Each Tuesday The Register reviews an area restaurant, with an emphasis on establishments where a couple can dine for $30 or less.  Reader suggestions are welcomed.

It was the advertised prospect of a $6 burger with fries that prompted the Fork to visit Zaré on a cool autumn evening.

With appetizers over $10 and entrees from $20 to $30, a place like Zaré is generally not in the Fork’s price range. But a $6 hamburger platter ... The Fork could not resist.

Old-timers will remember the Zaré location as the former home of the Red Hen, which has since moved south on Solano Avenue. The property has been given a light makeover. The menu is now of Californian-Mediterranean inspiration.

Zaré is purely a dinner house, opening at 4 p.m. seven days a week. The touted burger special is available only in the bar patio or lounge.

We arrived about 5:30. There were two couples on the patio eating ... what else?... burgers. They looked out toward the eastern hills, which were beginning to glow red in the light of the setting sun.

The patio is well-landscaped with potted plants. Jazz was piped in. There was an adjacent gas fireplace, which turned out to have only aesthetic, not thermal value.

We scoped out the bar, which had a TV on and a few tables in back, then decided the deck was the place to be. By the time we left, the bar would be roaring with people waiting for dinner.

There was no doubt I was ordering the burger-fries, but my companion wanted something from Zaré’s most impressive regular menu.

Among the appetizers, baked pistachio-crusted brie for $12 and Dungeness crabcakes for $13 caught my eye. Owner Hoss Zare touts a signature pepper and herb-crusted beef carpaccio salad for $10.

The entree list features filet mignon, New York steak, Alaskan halibut, ahi tuna and Fulton Valley ducks, with a note to ask the server about vegetarian options.

The main dishes are intriguingly described. The duck comes with polenta fritters and huckleberries, the halibut with red torpedo onions and grilled tiger shrimp. Potato-goat cheese gratin and black truffle butter enhance the New York steak.

In the end, my companion ordered the $21 grilled pork chop, which came with a list of seven accompanying ingredients. It sounded spectacular.

Because we were ordering a dinner from the regular menu, we asked if we could move to the section of patio where the regular diners sit. That section had pole heaters cranking out red waves of heat, while ours did not.

Not possible, our server said. The burger special does not come with pole heaters.

But it does come with another special, the $6 pomegranate cosmo. In lieu of heaters, my companion ordered one.

The menu of house cocktails is extensive, all priced $10.

As the sun set, Zaré became transformed. Outdoor lights came on, a jazz band arrived and set up in the main dining room. A parade of well-dressed folks out for a special evening began arriving.

Our server was friendly, but never lit our oil lamp after the sun set.

Our food came fast. My burger was a substantial piece of meat inside a grilled bun, with a generous serving of piping hot fries. The big pork chop, crisscrossed with black grill marks, sat on a bed of vegetable intrigue.

I assembled the burger, which came with lettuce, tomato and red onion on the side. Mustard, ketchup and mayo came in large squeeze bottles.

This was a superior burger in every way. Factoring in the thin, crisp fries, this was a great food bargain.

I had ordered a $5 glass of Blue Star wheat beer. For $11, I was having an outdoor banquet.

The pork chop got an equally enthusiastic reception. Using the menu, we identified the supporting ingredients as borlotti beans, escarole (a mild endive), sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves and pine nuts, with a red wine sauce. There were also succulent white onions not mentioned on the menu.

This vegetable foundation was rich with earthy flavors that played nicely against the pure meatiness of the pork chop. If the pork chop was representative, Zaré’s main menu is rich with dining adventures.

Zaré’s dessert menu is no afterthought. Selections include a combination of banana-vanilla and chocolate bread pudding with vanilla gelato for $10, a white chocolate cheesecake with seasonal berries and fruit puree for $8, and a $9 Italian mousse cake.

Zaré is located at 5091 Solano Ave., half-way between Napa and Yountville. Hours are 4 to 9:30 p.m. daily.

Readers with tips about interesting places to eat should e-mail diningout@napanews.com