Very pleased with Butcher and the Rye! Made a reservation and you had the choice of communal seating or formal dining. When you walk in, the place seems small and tight but there are multiple sections on different levels. I felt Meat & Potatoes was very cramped but this layout was better. There are two bars, one upstairs and one down. It appears that you can eat your meal there and the bar upstairs was less crowded.
We ordered three appetizers. The focaccia came out very quickly with three spreads of olive tapenade, ricotta cream and white bean spread - all were very good. We had the Shisito peppers which were ok but I prefer the eones from Soba. Lastly, since we pigged out we had the pig candy which was very good and not super fatty.
For dinner we ordered the flank steak rare and it was cooked perfectly. We also ordered the dirty pasta and it was nice and rich. I did feel that the pasta was missing a little something so I took the leftovers home and added a little salt, pepper and a dash of hot sauce. I think that a squeeze of lemon may have even given it a light flavor.