Entries tagged with 'NYC'
Posted by Nick Solares, November 20, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Having to review a burger a week is both an honor and a privilege, but it also means that I am not necessarily eating for pleasure. Such was not the case two nights ago when I ventured back to Veselka for a late night bite. Since I am off to the UK today, I thought a burger might make a good send off meal—I could not have chosen a better place to get it than Veselka.
The burger, which I should note (before he sends of irate missives to the management) is one of Josh "Mr Cutlets" Ozersky's favorites, and is, as I reported back in August, "balanced in all parameters—texture, size, flavor." My enthusiasm has only grown since this recent burger; it was even juicer and more flavorful than when I last ate it. Just look at the torrents of juices that emanated from the patty! In fact, as I type this I can think of nothing else. Now that is the sign of a great burger. Bravo, Veselka: You have not rested on your laurels—the burger is better than ever.
Veselka
144 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003 (at 2nd Ave; map)
212-228-9682
veselka.com
Related
Photo of the Day: ZOMG! The Most Amazing Veselka Burger Photo I Have Ever Seen
At Veselka, Forgo the Borscht and Get the Burger
Mr. Cutlets on the Perfect Hamburger
Posted by Nick Solares, November 18, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Ziggiz
333 3rd Avenue, NY NY 10010 (at 25th Street; map); 212-683-3662; ziggizonline.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: Decent burger hampered by use of frozen beef, somewhat redeemed by pleasing balance of flavors and textures
Want Fries with That? Maybe; showed potential but a tad too greasy
Price: Single $3.95, double $6.25, triple $8.25, Home Run $10.25, w/cheese +$0.60, w/bacon +$1.20
Notes: Open 24/7 including delivery
Ziggiz serves what could best be described as Pan-American fast food. The menu is populated with such culturally and geographically diverse comforts as Philly cheesesteaks, Buffalo wings, the more obvious Tex-Mex staples—burritos, tacos and quesadillas—and, for our purposes, hamburgers. If you're wondering why pizza is missing, they actually did at one time—it was recently stricken from the menu. What was it that they said about a jack of all trades?
To be frank, Ziggiz is a little run down and seems somewhat at odds with its neighbors, which include an upmarket wine store, a quaint Irish pub, and the chic Bar Milano. Its not that the confines are that old—in fact the white tile and dark wood looks quite new—but the place is in serious need of some upkeep. The floor is strewn with leaves, errant french fries, and deflated packets of ketchup. The tables look as if they get cleaned about once a day, if that, as they are invariable streaked with salsa, hot sauce, or ketchup.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, November 12, 2008 at 10:30 AM
In his latest New York City restaurant review, Ed Levine reviews the burger at West Branch. He says,
The fancypants burger ($16) is a fine, fine burger specimen, though it strikes me as the one discordant, out of step with the times-priced item on the menu. It's made with ground in-house chuck with a secret ingredient divulged to me with the promise that I would never reveal it. All I can say is that the secret ingredient adds a fine, funky tang to the burger. The fries that come with the burger are of the excellent, not-too-thick-not-too-thin variety, and the housemade pickle is a lovely touch.
Check out the autopsy shot, after the jump.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, November 6, 2008 at 2:45 PM
The beefy center of Irving Mill's burger hypnotizes you.
New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni praises the burger at Irving Mill made by chef Ryan Skeen, formerly of Resto:
In his Irving Mill burger the beef cheek and fatback are back, but what they’re rounding out is flap steak from Niman Ranch that’s been aged for five weeks. It’s seven ounces of meat, while Resto’s was six.
And it’s another winner — juicier than its Resto forebear, and tucked wisely into a fluffy potato roll that’s just substantial enough not to disintegrate as the burger’s juices seep into it but not so heavy and intrusive that it muffles the burger’s thunder
As you can see from the photo above, the burger has a very course grind. Skeen told Bruni that he grinds the burger differently from what he did at Resto: "The burger has a better texture, almost like a hand-chopped burger."
Bruni doesn't say much about the rest of the menu, apparently not as into praising the lard as Serious Eats' Ed Levine, but they can both agree that the burger is delicious.
