This spot became one of my favorites for lunch when I wanted to get out of the office but still had things to do or think about. Up until somewhat recently this place was pretty dead at lunch. Not a lot of patrons, so it was relativity quiet. It also usually darker in there, the lighting is low and the combination of dark woodwork and dearth of vibrant interior color give the whole place a muted quality to it. Which I'm sure is what they are probably going for, being a bar and all. But I do cherish the place because they really do have excellent food and I'm glad this place has started getting more lunch business.
Another reason I enjoy this place is they really try and have great events and specials. For example, Wednesday is half-price burger day (hence why I'm posting about them on a Wednesday). Their burgers are some of my favorite things they do, and coming from me this is saying a lot. For most people their standby go-to is a burger, but I'm usually very picky about how my meat is cooked so I generally look at ordering things like steak and burgers as risky. I like my burgers at least medium and my steak medium to medium-well (cue the haters). But apparently those things mean widely varying things to different restaurants. I absolutely loath sending food back to the kitchen and will avoid it at all costs. I'd rather eat something I didn't want than send something back. I'm not crazy (my mother had me tested).
What I'm getting at is that when places do a burger (or steak) right and do it right consistently, that's a big deal for me. Consistently in general is one of the cardinal themes I judge places by. Rí Rá is definitely one of those places. So I'm already excited about their burgers. And then to have a designated day on which they are half-price? Oh man. And when that burger selection includes delicious offerings like a black and bleu burger, a chili cheese burger, and my personal favorite the Guinness BBQ burger.
The Guinness BBQ burger comes with cheddar cheese, Guinness BBQ sauce, and crispy onion rings. Simple, effective, delicious. As you can see, not the big honking meaty oinion rings but ones more akin to onion straws in flavor and consistency of batter. I feel like this is key as I have had many other burgers at different places who put normal onion rings on burgers, and its just too much - even for someone like me who loves onion rings. They were also offering $3 Stella Artois today, but alas, today was not a beer lunch day.
What you can also see on that plate is one of the other reasons I love coming to Rí Rá - the chips and curry. The Irish version of their daily fresh cut fries comes with an awesome curry sauce on them. This is the ideal burger side. Its something totally different from what you're eating, has strong flavors that are separate from, but also excellently compliment, the burger itself. Trust me and try it. Go on, I'll wait.
This place also has dynamite rewards for regulars, which is another thing I look for as I tend to frequent places I like fairly often. They have two programs, a loyalty rewards card, and a lunch card. The loyalty card is a plastic thing that looks like a gift card, and every dollar you spend gets you reward points that can be translated into free food. Its awesome, especially when combined with the lunch card, which is a basic paper card with five circles and each time you eat lunch there the server initials one of the circles. Build up five, and the next one's free. Its awesome. And speaking of server, mine today was named Owen and he was perfect. Polite, helpful, friendly, kept the drink refills coming and had my food out and over as soon as it landed at the kitchen window. Thanks Owen, for making my lunch experience as pleasant as I've come to expect from this place.
http://www.rira.com/arlington/
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