The Burg'r Bar - Where Everybody Could Know Your Name

It's the kind of place where everybody could "know your name" and has been subtitled appropriately "where friends meet." The Burg'r Bar, long anticipated and wondered about before it made its arrival, quietly opened this summer.  We had been passing  the big cow splashed on the side wall and on occasion stopped and peered in the windows hoping to see some action.  Then voila it was there...  a very welcome addition to our Punta Gorda restaurant scene.

Brenda and Paul Lynch were milling about the night we visited and beaming as well they should be. Their place, designed for comfort and comradery with high quality comfort food while having the feel of a neighborhood bar perfect for a small town like Punta Gorda, could be replicated anywhere.  It's the corner tavern with pizzazz. The physical bar itself sweeps around one side of the restaurant with table seating scattered about the other side and onto the patio. As a bar person, one who loves to meet up and chat with others gravitating there, I found the bar suits me fine with wide space for meals and comfy barstools.    The staff, starting with Mark Webster and his Yorkshire accent at front of house, is friendly and attentive, without being obsequious.

And did I mention they have incredible burgers.   You can build your own whether it be with beef, grilled chicken, veggie, or portobello mushroom and choose your bun including a gluten free variety, or for the gluten-lovers -- brioche, ciabatta, pretzel or sourdough.  Cheeses include your typical as well as blue cheddar, halloumi, pepper jack and swiss.   The toppings range from the  regular to premium including avocado, bacon, egg, jalapenos, mushrooms and more....

And the piece de la resistance? Well it could be the filet mignon sliders on pretzel buns or the BBQ burger or the bacon and blue burg'r or the reuben ---  all perfectly good choices, but for me, the nod goes to the Charlotte Patty Melt - ground beef on sourdough with sauteed onions, mushrooms and cheddar.

The "Bar" also serves up quarter pound hot dogs with your choice of toppings, buffalo wings and an array of sides including Mac and Cheese. For a look at the full menu go to http://www.burgrbarpg.com/menu.  Burg'r Bar pours several beers on tap and has a full liquor bar from which the bartenders mix up the typical and not-so-typical concoctions.

Open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the Burg'r Bar is located at 317 Tamiami Trail (941) 655-8050.