Posted by Nick Solares, November 4, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Olives
201 Park Ave South, New York NY 10003 (at E 17th St; map); 212-353-8345; toddenglish.com
Cooking Method: Flame grilled
Short Order: Uninspired burger seems to be an after thought on an otherwise inventive menu
Want Fries with That? Comes with "Bistro" fries
Price: $16
Notes: Only available during lunch and brunch
When it comes to hamburgers there are two types of chefs: those who put hamburgers on their menus because they want to, and those who do so because they feel that they have to. The former, despite the misgivings I may have about the end result (truffle oil anyone? How about foie gras?) are at least driving burger craft forward by redefining the genre in a deliberate and reasoned manner. The latter chefs feel compelled to placate unadventurous diners or children, or feel that having a burger on their menu is expected because their restaurant is located within the confines of a hotel. The results are invariably uninspired.
The fact is that there are some menus on which a hamburger simply does not belong. Such menus treat our favorite sandwich as a mere afterthought, an obligatory nuisance like sales tax, and shoehorn it in alongside menu items to which a burger has little relation. Such a menu can be found at Olives, Todd English's Mediterranean-inspired restaurant located in the W hotel.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, October 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM
In his latest New York City restaurant review, Ed Levine praises the flap-meat burger at Irving Mill. He says,
If there is a tastier burger ($15 with fried potatoes) being served in New York, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting and eating it. Skeen mixes wet-aged flap beef, beef cheek, and, yes, some fatback and creates a wonderfully funky, almost gamey burger. At Resto he used hangar steak and brisket, and the result was a not-very-juicy but still flavorful burger. At Irving Mill the burger is juicy as hell and even more flavorful.
Stare into the heart of the burger with this autopsy shot, after the jump.
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"Will there be lines? Yes, there will be lines. We just hope people will be as patient to try to vote as they would be in waiting for a hamburger at one of the more fancy hamburger places. I understand the lines can be up to 2 to 3 hours."
—Frederic M. Umane
George Motz reports on his blog that a Five Guys has opened in Bay Ridge, making it the third one in Brooklyn this year.
From the Serious Eats Talk board, a list of complaints about Shake Shack UWS. If you want to avoid kids, stick to the Madison Square Park location.
Posted by Ed Levine, October 20, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Fries from Shake Shack in Madison Square Park
Although the Shake Shack on the Upper West Side was scheduled to open today, it already opened during the weekend. Its owners, Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, had been a bit coy about announcements, one assumes in the hopes of a) not giving any one journalist a jump on the story and b) generating as much excitement as possible.
The powers that be gave me a walk-through of the new Shack last week. Well before it took place, we continued our "Why do you serve frozen french fries when you know fresh are better?" debate. When I saw Danny Meyer at a book party last week he gave me his best "I'm a smoother politician than Barack Obama" answer; he said, "Because people love our french fries."
While it is true that people love just about any french fries except for the ones made with potato particles, that's not the point. The Union Square Hospitality Group would never sell frozen french fries at the Union Square Cafe. Why? Because the ultra-classy organization knows deep down in their food soul that fresh french fries are way better. They have very high standards and they know what good is, but they've obviously made a business decision I don't happen to agree with.
The debate continues at my walk-through after the jump. But even at this point I want to know: Do you agree with me that the Shake Shack french fries should be fresh and not frozen?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 17, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Woo! Reader E. C. Stephens (aka Mamacita13) sent in these photos from earlier this evening, saying, "Hey, Shake Shake UWS had a soft opening tonight!"
Apparently this was a friends and family thing, so there's no guarantee that the new location is going to officially open early this weekend, as hinted at in this email from SS officialdom. After the jump, more photos of the joint.
Thank you for the photos, E. C.! CHARS!
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 17, 2008 at 5:45 PM
From an email from Theresa Mullen, marketing manager for Union Square Hospitality Group:
We told you we'd share opening day news the second we knew, and here we are: Our official opening day for the Upper West Side Shake Shack is this Monday, 10/20. Shack’s hours on the Upper West Side will be in flux for the first few weeks (11:00 AM - 9:00 PM), but once the Shack is really shakin’, it will be open seven days a week from 11 AM - 11 PM. Our site will keep tabs on any hour changes.
Depending on how practice sessions go, Shack may open it's doors to the neighborhood a little sooner than Monday. But the official (read: definite) opening is Monday at 11:00 AM. Our full release will follow later this afternoon. Thanks for taking the time this week to come by and check out our new digs!
Yours in Shack,
Theresa Mullen
Shake Shack UWS
366 Columbus Avenue, New York NY 10024 (at 77th Street; map)
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 17, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Every few weeks, some joker comes along and proclaims he has just eaten "New York City's best new burger." This time it's Andrew Knowlton, of Bon Appétit magazine [emphasis, mine]:
[Bobo chef Patrick] Connolly takes D'Artagnan ground beef (80/20 ratio of lean to fat) mixes it with salt and pepper, minced shallots, and a bit of olive oil. The burger is first seared on the griddle and then finished in the oven. To the bottom half of a Balthazar bun, he layers leeks pickled in Champagne vinegar and simple syrup. Gruyere cheese is melted on the burger and fried leeks are piled on top.
