I liked the look of Black Tap when I first saw it. The tiny Soho restaurant reminded me of the kind of places that used to be all over the city, or at least below 14th Street: fifteen seats, a lone counter, two staffers, no attitude.

When I went for lunch the other day, I liked the inside, too. I had assumed Black Tap was related to Chalk Point Kitchen next door, and the atmosphere confirmed it had to be related to something—it was too put together, even for a simple burger joint, to have spring out of nowhere. For whatever reason, the guy working the counter denied it, saying it was opened by a brother and sister with no restaurant experience, when in reality Chalk Point Kitchen’s chef, Joe Isidori, is the owner. No matter.

The menu is burgers, a few meaty salads, a few sides, and craft beer. The meat comes from Pat LaFrieda, but because I believe he’s known for quality rather than humanely raised meat, I went with the falafel burger, which involves tahini, Greek feta, pickled onions, and hummus. It was really good—green inside, herbaceous tasting, and not at all dry in the way that falafel and veggie burgers can get. In fact, I’d venture that it was the best veggie burger I’ve had anywhere near here. (I didn’t try hard to take a gorgeous photo of it because my expectations were sort of low, the way they often are with veggie burgers, and then once I realized the burger was remarkable it was too late to get a nice photo.) The fries were excellent, too! So I capped it off with a chocolate shake made with U-bet syrup. While it was being made, I visited the graffiti-covered restroom—where there’s a marker for you to weigh in with—so I missed the opportunity to skip the Reddi-Wip.

P.S. Don’t be discouraged by the Broome Street address. That part of Broome isn’t so far from Tribeca.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer is at 529 Broome (between Sullivan and Thompson), 917-639-3089, blacktapnyc.com.

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