Do you hear that crunch under your feet? That's the sound of vegan hippies coming to terrorize your neighborhood with the likes of dancing circus bears wielding precariously perched all-natural ingestables. Or at least that's what the lone, die hard burger stalwarts will say once Bare Burger opens soon on the corner of 34th Street and 31st Avenue. The rest of us will immediately begin worshiping at the altar of beer-bearing bears (sorry) once we discover what they mean by organic "snacks". One thing's for sure: Astoria is in need of a creatively themed restaurant that keeps sustainability on par with savory food. Judging by the care they've taken in branding the joint, we're feeling recklessly optimistic!
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12 comments:
Can't wait for this place to open. My Birkenstocks are itching to get a taste of an ostrich burger! I noticed today that they've installed garage doors on the walls, so should get lots of fresh air in summer months.
any word on the opening?
Walked by this place sunday evening and there was a line of people outside waiting for to try this place.
I'm going to hit it up tomorrow...can't wait!
Elk burger cooked well when ordered rare, same with the bison burger. Also, the bison burger was 1/4 the size of the bun. asked for fries well done and when they came soggy i asked for them to be put back in the frier...the response "oh we cant do that because we are backed up tonight" so i asked them to take them off the bill and then they come with well done fries as we are paying and wrapped them up so they could still get their money. Nice place but crappy food that is very overpriced. they better get their act together or it will be a very nice vacant spot on 31st ave.
I agree with Anon above; the food was VERY subpar. The waitress was very nice, but she was the only one in the front of the house, everyone else was surley and a nervous wreck behind the counter. My burger was rare (I asked for very well) and dry. The proportion of condiments and extras to burger and bun was way off. The bun was huge and tasteless. I was supremely underwhelmed by the experience. I hope they get their act together as there's nothing on that corner and I'm dreaming of a hangout across from my apartment.
tough being a vegetarian in a place where all the meat options look so good. but the veggie burger was much better than what I expected and the portobello burger was awesome. very tasty fries too. glad I happened to walk by the place.
I loved this place. I also had a similar experience the first time i went, because the opening days can be a little crazy. I mean, when can you ever be ready for 40 hungry people showing up at once? I went back on monday and they had definitely changed their service and their food was cooked right and super tasty. I tried the salad and really loved it!
The price comes with the quality of the meat and they changed the size of their burgers based on customer feedback, i think. The burgers were the right size with the big buns.
Have some faith.
I was unfortunately unimpressed also. My burger was ordered medium. We waited 20-30 minutes and it wasn't even warm. The inside not pink at all and entirely dry and tasteless. We also got drinks which were watered down and/or done by the time my food got there. The waitress though very nice hadn't even tried the food as to give us suggestion. For the price I expected a lot more. The fries were definitely tasty but that was not what I was there for. I am a burger lover and was looking forward to this place and was very disappointed.
I've been here about four or five times and each time was better than the last. The first weekend was a bit crazy but the food has never been bad. I find it surprising to read negative comments on this place. the fries are awesome. the onion rings are the best! huge and so crunchy. i was scared to try the ostrich burger but am so happy i did. it is delicious. and the avocado salad is yum! definitely my new fav place in astoria.
Sounds like they had a few snags to work out the first week or so. I ate there on Monday the 22nd. I had an avocado & jalapeno cheese salad (tasty) & my dining companion had a burger on brioche, beef patty (he enjoyed it). Fries were well-done. Love the decor (except for the obligatory TV), the service was fine, and the drink options are great (yummy milkshake, Boylan's soda fresh from syrup, etc.).
That whole corridor with Brick, Il Bambino, the burek place, and now a good West Coast-style burger place is getting to be worth the trip.
I finally tried Bare Burger, and it's very solid food. I ordered a basic beef and cheddar burger because that's the gold standard by which I rate burger places for comparison's sake. The quality of the meat was unmistakable, and the fries were fresh and tasty in their peanut oil goodness. I did order it rare and it was more of a medium rare, and they don't have their liquor license yet, but a Boylan's cola made with real sugar on tap is a pretty decent substitute (for now).
However, the service is not up to par and it's inexcusable for a place that otherwise has everything else done right (decor, menu, etc.). I waited a few weeks, too, based on a friend's early visit and comments that things were not dialed in yet.
Anyhow, my burger came with mayo when I asked for it without (and saw her indicate no mayo on the little handheld device orders are taken on), it was not exactly rare (but close), and the fries our table ordered didn't come out - at all - until we asked about them 2/3 of the way through our meal.
This is a basic menu, with straightforward orders. I just don't get how you can screw up an order that is being electronically taken and transmitted to the kitchen. I don't see how a BURGER place can forget to bring out fries.
One of the problems seems to be that the place is always full of people, yet there's a single wait person for the entire place. it's just too much for one person to keep up with.
Also, every time I walk by (I live just a few blocks away) it seems the owners are shootin' the breeze out front. The general impression I'm getting is that the place is doing well enough based on the food that there isn't much motivation to really dial it in.
Unfortunately, to charge a premium for something like burgers that you can get in every size, shape, and quality level in this town, you need to bring your A game. When you start getting into double digit prices for burgers, you need to be nailing the doneness and getting the orders out fast and correct. PJ Clarke's doesn't screw my order up - ever.
In short, I'm not writing them off completely, because the food was good, but if they want to be a destination worth coming to Queens for, they need to get their service together. They obviously have the system in place with the handheld remote devices, brand new equipment, and several weeks of operation under their belt.
I guess time will tell if they are serious about their burger craft, or just riding the organic wave and Astoria's hip neighborhood caché...
The best!
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