AHT says: NO. No, this isn't NYC's best burger.
Call me cranky, but after a Rachael Ray Burger Bash full of gussied-up fancy-pants burgers that proved to be utterly disappointing, I just can't imagine that anything with Champagne vinegar and simple syrup pickling is going to be THE BEST IN NYC.
We will, of course, be trying it.
Bobo
181 West 10th Street, New York NY 10014 (b/n Seventh Avenue South and West 4th Street; map)
212-488-2626
bobonyc.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 15, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Photograph by Robyn Lee
AHT/Serious Eats's own Robyn Lee took this photo. It's the most beautiful photo of a Veselka cheeseburger I've ever seen. It's one of the most beautiful photos of any burger I've ever seen.
Ever see Weird Science? I want to hook up some electrodes and jumper cables to my computer and make this thing a reality IN MY HOUSE NOW.
The Eater blog has its knickers in a knot about the new Shake Shack location on the Upper West Side, with not one but two posts giving readers a "walk-through" of the almost-completed space. Thanks, but call us when the burgers actually start coming off the griddle.
Posted by Nick Solares, October 11, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Rachael Ray's Burger Bash, part of the NYC Wine & Food Festival, took place last night, and for once the pimple-faced, grease-stained burger geeks became the beautiful people. While Ed and I had full tickets to the event, Adam came along last-minute and got in on a 20-minute press pass, complete with an escort.
From left: Tom Colicchio of Top Chef fame, burgers from New York City's Market Table restaurant.
Luckily, Ed managed to eventually pull a few strings (AHT is, after all, America's favorite hamburger weblog and anticipated, and indeed helped foster, this veritable burger renaissance that we are enjoying at the moment), and Adam was allowed to stay for the duration of the event, which was fortunate because there was a lot of ground to cover, with almost as many burgers to try as the number of minutes he was originally allotted.
I am sure you will read numerous accounts about all the celebrities who were at the event, but for me the real stars of the show were a handful of burgers and the minds behind them. Meet the burgers, and the burgermeisters, after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 9, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Everything about Molly's seems wrong. The service is slow. When the cheeseburger hits your table, you're worried they've cooked it way beyond the medium-rare you've ordered, because the patty is black and glistening with grease. In fact, it looks like an oily, oversized hockey puck.
But, oh, is Molly's oh so right.
The exterior of the gigantic (10-ounce) patty has a crunchy-chewy char that complements the juicy yielding interior cooked perfectly to order. Though the Molly's burger could be a bit more flavorful (I still prefer nearby Shake Shack for its brisket-sirloin mix), add some bacon to this thing, and you've got a damn satisfying sandwich.
The coarsely ground and loosely packed beef comes served on a perfectly toasted white sesame seed bun. If you order a cheeseburger, that patty is topped with an appropriate helping of cheese—two slices of gooey American in my case (Swiss, mozzarella, and blue cheese are also options).
At $10, the cheeseburger comes with choice of fries, potato salad, mashed potatoes, or onion rings. This is one place where I'd opt for fries over rings. (The onion rings are greasy and have too much breading.) So basically, as my dining companion put it, you're paying a dollar an ounce for meat and getting some bread and sides for free. And you get to eat it in a sawdust-on-the-floor classic Irish pub setting, where the bartender greets you with a thick Irish brogue. You can't beat that.
Molly's Shebeen
287 Third Avenue, New York NY 10010 (b/n 22nd and 23rd; map)
212-889-3361
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 8, 2008 at 8:00 PM
AHT's Nick "Beef Aficionado" Solares emails this pix and says: "Burger Creations. Dreadful name, but let’s see how the burgers come out."
Burger Creations is slated to open next week, according to a gentleman I spoke to there just now.
52 East 8th Street, New York NY 10003 (b/n Mercer and Greene streets; map)
212-539-1909
Posted by Carey Jones, October 8, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Photo courtesy of RachaelRay.com
This Friday night at the New York City Wine & Food Festival, Food Network fixture Rachael Ray will be hosting a "Burger Bash," pitting sixteen of the city's best burger-flippers against each other, as the New York Post reports. But the juiciest tidbit to come from this article? Ray plans to open her own burger joint, right in Midtown, some time next year.
