murray Hill girls flock to this place, in the hopes of finding that cute I-Banker with the bottomless pockets (and with no beer on tap and $8 cocktails, who can blame them?). Just kidding…
But not really. Girls in this place are always dressed to the nines, which, in certain respects, does make this less of a burger joint and more of a, dare I say, restaurant. But, no matter, ambiance does not a good burger make.
The Good Stuff: I used to be a Rare regular. It is not false that I was there three times in the span of seven days. However, it is arguable that I was there for the convenience and not the amazing quality of the burger. Yes, I do realize that my thoughts are all over the place. I guess my review is all over the place. I don’t think the burger is THAT good. That’s right, I said it. I think it’s overrated. I think frankienoon might disagree, but this is my review, damnit. The burger is too fatty. It has a good amount of sirloin (this is all about the “classic” burger, by the way, no fancy-pants pesto burgers for this guy), which, while high in flavor, makes things a bit too messy for me. Remember hand-feel? This burger does not do it for me. Good but not great. For a place that only has variants of one item on the menu, I want that one item to shine, and Rare just doesn’t do it.
I guess one of my problems is that the bun has a “story” (as does the pickle, the bacon, the cheese… the menu has turned into a bit of a gourmet sellout), but I think it’s overwhelming. I’d rather spend my nine bucks 38 blocks uptown at Melon’s. Rare just tries a bit too hard, I think. Let’s get back to basics—a good char layer, a little less fat, no side stories. Lastly, a pet peeve: the burger arrives with a doneness pick in the patty. What is this, Ruby Tuesday’s?
That might sum it up for me.
Rating (out of 7 cows): 3.5/7
– burgerboy. 5/25/07
