New York Burger Bar reopens in Massapequa

New York Burger Bar, winner of Newsday’s Burger Smackdown, has now triumphed over fire. The Massapequa restaurant, shuttered by a blaze in September, is now open for business.

Owner Richard Bedrosian credited the reopening to the fire departments of Massapequa, Massapequa Park and Seaford. No one was injured in the fire. “It’s a wooden structure,” he said. “and they saved the building.” To thank them, all three departments got a free dinner on Wednesday night.

New York Burger Bar won the Burger Smackdown with its Juicy Lucy, an eight-ounce patty stuffed with American cheese and topped with grilled red onion, tomato, pickle and a pink mayonnaise-based sauce. The burger is also on Newsday’s list of the Island’s best burgers. (The original Juicy Lucy, a burger stuffed with cheese instead of being topped with it, is said to have been invented in Minneapolis in the 1950s.)

In the finals, the upstart Burger Bar beat out All American Hamburger, the 53-year-old drive-in located across the street.

The reborn Burger Bar has gotten a kitchen upgrade in the form of new chef Ben Durham. Durham, formerly the executive chef at Prime American Kitchen & Bar in Huntington and Four Food Studio (now The Refuge) in Melville, was also chosen as one of Newsday’s All Star Chefs of 2014. For now, he is cooking the pre-fire menu, but look for changes in the coming months.

4225 Merrick Rd., Massapequa, 516-799-9199, nyburgerbar.com