Does Rachael know her burgers? Given the 46 different recipe renditions offered on her website, one might hope so. (Her reported favorite? A sirloin-pork blend with garlic, fennel, hot pepper and Worcestershire, topped with Provolone and an EVOO-heavy tapenade.) Contrary to her super-casual home chef image, she's going for "fine dining in ground form"—a place that caters to a high-class lunch crowd looking for martinis with their sliders and white tablecloths under their plates of fries. No word yet on whether they'll be in and out in under 30 minutes.
Related: Rachael Ray Opening a Burger Joint?
Posted by Robyn Lee, October 8, 2008 at 10:45 AM
That's either a very tiny burger or a giant woman. From Burger Club NY.
If you're tired of monstrously huge burgers, how about trying a one-bite burger? Burger Club NY posts about "the downsized burger" spotted at a catered party on Wall Street in New York City. The meatball-sized burger—topped with lettuce, plum or cherry tomato, and blue cheese—was fantastic, according to blogger Bex, and earned the rating of five out of five cows. She doesn't say how many you have to eat to feel full, but she downed at least ten of them.
Related: How to Make Hamburgers for Your Hamster
Posted by Robyn Lee, October 1, 2008 at 6:00 PM
If you haven't read Nick Solares' great post about New York City's hamburger variations and inspirations, then you missed Kenny Shopsin's new Conan Burger, first mentioned in Shopsin's appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. The Conan Burger is "a cheeseburger combined with pancakes and served with real maple syrup and hot sauce." According to Nick, the combination works!
Related
Hamburger Variations and Inspirations in New York City
Shopsin's General Store, for the Best Sliders in New York City
In Videos: Kenny Shopsin on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien'
Posted by Nick Solares, September 30, 2008 at 2:00 PM
This week I am taking a break from a full review to cover some variations on hamburgers found in New York City restaurants. The following are either foods inspired by the hamburger that are not themselves hamburgers, or hamburgers inspired by other hamburgers.
Lure Fish Bar
As Adam noted in his review of the Lure burger, it is probably counterintuitive to order a hamburger in a fish restaurant. I have to say, however, that the burger at Lure Fish Bar is impressive in almost every regard but two: It comes on a brioche bun and is nothing like the burger it is patterned after, namely the venerable In-N-Out Burger. The Lure Burger is quite tasty, made with quality loose-packed beef and topped with fresh ingredients. But aside from the Thousand Island dressing, the burger bears little resemblance to an In-N-Out Burger for being served on a brioche bun and having a far thicker patty than even an In-N-Out double-double has. It also comes topped with onion rings and is bisected by default, further extricating it from resembling a California-style burger. It's a good burger hampered by poor bun choice, but don't expect it to bring you any closer to California. 142 Mercer Street (at Prince Street; map); 212-431-7676; lurefishbar.com
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Posted by Adam Kuban, September 25, 2008 at 10:45 AM
The Bonbonniere cheeseburger special.
La Bonbonniere. Yeah, I had to look it up, too. It's a wedding favor—a crystal or porcelain trinket box that traditionally held a few sugar cubes back in the day when sugar was expensive and symbolized wealth.
Is La Bonbonniere a box? You could say that. Does it or its contents symbolize wealth? Not these days. It's a typical greasy spoon coffee shop with formica counters and padded vinyl stools.
Meg Hourihan first tipped me to its burger, saying, "I think what makes it so perfect is they put cheese on both side of the bun, so the juicy, flavorful meat is sandwiched between bread and cheese. I used to live nearby and went there often. Now it's not so convenient, so I don't just drop in for lunch. I really miss that burger." Meg and I made vague plans to visit but never did, so I finally went on my own yesterday.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, September 23, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Page Six features cheeseburger spring rolls in their article on new classics—comfort food with a modern twist—found in New York City's restaurants. More about the spring rolls, which you can get at Delicatessen:
What’s not to like about the crispy, golden crust of a Chinese spring roll? Or the savory fillings of a juicy cheeseburger? Now imagine them combined. Together, they make a delectable appetizer that has quickly become the signature dish at Delicatessen, the hopping new SoHo spot manned by chef Doron Wong. “I really invented them for a children’s menu. They were always meant to be a gimmicky kid’s item, but adults just couldn’t resist,” Doron says.
[via Fred S.]
Posted by Matt Jacobs, September 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Editor's Note: We're happy to welcome back former AHT East Coast editor (and, of course, highly qualified burger fiend) Matt Jacobs! Here's the first of his monthly New York burger reviews.
