Rub BBQ – The French Onion Soup Secret

Rub BBQ
http://www.rubbbq.net/
208 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

THE CONQUEST
It’s right there —>

Just over the far side of your browser. I call it the “Burger Rank” and the first category is “TOP BURGERS IN NYC.” I get asked all the time and I mean ALL THE TIME, “Rev. What is the best burger in NYC?” That’s why I put it up there so you don’t have to hunt me down to ask. What the “Burger Rank” doesn’t tell you is which is my favorite. The answer to that question? Rub BBQ’s Monday Night Secret Burger. It’s probably one of the most heralded, talked about and anticipated burgers in all the burgerverse and it’s only available on Monday nights.

Every Monday, beginning at 6 pm, Rub BBQ starts serving them but doesn’t put them on the menu. You need to know to ask and while you’re at it, there is one more thing you should know. There is always more than 1 burger. Each week Rub offers up THE “Rub Burger” which is Burger Conquest fave but they also put forth a different specialty each week. Ever since this burger ritual began more than a year ago, Rub BBQ has NEVER repeated a special burger. While I would like to tell you i’ve eaten them all, I haven’t but spend 10 minutes with owner Andrew Fischel and Chef Scott Smith and you’ll feel like you missed out on 60-70 of the most important burgers ever made.

Read up on these 4 that I’ve reviewed and you’ll understand;
Onion Burger
Guberburger
Burnt End Burger
Giovanni Burger

And if that ain’t enough to get you running down there on a Monday night, know that Rub BBQ outside of serving the best burger in NYC, also has world renowned BBQ and when I say all of it is good, that’s an understatement. So what’s my point? I’ve clearly written the place up a whole bunch on my Glorious Pursuit of Delicious Burgers so why am I at it again?

When Andrew Fischel sends you an email that says “call me,” you call him. When he tells you on the phone “can you come in and eat burgers tonight?” you don’t even care to ask why, you just say “YES.”

THE BURGER
I walk in, mosey up to the bar, order a Shiner Bock and wait for Andrew. “Dude! You gotta eat the special burger tonight. It’s an onion soup burger. Chef Scott has been cooking the soup all day long! I need to know what you think.” That’s like the King asking one of his knights for his opinion on the kingdom.  “Yes your majesty, I do think the maiden is quite lovely and I love what you did with the peasant slave trade.”

The onion soup burger comes with the Rub BBQ perfectly burger patty made with a secret blend of ground beef, then topped with Gruyere & Provolone cheese melted on thick toast and with a scoop of onion soup on top. The onion soup has been cooking all day, allowing the onions to reduce, not unlike they would in a proper slider but with a significantly more intense flavor palette. I had to keep myself from shoving this savory and amazing concoction down my slop gullet in less than 2 bites. I forced myself to slowly work my way through it, delicious bite after delicious bite.

Chef Scott came out from the back and asked me what I thought. I was honest. “Scott, while I would NEVER tell you to take the beef out of this, you should know that it’s good enough to be served as a French onion soup grilled cheese!” “Rev,” he started to say, “that’s a damn good idea. “What can I say? I have a few of them from time to time.

9 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
320 Burgers

Jan. 3, 2011 – 7:00 PM