The Bowery
6268 Sunset Blvd
Hollywood
(323) 465-3400
$$
I’m not sure what qualifies a bistro as being “quintessential New York,” whether it’s the cramped quarters, the noise level, or what, but I decided to visit this little Hollywood hot-spot based on the recommendations of some rat bastards.
They may claim to be pure NYC, but the menu feels a lot more like Paris: to whit, Moules Frites, Steak frites, assiette charcuterie, gratin… Not that any of those are a BAD thing, mind you. Hell, I loves me a good moules frites!
Geographical (mis)representation aside, these guys somewhat pride themselves on their pub burger, so it was only natural that I should call their bluff and try it for myself.
Will they live up to their hype?
Read on and find out…
The place is CRAMPED. Small booth-lined tables on one side, the bar on the other, and the incessant din of music enveloping it all. A slightly retro-minimal style, no beers on tap, really who cares? We just wanna know about the burger, right?
I will say this: cream of tomato soup is ALWAYS a good idea, so score one for this place right off the bat.
Looking over the choice of toppings for my burger was a bit frustrating. They have some decent options (Gruyère, grilled onions, blue cheese, St. Andre (a brie), and sauteed mushrooms) which are not altogether bad, but I would have hoped for perhaps a little more (namely cheddar I guess, I’m such a sucker for that stuff). But I’ll give them a chance - they may not have my favorite, but they still have some decent stuff.
Sucking down a few Blue Moons, I scan the crowd and get a very upscale Hollywood vibe. I wonder how many striking screenwriters are here, how many A&R people and various other low-level execs and pseudo-creatives are there. But can you really judge a place by it’s clientèle?
For good measure, I ordered the onion rings as well as the fries, just because they were offered.
The plate arrives: a mess of shoestring fries surround a plump-looking burger served on an English Muffin. While normally I tend to prefer an honest-to-goodness bun, I was somehow fighting my natural pissy-ness and overlooked it. After all this meat looked damned tasty.
The Gruyère was generously dripping off the sides, the onions firmly molded into it. I was feeling some trepidation.
Accouterments were basically non-existent: no mayo, ketchup served only on the side for the fries (with none available on the table itself), no pickle (ouch, strike one - how can you call yourself a New York place without pickle?), no lettuce (unless you count the dressing-covered side salad as lettuce and tomato)… Are you scared yet?
Well let me tell you, my first bite was delightful. The meat was perfectly cooked, obscenely juicy and flavorful. Some of the best damned ground beef I’ve had in a while. The English Muffin was springy enough not to fall to pieces from all the juice, which worked out great.
Did I mention the meat was thick and generous? No rinky-dink patty lost in a sea of trim and bun. No, sir. It’s meat, with whatever toppings you asked, and an English Muffin holding the whole mess together. No more, no less.
The fries are good; crispy and lightly salted. The onion rings are a disappointment; greasy, heavy and lacking in subtlety - they felt like carnival / street fair rings.
But that meat, it’s memory is still on my lips, like a lover. A perfectly cooked lover.
No, but seriously, in strict terms of burger meat, this was possibly the most memorable and enjoyable patty I’ve had thus far. It compares only to something I would have made myself. But we’re not judging the meat, we’re judging the burger.
So how does it compare? The topping choice is limited but good, the fries are fine, the onion rings are forgettably plain… The atmosphere is a bit of a drag (if three people seated at a tiny little pub-sized table can’t hear each other talk on a Sunday night, your music is too damned loud), and the seating a bit cramped. The wait staff is friendly but the customers sport some serious attitude. So for all the deliciousness of the burger, everything else is working against it…
Overall this is a very tasty burger. While not the absolute best burger in town, I think their reputation is at least partly deserved. I’ll probably head back there someday in the not-too-distant future.
In a face-off between this place and the Counter, they would come in at a dead-heat tie with this place winning on meat and the Counter winning on every other front. The other menu options at the Bowery did sound absolutely fantastic (lamb chops, moules frites and short ribs to name a few), so on a non-burger tip, this place might definitely be worth a second look.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Ricardo Rebozo // Nov 19, 2007 at 10:25 am
I quite agree with Louis regarding the tasty burger and noisy ambience, although I personally enjoyed the onion rings– at least while I was still starving and scarfing them down. However, I did feel the post-mongem effect of their greasiness.
2 Emberly Modine // Nov 19, 2007 at 11:58 am
“…..A perfectly cooked lover”
quite the word-smith.
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