I admit that our initial plan was not to go to Juniper Bar for brunch last Saturday, but, after I saw a photo of their burger on instagram, we switched plan. The photo showed a big piece of brie on top of a patty: so mouth watering that I could not wait. So, on our way, we looked at their website, to make sure there were vegetarian options for Jodi and, on their menu, saw "The burger", an 8 oz Pat LaFrieda short rib blend burger where you could add cheese like American, goat, cheddar, pepper jack, fontina or camembert, or an organic fried egg or even bacon. At that point, I thought that it was a mistake: camembert and brie are two different French cheeses, but brie has cream in it, giving it a higher fat content. So, I ordered "The Burger" and chose to add cheddar and camembert. Presentation wise, I was disappointed, the cheese being cut in slices. But taste wise, it was quite good: the patty, perfectly cooked medium-rare, was juicy and tasty.
It is only while preparing the post that I realized that the photo I saw was a different burger: their Brunch burger, that was probably on the menu, but that I did not see as my mind was already made up. Too bad that their website is not up to date, but on the other hand, this was a good burger!
Anyway, you may wonder what Jodi ate. Well, we started our meal with their tater tot melt, a sort of grilled cheese sandwich where they put tater tots between a garlic thyme bread, topped with cheddar and munster cheese. This was, especially with the burger, like a heart attack on a plate: the bread was delightfully greasy and there was tons of cheese. It came with chipotle mayo and I thought to myself that they should propose to pair it with a tomato soup.
A more healthy choice was the watermelon salad, served with feta, but I confess that I did not even consider it...
Last were beverages. For brunch, they propose the traditional mimosa or Bloody Mary, but I was intrigued by their "In my white tea" cocktail, made with chamomile infused gin, chamomile tea, honey and lemon. When asked if I liked it, I said that it was...interesting. Yes, I would probably not reorder it, but found it...interesting, with a nice citrusy taste, like a grog when you are sick...
Overall, it was good and between the burger and the tater tot melt, I have to say that I would go back for the later. Or maybe for that brunch burger that I missed...
Enjoy (I did)!
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Juniper Bar - 237 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001