Midtown Lunch

This week, Luncher Janeane from Phillyism is trying the savory dough treats at Barra.

I’ve walked past Barra plenty of times, but decided to finally check it out when I heard about their lunch menu. That, and the fact that they bake stomboli-esque burgers and sandwiches. Scoreee!

Barra opened a few months back in the Old City venue that once housed the Paradigm / Dolce mashup. A brick oven and remodeled space boasts a warm ambiance, perfect for a lunch visit on a cool day. With a full menu priced at $$$, their lunch menu is definitely the way to go with burgers and sandwiches between $9-$13 that includes either a side salad or fries. Cue the food pics.

From the more stromboli- like part of the menu, the $10 jewel is the “Uncle Vito” with prosciutto, capocollo, prov (plus tomatoes, roasted long hots & onions) all wrapped up in fresh made dough and baked with oil and balsamic crema. After eating a side salad, half of this sandwich-boli, and a fistful of a friend’s fries, I was pretty stuffed (plus I still had another half to eat later).

As a lover of all things Italian/Stromboli, I can tell you every bite had plenty of meat, oozing cheese and just the right amount of vegies. Essentially this is the best ham and cheese sandwich you’ll have this year.

Next up is the co-star of the show, The Brick Oven Burger, also wrapped in fresh made dough and baked to order. Barra’s got three burger choices, The Americano ($10, the original, and debatably, the best of the bunch), Mushroom Wiz Wit ($12), and The Roman ($13 think meats, arugula, tomatoes and basil pesto). Baked in a pocket of bread, the juice/grease from the meat is pretty much trapped inside, which makes eating this slightly challenging. Luckily, these burgers are hella good so I’m sure you’ll power through.

I crept up on the chefs to get a shot of The Roman mid-production, just awaiting it’s wrap job and a 3-4 minute stint in the brick oven until baked to perfection (available to be cooked to a juicy medium or well done). That a lot of stuff about to be baked with that burger.

The Barra lunch menu definitely lived up to the hype, and will most likely circulate into my monthly lunch rotation. Have you Barra burgered yet? If you haven’t, it’s time.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Relaxed/nice environment with a ton of tables
• The Americano is all you need at $10 with fries or salad

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Grease happens.
• Their normal menu is pricy for lunch so you’ll be stuck to the lunch specials

Barra, 239 Arch St, 215 238-6900