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Rare Bar & Grill
228 Bleecker Street, New York NY 10014 (at 6th Avenue; map; another location at 303 Lexington Avenue)
212-691-7273; rarebarandgrill.com
The Short Order: Fantastically beefy steakhouse burgers with a slightly wimpy bun. Meat-o-philes can skip the condiments and should take notice
Want Fries with That? The sweet potato fries were good and the cottage fries were okay, but they're not a necessity
Notes: Mon.-Wed., 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Thurs.-Fri., 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Sat., 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Oh, hello there reader. If the clamoring for my return in the Serious Eats office is any indication, you were waiting with bated breath for this day. There is likely a party room decked out with red and yellow streamers, hamburger piñatas, and diced onion confetti waiting for me. While I appreciate the effort, I'd rather get straight to work. Let's talk meat.
Rare Bar & Grill has long been a formidable contender for top burger honors and has been on our hit list since it got noticed back in 2006. Rare straddles the line between fancypants and working-man burger, offering high-quality cuts (Ribeye, New York Strip) with high-quality toppings (truffle butter) at high-quality prices ($21, $26 with the truffle butter). On the other end of the burger spectrum is the simple Rare Classic ($9), made with an eight ounce patty of freshly ground chuck. This could have been a showdown between the hoity-toity and the hoi polloi, but we focused on the burger you're most likely to purchase—the Rare Classic.
Start with Mini Burgers
But before getting to the main course, we whetted our palates with the Burger Trio starter ($15) consisting of three mini burgers of the chef's choosing. One was covered in cheddar and the other two were topped with Swiss, mushrooms, sautéed onions, and apple-smoked bacon. These were served on a sweet brioche bun and accompanied by onion rings.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, September 18, 2008 at 3:00 PM
At 1 2 3 Burger Shot Beer in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, burgers are $1, shots are $2, and beers are $3. That's not a bad deal even if you have to order at least three slider-style burgers. For those craving more than burgers, the menu includes fries ($3) and wings ($5)—for those craving intoxication, there's a $30 beer tube. [via Urban Daddy]
1 2 3 Burger Shot Beer
738 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 (b/n 50th and 51st; map)
212-315-0123
123burgershotbeer.com
Posted by Nick Solares, September 16, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Black Iron Burger Shop
540 East 5th Street, New York NY 10009 (b/n Avenue A and Avenue B; map); 212-677-6067; blackironburger.com
The Short Order: Potentially excellent burgers hampered by over cooking and a poor bun choice
Want Fries with That? Absolutely—they're golden, crispy and delicious. Don't miss the shakes either
Price: cheeseburger $7; fries/rings $4, milkshake $6.
Notes: Open 7 days a week, 6 p.m. - late night (call ahead, closing times appear to vary)
My father, a dapper and suave dresser, once told me that a gentleman should take a long time to dress, meticulously preening his tie and breast pocket handkerchief until they are absolutely perfect and then ruffling them impetuously to make them appear as if they only took a few moments to assemble. This sort of describes Black Iron Burger, whose opening was greatly anticipated here at AHT and across the blogosphere.
While, Black Iron Burger looks like the owners just stuck a griddle into an existing, possibly decades-old bar, the reality is that not much of what you see upon entering the place actually existed before the multi-month renovation began. Or if it existed, it was buried under years of prior renovations that had to be stripped away.
Irrespective of the time it took, the results are impressive. Black Iron Burger appears to have been open for decades, with its dark, worn wood interior complete with exposed rafters and brick. Tarnished mirrors hang behind the bar and on the adjacent wall, and the reflections of the warm lighting are amplified by the glass casting a golden hue over the room. Bottles of Heinz ketchup, Gilden's mustard, and Grey Poupon line the walls along narrow shelves, tall tables, and stools dominate the relatively cramped room.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, September 15, 2008 at 7:15 AM
Booyah! I think I know where I'm heading for dinner tomorrow night: General Greene in Fort Greene. From the New Yorker:
It’s clear that the General Greene has set out to become a staple in its own right, most obviously with its burger (concocted with the help of Ryan Skeen, late of Resto and his own acclaimed burger). It’s the size of a hockey puck—small in diameter, plump in the middle—but juicy. The flavor is dynamic enough to inspire debate—is there some pork in there, or lamb? Nope: it’s a hundred per cent Angus beef, from DeBragga, at a seventy-thirty ratio, making you forget (or at least forgive) the backyard-cookout accompaniment of potato chips.
