Brindle Room: How about lunch in the East Village?

“The journey of a thousand pounds begins with a single burger.”  Chris O’Brien

Brindle Room (photo by MJ Byers)

Eatery:   277 E. 10^th Street, New York

BY: MJ BYERS

I don’t get the East Village.  For the second time in a month, I’ve visited an amazing place for lunch in this neighborhood and no one was there.  Not at 12:30, not at 1 pm.  Do people in this neck of the woods just not eat during the lunch rush?  It’s like discovering the Mary Celeste – weird and kind of eerie.  Maybe everything is packed at dinner time.

Brindle Room has been on my list of places to try for months now, and I finally got around to visiting.  It’s a small, cute, relaxed place (so relaxed that the advertised 11:30 am start time for lunch is actually closer to noon).  It’s got bistro-like décor and fab indie rock music.  Very comfortable.

The burger I was there to try doesn’t appear on the menu but, oddly, does feature on the placard outside the restaurant.  It’s a steakburger and comes topped with caramelized onions and a choice of cheeses (I had Swiss).  It’s not huge – probably 4-5 oz – and comes on a bog standard burger bun.

Steakburger & fries at Brindle Room

It’s also quite delicious and juicy.  The first bite doesn’t deliver a big meaty taste, but does serve up the cheese and onion combo quite nicely (God bless Swiss cheese – it’s just the best).  The meat flavor came through afterwards, delivering a grilled flavor with the refinement you would expect from steak.  The whole thing is a lovely savory experience, punctuated with that tiny bit of sweetness you get from caramelization.

Don’t be put off by the “empty restaurant syndrome” if you visit Brindle Room at lunchtime – it’s pretty great.

Price:  Steakburger, $12.00

Destination Burger:  Yes.

Fat/Calorie Worthy:  Yes, for sure.

Optional French Fry Rating:  Pretty good.  Skin on, golden brown, crunchy, tasty.

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