Raoul's bar burger
Raoul's Secret Bar Burger
April 25th, 2015 @ 01:00 PM

Event Description

I’m very pleased to call to order the next great meeting of the Monthly Burger Club. This time we will be testing out what Esquire dubbed “The Best Burger in America” - the secret Bar Burger at the NYC classic Raoul’s Restaurant in Soho. It’s not on the menu, they only make 12 per night, and you can only order it at the bar, which has 10 seats.

And we’re going to take all of them.

The plan is to arrive a little before the place opens at 5PM on Saturday, April 25th, take over all of the bar stools, order all of the burgers, eat all the burgers, smother ourselves in the remaining Au Jus sauce, build a fire and dance around it like the Lord of the Flies-style savages that we are.

18 people have rated

Follow our Adventures!

Overall Rating: 8.28

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Taste:
8.61/10
Texture:
8.94/10
Toppings:
8.0/10
Sides:
7.44/10
Value:
7.33/10
Ambiance:
8.94/10
Harmoniousness:
8.67/10
Andrew headshot

Andrew's review

Ladies and gentlemen - a new king has been crowned.

Back in the 1960s - when many of us were merely winks in our daddies’ eyes - McDonald’s unleashed the Big Mac upon the world, touting above all the mysterious “Special Sauce.” Well, this weekend, 13 stalwart Burger Clubbers experienced what was perhaps the finest iteration (the Platonic Form, if you will) of “Special Sauce” - the au poivre which accompanied Raoul’s secret Bar Burger.

We descended upon this Soho stalwart, arriving early in such force that we scooped up every bar stool and immediately ordered every one of the 12 burgers-per-night which they produce. Several groups of teary-eyed tourists turned around and walked out in despair, wishing they had had the foresight to join our beefy brotherhood…

This was a formidable formula of burger + bun + accoutrements. The meat was lovely (though perhaps not as transcendent as Minetta), and the mix of triple cream St. Andre cheese, watercress and cornichons toppings was inspired. But it truly came together when dipped into the majestic, aforementioned au poivre sauce. There are no words to describe it, even for me…you just must try it for yourself. Suffice it to say that it made me ask myself whether or not I could love a human baby more than I could love this burger and sauce. Ultimately I would side with the child, but I asked myself the question nonetheless…

The value is solid here - $19 for the burger and sauce plus a hearty cup of duck fat fries. The ambiance is classic. There were some issues with the burgers being a bit cold, though I’d say that’s a result of us ordering all of them at once. And there were some who believed that the au poivre was too rich and masked the burger, which is a valid opinion as well - a light-handed dip is the best way to get the optimal experience. But ultimately, it comes down to the magnificent harmoniousness of the experience, which now sits atop the Burger Club throne.

Sadly, similar to the scales of Justice, where one side’s rise necessitates the other’s decline, the Raoul’s stratospheric rating was contrasted by the lowest “Andrew as a Person” rating yet seen by the club - a cruel, crushing 0.5 out of 10…I’m debating moving us to a whole-number scale just so I can get the bump up to 1.

User ratings


Too juicy, no need for butter or mayo on the bun

Rating Details

Taste:
8/10
Texture:
10/10
Toppings:
8/10
Sides:
10/10
Value:
10/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

Rating Details

Taste:
7/10
Texture:
7/10
Toppings:
6/10
Sides:
10/10
Value:
6/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
7/10

Hot was best: the blue cheese was goey and melded well with pepper and cornichon. The meat was amazing. The bun was lightly toasted and perfect. Au jus was good but had the potential to drown all flavors, especially if the burger had cooled a little.

Rating Details

Taste:
7/10
Texture:
10/10
Toppings:
9/10
Sides:
7/10
Value:
10/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
7/10

Rating Details

Taste:
7/10
Texture:
9/10
Toppings:
7/10
Sides:
6/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
7/10
Harmoniousness:
7/10

Rating Details

Taste:
7/10
Texture:
9/10
Toppings:
7/10
Sides:
6/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
8/10
Harmoniousness:
8/10

Wonderful old school venue. Love the idea of 12 per day and only at the bar

Rating Details

Taste:
9/10
Texture:
8/10
Toppings:
8/10
Sides:
7/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
8/10
Harmoniousness:
8/10

Crispy bun, amaZing burger.

Rating Details

Taste:
10/10
Texture:
10/10
Toppings:
10/10
Sides:
7/10
Value:
8/10
Ambiance:
8/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

The sauce was magnificent. The burger on its own was a bit too peppery for my taste, but with the au jus cutting through it was glorious. This is a harmonious burger. The beef is quality but it's about the overall experience of the meal is wonderful. The fries in the sauce was like the love of a domesticated animal - expected but enjoyed nonetheless.

Rating Details

Taste:
8/10
Texture:
8/10
Toppings:
9/10
Sides:
9/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

Yeah... I'm kind of biased

Rating Details

Taste:
10/10
Texture:
10/10
Toppings:
10/10
Sides:
10/10
Value:
10/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

I was late of no one's fault but my own, though Andrew failed to save me a bar seat and/or order me a burger so I was forced to mooch off some poor unsuspecting fellow. As a result, I'm forced to issue his organizational skills a solid 0.3 and his overall rating as a person at -1. I'll be sure to be just as inconsiderate next time and, knowing me, I hope he'll be better prepared.

Rating Details

Taste:
8/10
Texture:
8/10
Toppings:
6/10
Sides:
8/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
6/10

Andrew 2

Rating Details

Taste:
8/10
Texture:
9/10
Toppings:
7/10
Sides:
6/10
Value:
8/10
Ambiance:
9/10
Harmoniousness:
8/10

Lived up to the hype. Fo realz.

Rating Details

Taste:
10/10
Texture:
10/10
Toppings:
8/10
Sides:
8/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
9/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

I would like to roll around in that au poivre sauce...seriously. The nap rating on this one was a 4 out of 10 on the nap quality for me. Additionally, Andrew is a peach.

Rating Details

Taste:
8/10
Texture:
7/10
Toppings:
6/10
Sides:
4/10
Value:
2/10
Ambiance:
8/10
Harmoniousness:
10/10

Rating Details

Taste:
9/10
Texture:
9/10
Toppings:
7/10
Sides:
6/10
Value:
7/10
Ambiance:
6/10
Harmoniousness:
7/10

Rating Details

Taste:
10/10
Texture:
9/10
Toppings:
10/10
Sides:
9/10
Value:
10/10
Ambiance:
10/10
Harmoniousness:
9/10

Who's attending

Andrew ousley circle Andrew O.
"The Moo Pie Pirate"
13988013 10100426592816717 3300221535858991540 o Fay L.
"The Swanson"
Missing Hayden M.
"Do Have A Cow, Man"
Missing Katherine L.
"Hot Sauce Masochist"
Missing Matt H.
"Double Double Animal Style"
Missing Patricia P.
"Trish the Dish"
Missing Ig M.
"The Mexican beef"
Missing Shanna P.
"Extra Rare"
Missing Lisa L.
"P.E.T.A (People. Eat. Tasty. Animals) "
Missing Ashley W.
" Ashley"
Missing Chip W.
"The Back Yard King"
Missing Bryn T.
"Beef Cheese"
Missing josep M.
"The Nomad Burger"
Missing Marcella N.
"The Nomad Burger's wife"
Missing John O.
"Rare"
Missing David F.
"Ground Beef Grail-Seeker"
Missing Lauren F.
"The Part-time Explorer"
Missing Lana L.
"Between Two Buns"