Bareburger on 31st Ave

[jenriet]

Their menu says "all burgers cooked medium unless specified" - which indicates that they are willing to cook burgers ordered another way.  It sounds, however, from people's experiences, that they are reluctant or unwilling to do so, which is disappointing and makes it seem to me that despite their lip service to it on their website, they don't truly care about their ingredients -- or their customers.

Having my burger cooked the way I request is very important to me (fast food-style burgers excepted), and their inconsistency in doing so is the main reason I haven't been to Bareburger yet.  I've eaten all the "exotic" meats on their menu, so they don't have anything I have to try.

I completely agree. If you won't cook your burgers to order, it means you don't trust your meat. I have a real problem with a place that doesn't flat-out say they will not cook something below a certain doneness, especially when they will let you order that way but then just send out something cooked more. That isn't the right way to do business and from the reviews, sounds like how Bareburger runs their restaurant - unless, of course, it's that they just have incompetent cooks. Not sure which one is worse in the end. Either will keep me from giving them my business, however.

[Yaxpac]

i have never been to bareburger but if i order a burger I want it done medium rare and nothing further. 

has anyone ever sent a burger back if it was overdone? 

[doglover]

I'm a big burger fan and I have to say I loved the 3 times I've eaten at Bareburger. The meat was excellent and I asked for it medium (which I guess is their default). I've also had medium rare there too and my husband got his rare and we were satisfied. Most places default to medium well as a food safety handling issue. If you ask for another temp, I've never had a problem getting it there. But hey, different strokes. I've tried 5 guys and maybe it was an off night there but I thought it was awful, flavorless, and tougher than a hockey puck when I asked for it medium. Shake Shack, Bareburger and Donnovans are my top 3 for burgers. All the times I've had fries there they were awesome too.

[TRX]

Shake Shack, Bareburger and Donnovans are my top 3 for burgers. All the times I've had fries there they were awesome too.

Have you also tried Sweet Afton? If I were going just for a burger and did not mind the atmosphere, I would prefer Sweet Afton.

But amazingly Bareburger can sometimes be distracting from SA.

[doglover]

I haven't tried Sweet Afton for food yet. I've been for drinks and while it is beautiful inside, it was a little Williamsburgy for me. But if the promise of a good burger is there, I might venture back on an afternoon.

[megc]

Sweet Afton has a great burger - it's my favorite in town.

[jenriet]

Sweet Afton has a great burger - it's my favorite in town.

I agree. I also like Sweet Afton itself - I'm not sure why people have a problem with the atmosphere; we've always found the decor to be great and the staff to be very welcoming, helpful, and entertaining to be around.

[TRX]

I haven't tried Sweet Afton for food yet.

I think they should go with a moneyback guarantee. Worth as much a try as any in Queens.

[lp80]

I'm done with Bareburger. I really hope someone from their management steps in and actually reads these posts.

I ordered a Vanilla shake this weekend - looking for a simple refreshing drink.

Looks like they didnt clean the blender after making someone a Penut Butter shake.

It had full on chunks of of peanut butter floating around.

I guess the staff is allowed to make things the way THEY like it..

I'm done

[caitlin]

we stopped by for lunch on friday and i really enjoyed it. i'm glad i hadn't read any of the reviews on here first, because i didn't notice any of the negatives that people are talking about. ordered an ostrich burger med-rare, and a piedmontese burger rare. both came out perfectly, and the fries were awesome. loved the dipping sauces. plus the giant beers were a nice lunch-time indulgence. maybe the daytime cooks are better at hitting temps? i will definitely go back, but next on the list are 5 napkin and sweet afton.

[Christine]

Don't think Sweet Afton has a good vegetarian selection. Yeah there's macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese, and fried pickles.......eh, I dunno, guess for a bar what can you expect. Just wish there were a portobello burger, for example.

[awwsheeet]

my burger was perfect im going to try the bison and to get erin's number

[StephanieL]

Bareburger's making inroads into Manhattan: I just saw that one is coming into a space on the east side of LaGuardia Place between Bleecker and West 3rd.