Q and A with Brett Reichler of Bill's Bar and Burger

12/2/09
bill's bar and burger
By Lucy Blatter

Q and A with Brett Reichler of Bill's Bar and Burger

If you’ve strolled down the Meatpacking District lately, you may have noticed Bill’s Bar and Burger taking up the space that was once the Hog Pit.

As soon as it opened in October, the burger at Bill’s was being hailed by many as one of New York’s best. We spoke with Bill’s corporate executive chef Brett Reichler about his new hot spot.

How did you perfect the burger?
We’d done a lot of tastings around town and worked on many different beef blends. We probably tried 20 different blends. We use whole cuts of meat from LaFrieda, not trim.

There’s a good amount of fat and it’s ground fresh for us — that’s the biggest thing. I know exactly what’s going into my meat.

We serve it on a seeded bun that’s seasoned and griddled. You can get the classic plain or with cheese. The burger is $5.50. That’s a pretty good deal.

What else should we try, besides the burger?
With a great burger, has to be a great fry. I must have tried at least 40 different frozen fries. Then I went to fresh and said, ‘this is what we’ve gotta do.’
We wanted to appeal to people who don’t want meat, so we offer a blackened grouper sandwich (which comes with a pickled tomato, coleslaw and our secret sauce) and a turkey burger, too.

How have things been so far?
I hope it only gets better from here. The feedback has been pretty darn good. You can’t go to Le Bernardin five nights a week, but you can go to Bill’s for lunch four days a week.

Bill's Bar and Burger, 22 Ninth Ave., at 13th St., 212-414-3003
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Q and A with Brett Reichler of Bill's Bar and Burger

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