RN 74 - Michael Mina's Cheeseburger

On Friday we had our office holiday lunch at Michael Mina's new restaurant, RN 74, which is over in the fancy Millenium Tower at Mission and Beale. I took the opportunity to share the cheeseburger with C. Lo as an appetizer.

They bill it as the "Prime Steak Burger", which comes with arugula, cheddar cheese and horseradish aioli. Sixteen bucks. I confirmed with the kitchen that indeed, they grind prime rib for the meat.

Unfortunately they overcooked it just a little - more medium than medium rare. It had some pink, but was no longer red. It did not matter much - it certainly wasn't dry, and the meat was quite tasty. They clearly use quite a bit of salt on the meat, which is ok by me. I did not find the meat mushy like Paul my butcher insists these high end loin cuts would become when ground. But I do think if you are going to use this you should mix it with something else. I'm going to try short rib and rib eye or New York one of these days.

Nice bun. Nice burger. Not the best in town - I still say Tyler's Wayfare Tavern is #1. I'm going to Spruce this weekend, which is touted to have one of the best in town.

RN 74 was quite a wonderful restaurant, though as expensive as you would expect a Michael Mina restaurant to be. They have some appetizers on the menu for sharing, and two of them were spectacular: maitake mushroom tempura and grilled flatbread with lamb merguez and chickpeas. We gobbled them down. And I see they have roasted marrow bones with bacon marmalade on the dinner menu. That has the sound of Oola's ribs - appetizer, main course AND desert. Followed, of course, by my funeral.