Bill's Burger and Bar (Meatpacking)

My roommate and I set out to find New York City's best burger last night. With a little research, we found that Bill's Burger and Bar in the meatpacking district was often one of the nominees for best burger in the city, so we decided to check it out.

I was immediately surprised on the size of the space. I always imagined Bill's as a bigger spot much like the other B.R. Guest restaurants. The host told us to sit wherever we'd like as the bar room was pretty empty--pretty surprising considering the World Series and Monday Night Football game were on. We decided to sit at the bar, which was probably a mistake. Not only did the bar chairs have no backs, but the bartender screwed up my order. She was beautiful and real friendly, but she wasn't too good at her job.

Greg and I were asking her questions about the menu, but she didn't have any answers. The only useful information she gave us was that the burgers came in two sizes: 5oz and 8 oz. Everything was "good" as she couldn't give us anymore detail than that. After receiving no guidance, we got the boneless chicken wings to split for an appetizer. The boneless wings were pretty good as they were real tender and had a nice spiciness.

For entrees, Greg went with Bill's Burger which is a classic burger with lettuce, tomato, and special sauce. I went with the Bacon and Cheddar Burger and added caramelized onions and special sauce. Both of us ordered the 8oz burger, but a 5oz burger was given to me by mistake. The burger itself was pretty good, but I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to as I looked over and Greg's plump 8oz burger. The bartender also forgot to put on the special sauce I asked for. The burgers don't come with sides, so greg ordered some fries on the side which were pretty good.

In an attempt to make up her mistake, the bartender poured us two shots of Red Stag, which is a horrible cherry bourbon. At my restaurant, we have cases of it because we can't sell it. I wanted to accept her apology, but Red Stags not going to do it. Maybe, she could have given me another burger or comped the one I was eating. Or maybe she could have given us a Brooklyn Brown Ale as those were going down real smooth. We finished our meal and took off. I'm sure Bill's is a sure candidate for a good New York City burger, but there has to be better. Maybe I'd feel different if I had gotten my current order--who knows? I think the B.R. Guest restaurant group has to get some new staff in there as it was painful to see all the service errors that went down. If you want to sacrifice a good service for a hot bartender than go to Bill's for a brew and burger.