ROK:BRGR Burger Bar and Gastropub

Burger joints may be all the rage right now, but Rok: Brgr boasts a menu to outlive many of them. The concept was to create a space with the feel of a prohibition-era speakeasy, with the kind of comfort food anybody would want with a pint of something cold. The look is all exposed brick and leather, with a bar that spans half the space on one side. Windows open up to Himmarshee, with stools outside facing inwards. Chef and co-owner Marc Falsetto created a menu featuring burgers but with a fair share of steaks, mom's meatloaf, and other comfort foods. Like all burger joints, the place may live or die on the meat, and Falsetto has certainly thought out his "secret blend." He orders certified Black Angus from a supplier in Nebraska, and his American kobe comes from Mishima Ranch in California. He grinds it daily. The concept even spans the drink menu: Martinis come with a blue cheese-stuffed olive wrapped in bacon, and a pair of cocktails come with a bacon-infused bourbon. Lobster corn dogs ($12 for four) combine lobster meat with a sweet batter more akin to apple fritters. Outside, they had the texture of the crispy edges of funnel cake, while inside the batter and the meat melded together in a crabcake-like texture. That one appetizer answers any question whether Rok: Brgr can survive the burger joint trend. The fry trio plate ($10) includes hand-cut fries, truffled numbers, and sweet potato fries as tender as mashed potatoes inside. Burgers include a Mediterranean with wonderfully gamey lamb and cooling taziki, a Las Olas with gruyere and wagyu, and an Australian with a fried egg over pineapple. The beers are cold. The fries are crispy and salty. And the burgers? Yeah, Rok: Brgr is good enough to survive the trend.