FROM SHAKE SHACK TO BAREBURGER On the day that Shake Shack opened in Paramus last weekend, I was in Edgewater at a new restaurant called Bareburger, eating a wild-boar Maui Wowie burger topped with smoked mozzarella, turkey bacon and grilled pineapple. On the table was a sign titled Why Organic? Its better for you. The menu included burgers of grass-fed beef as well as elk, bison, ostrich and lamb; all come with a list of assurances: free-range, pasture-raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free. They also come at a price: my burger cost $13.60 alone. With the opening of New Jerseys first Shake Shack, you can trace the evolution of the better-burger movement without leaving Bergen County. The Shack might be the newest addition here, but it became a powerful pioneer when high-end restaurateur Danny Meyer opened a permanent burger/hot dog kiosk in Manhattans Madison Square Park in 2004. Shake Shack made an early, progressive commitment to better ingredients — including freshly ground, antibiotic-free, hormone-free Angus beef patties. In the ensuing years, several sub-trends made their way here: high-end chefs burgers (including Bobby Flays Bobbys Burger Palace in Paramus), burgers and booze (Zinburger in Paramus and Clifton, Boom Burger in Rochelle Park and Mahwah), better fast food (Five Guys, Smashburger), not to mention an explosion of neighborhood spots. But of all these, Bareburger has by far the most purist approach to its ingredients, the vast majority of which are organic. Its website spells out details down to which cheeses are made from pasture-raised cows milk and which are from grass-fed cows milk. Instead of Coke, it offers sodas made from organic evaporated cane juice and organic spices. And the chains popularity shows how much the better burger movement has developed. Bareburger CEO Euripides Pelekanos said that when the company launched its first restaurant in Astoria, Queens, in 2009, I thought that we really, really stood apart from what other restaurants are doing. Now I see it as more the norm, as far as newer restaurants and newer concepts, he said, especially younger concepts that are driven and run and owned by younger people that are more in-tune … with how their food is sourced. There are now 15 locations; Edgewater, the latest, is the first outside of New York. Pelekanos said that a deal was close to open a location in Ridgewood and that Closter was also under consideration; Hoboken is set to open next year. Bareburger might take its food seriously, but its a playfully decorated restaurant that puts its organic ketchup in bear-shaped honey bottles and hangs light fixtures made from wine bottles and ladles. Scooby Doo played on the TV when we were in. Servers take orders on tablet computers. The food we tried last weekend more than delivered. The most striking thing was the liberal use of herbs everywhere livening up the breading in the onion rings ($4.25 for a side) and the crispy spicy pickle spears ($6.95), as well as the fantastic buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. The grass-fed beef patty was full of flavor, while the bison burger (the most popular meat after beef) could have fooled us as just a lean beef burger. (Burgers range from $8.95 to $13.95. Exotic meats carry an up-charge; bison is an extra $2.55.) Even the panko-crusted chicken tenders were standouts ($7.95 as part of a cubby meal). I spotted actual raspberry seeds in the thick raspberry milkshake ($4.95 to $6.95). And the final tab carried a bit of Whole Foods-like sticker shock, though we had to remember we were in a full-service restaurant. continue reading this story on page 2 - See more at: northjersey/food_dining/232232071_From_Shake_Shack_to_Bareburger.html#sthash.0cFbZcos.dpuf
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 13:01:24 +0000
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