The Redeye Grill and Rue-B

Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger! Starring The Red Eye Grill with a bevy of special guest stars and a stop at Rue B for Shawn Chittle’s birthday party and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome our host, The Red Eye Grill!

My parents are coming to my apartment on Sunday, so this is the last time I get to pull the old spyhole joke, a bittersweet moment indeed!

And here we are at the Redeye Grill where we've got some special guests joining us...

Two of my nieces and one of their boyfriends came in to visit and have dinner with us. From left: Mom, my niece Caylin's boyfriend Greg, Caylin, Dad, my niece Cara and yours fooly. Cara recently became engaged, but her fiancée, John couldn't make dinner. Stay tuned for a photo of him on the next visit! And hello to Casie and Anthony in Houston!

This group saw us posing and had their waiter take a picture of them, so I went ahead and got one as well! It turns out they're members of the Manhattan Concert Productions and they invited us to a show on Sunday at Carnegie Hall, but we had other plans. Maybe next time.

And here we are at our table, we were seated right near a fireplace which was nice.

And here's my folks at the table and my dad in his infamous Bobby Knight sweater vest. I put my camera away after this so we could have a nice visit.

But I had to take it out to get a photo of this week's cheeseburger. Cheddar on top and bacon to the side, looks like a great burger!

And one last shot of our pretty waitress, Brittany serving dessert, fresh chocolate mousse and whipped cream. It was a great dinner and great to see Cara, Caylin and Greg! And now, I'm off to another location...

Rue-B in the East Village. There's a party here tonight to celebrate frequent TWM guest star, Shawn Chittle's 40th birthday. I invited my parents, but they were already falling asleep in their hotel room five minutes after dinner was done.

The bar is open, so let's go inside.

Wow, it's nice and dark in here and I can hear the tinkling of live jazz in the background. Kind of like a slice of New Orleans in the East Village. It's crowded, but not too loud or crazy in here. Okay, let's find the birthday boy!

Here's a slice of birthday cake, he can't be far away!

And here his is with his parents who came in from Flint, Michigan to attend the party, very nice people and nice to chat with some fellow midwesterners!

And here's Mr. and Mrs. Duncester!

The tables are all candle lit and it was a great evening.

More guests were seated on the other side of the front room, there was really a big turnout to celebrate Shawn's birthday.

There's a small bar in the center of the room and it was packed.

Here's a shot of the copper-topped bar from the other end.

And here's where the jazz music was coming from. A piano and bass duo were set up across from the bar.

Cool jazz on a fun night. Very nice!

One thing I love about Rue B is the place is loaded with classic and vintage photos, let's take a look at a few.

Jimi Hendrix is looking down at our table.

Here's Keef passed out among everyone else.

Why hello there!

Tough guy Robert Mitchum looks longingly at the drinks on the bar.

Here's a great shot of Dino!

And speaking of Dino, here's a great shot of the cast of "Ocean's Eleven" in the bathroom. And since we're in the bathroom...

Obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Happy birthday Shawn! See you all tomorrow!

My Meal
I had the Prime Burger which is the only burger choice on the dinner menu. It’s made with dry-aged beef and I got it topped with cheddar cheese. It’s served with hickory smoked bacon slabs and french fries on the side. I put the bacon on top and it was a delicious burger.

The Redye has a large and diverse menu with such entrees as: Cedar Planked Salmon; 3-Hour Braised Short Rib; Weiner Schnitzel a la Holstein and Prime Bone in New York Steak Frites. There’s also sushi and a full raw seafood bar where you can build your own seafood tower. A couple signature dishes of the house is their dinner Cobb salad and Dancing Shrimp which is  coconut crusted jumbo Mayan shrimp with cajun seasoning, and it’s served with pineapple, orange and coconut sauces.

Cheeseburger Rating

Three Wimpy's, a great burger!

Redeye Grill
890 Seventh Ave. (Near 57th St.)
212-541-9000

Rue-B
188 Ave. B (Near 12th St.)
212-358-1700

Further Reading: New York Magazine, Time Out New York and Meet Up.

I know you know that you're are an April Fool,
We used to roam so freely. It's been so long,
I took my dreams to bed now where they belong.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!