Alobar: Tasting The Hunter's Point Burger
On a beautiful day: I travelled to Long Island City, Hunters Point to be exact, to Chef Ian Kapitan's new spot Alobar. I was reluctant that such grande cuisine would exist in Long Island City — I was wrong!
Alobar, a beautiful restaurant, with large open seating windows, stressed wood ceilings, a long marble bar that evokes a bright airy dining room space. Alobar was started by Jeff Blath (Jane) and Lisa Kalick (a physcian). In the kitchen, Chef Ian Kapitan's menu boasts the gammit of all elevated comfort meat and seafood dishes, especially PORK! You'll find a decadent charcuterie plate with piles of sweet norcino salami, Virginia prosciutto, boar & hazelnut patè, theres a duck confit "sloppy joe" with smoked ricotta, truffle, red wine onions, topped with sunny side up duck egg and mixed greens.You may want to try the mac & cheese "carbonara" with four cheese blend, pancetta, truffle braised egg? All these items are reason to go to Alobar — but my quest here was the burger!
Coined the Hunters Point Burger, Chef Ian concocts a behemoth like stack-of typical burger toppings- except done exceptionally! there's a moist patty, blanketed with warm creamy melted cheddar, smoked balsamic onions, spicy pickles and beer battered bacon — Yes! beer battered bacon. It that wasn't enough to satisfy your flavor addiction, it comes with a heaping bowl of-skin on- truffle fries. The burger arrived and already I was excited over the crispy slabs of beer battered fried bacon that my mouth wasn't going to wait long to dig in.The crunch of that beer battered porky goodness resting upon a juicy plump patty was need I say — the sexiest thing I've tasted in a long while. The robust sweetness of the onions and the creamy silkiness of a high quality cheddar was welcoming and extremely good.
Alobar is a snout to tail, meaty poolooza of a restaurant with a comfort sensibility to the palate . Everything here is good, it's so good-it's almost bad! You'll enjoy every guilt ridden bite into flavor town. Well done Alobar!