The menu is quite extensive for a burger bar. There's a wide variety of apps, salads, and sides including several varieties of fries (disco is one of them), but of course, the main focus is on the burgers. There's a section with the restaurant's own burger creations, many of which sound fantastic and another section dedicated to building your own burger. Beyond beef, there's the veggie burger as mentioned, turkey, lamb, and grilled chicken breast - so clearly there are some options here. And that's before you get to the long list of toppings, several of which go beyond the expected standards. I'm pretty excited to explore the possibilities of bacon-jalapeno jam and shaved pork belly.
I'd had some initial concerns about going when it was so new, but no need. Despite being pretty full, we were seated quickly and the service was very attentive, checking in frequently to see if we needed anything. Our server was very patient and personable as we asked questions (we had many - the menu is fun, but a touch gimmicky and needs some explanation) and made our decisions. She went through the beer list for us (it's a bit hard to see the chalkboard from most of the tables) which was decent and they have a full bar with daily drink specials.
To start, we decided to split the Fried Mac and Cheese pops. There were 8 in the basket, served with a buttermilk ranch dressing. The pops themselves were about the size of a golf ball, not overly cheesy, and held together well. One of mine was lukewarm in the center, but it seemed to be the only one. The buttermilk ranch was creamy, tangy, slightly herby, and an excellent example of what ranch dressing should be.
One of my friends had the tar heel burger: a burger topped with pulled pork, bbq sauce, cheddar, and their own coleslaw. It was a big burger, quite meaty, but the bbq sauce and coleslaw really added more complexity to the flavors, breaking up the heaviness of the beef and pork and adding a bit of a sweet-sour twist.
My other friend and I both elected to build our own (although I was very tempted by the Cyprus Hill, a lamb burger with fried goat cheese and cucumber-mint sauce) and got beef burgers. On mine, I added pepper jack, caramelized onions, and smashed avocado. The onions were slightly sweet while the pepper jack added some heat. I was a little disappointed that my avocado was just sliced, not smashed, as I know from personal experience that tends to keep everything together a bit better and this definitely got a bit messy.
The other built-to-order burger came with gruyere and bourbon 'shrooms and let me tell you, those mushrooms stole the show! They were perfectly cooked - not rubbery, not spongy, but tender, juicy, and so flavorful. There wasn't much of a bourbon flavor, but there was a slightly smoky depth to them I loved. We both also added bank sauce which we were told was basically like the secret sauce on a Big Mac - it was good, had a strong pickle flavor, and I enjoyed it but wouldn't consider it especially noteworthy.
All three of our burgers were cooked to our preferred levels of doneness and were juicy but not greasy which I'm finding to be an important distinction more and more. The buns are a little on the soft side for my taste but held up well. They didn't add to the burger, but they didn't detract either. The meat itself was clearly of good quality, and while I felt it was slightly underseasoned, it had a distinctive beefy, slightly minerally (I mean that in a good way) taste.
All in All
Left Bank Burger Bar is a fun, laid-back restaurant that offers up classic burger fare, but with enough twists and options to keep things interesting. The snacks/sides seem a little pricey at first glance, but overall, everything is quite reasonably priced. There are a few rough spots here and there, and I'd love to see them switch from baskets to plates so it's little less fast-food like and also easier to manage, but the food is good, the service is good, and I have no doubt Left Bank Burger Bar will be a great new addition to Jersey City.
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