Bada-bing! Thirty percent fat? This is surely one juicy mofo. General Greene is closed Mondays, so don't run out there till tomorrow.
General Greene
229 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11205 (at Clermont Ave.; map)
718-222-1510
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 12, 2008 at 9:30 AM
If its odd use of punctuation is any indication, Eater is seriously getting its knickers in a knot about the "off. the. menu. burger" at Lever House. Cheddar under fried egg with house pickles.
Curious, I called Lever House to get the skinny. Would this thing be available to the general public and not just connected like Eater?
"Well, now that it's publicized, I don't know if the chef would have any choice," they said.
There's already a burger on the lunch menu: grilled sirloin, red-wine onions, Maytag-Burrata or aged cheddar. It costs $18.
Lever House
390 Park Avenue, New York NY 10022 (at 53rd Street; map)
212-888-2700
leverhouse.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 11, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Serious Eats intern-turned-obsessive-Chinatown-documentarian Gordon Mark reminds us that sometimes what we're looking for might be right before our eyes. His buddy Herman tipped him to the burger at the Antique Cafe, a coffee shop just a couple doors down from the AHT-Serious Eats office. "Best burger I've ever eaten," Herman said.
Then Gordon grabbed one and concurred, even starting his own food blog and documenting it on what he's calling Gordon Eats:
But what did it for me was the burger patty. It was quite a substantial chunk of meat. Also the cheese didn’t overpower the burger. Nice. I would get it more often if it wasn’t so expensive. It comes with salad and fries and costs almost $10 (9 dollars and 60 something cents).
This will be my lunch today. Look for another post on this place later today.
Antique Cafe
234 West 27th Street, New York NY 100001 (b/n Seventh and Eighth avenues; map)
212-243-2326
antiquecafeny.com
Posted by Robyn Lee, September 10, 2008 at 2:00 PM
A nearly-empty Shake Shack; just the way I like it!
If you love eating at Shake Shack but hate waiting in a mile-long line, check out Vinicius Vacanti's Shake Shack Lunch Wait Time Graph. Using information from the Shake Shack Flash Mob on Twitter, he plotted wait times against the time of day. To endure the shortest wait for a Shake Shack burger he suggests going after 3 p.m. or during bad weather, with pre-noon lines being hit-or-miss. Make sure to check out the Shake Shack webcam to witness the horrifyingly long (or surprisingly short) line in real time.
Related
Managing the Line at Shake Shack UWS
Shake Shack: A New York Spin on the West Coast–Style Burger
Posted by Robyn Lee, September 8, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Former AHT East Coast editor Matt Jacobs reviews three burger joints in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Nothing's perfect, but at least the veteran Bonnie's Grill gets 7/10 and newcomer Brooklyn Flipsters scores a 6/10, with the potential to get better. Other newcomer Corner Burger sadly only gets a 3/10.
Related
Openings: Corner Burger in Park Slope
Five Guys Park Slope, Opening Day
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM
The New York Times takes a look at the soon-to-open Upper West Side location of the Shake Shack. What's interesting here is that the writer, Caroline Dworin, looks at how Shack owner Danny Meyer and company will handle the line, assuming that it's going to be as crazy as the line at the original Madison Square Park branch.
“What we’ve done here is triple the amount of griddle space; so from a matter of physics alone, this line will have to move faster,” said Mr. Meyer.
Meyer also talked about how they've worked on the interior to allow the line to snake in on itself inside the joint.
I don't know if the line is really going to be an issue the way it is in Madison Square Park. Sure, when the place first opens, it will likely draw crowds of curious folks (I'll be among them). But after the initial hype dies down, I think the line will, too. Not to discount the awesome burgers at the Shack, but I think a big reason the line is as long as it is in Madison Square Park is that it's in the park. It's a pleasant experience to get out of the office, go grab lunch, and eat outdoors on a nice day. You can't replicate that on the UWS.
Of course, people do wait in crazy lines in other less-than-picturesque settings, like Artichoke in the East Village and Di Fara in Midwood, so maybe the burgers themselves will be enough to draw the teeming masses.
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 3, 2008 at 1:30 AM
A burger from Nick Solares's trip to 67 Burger.
In the "$25 and Under" column, where burgers have often been chronicled, the Old Gray Lady takes on three joints: 67 Burger, 5 Napkin Burger, and Joy Burger Bar.
AHT is already familiar with 67 Burger (reviewed here) and 5 Napkin Burger (reviewed here), but Joy Burger Bar has flown under the radar on this site. Probably because I don't make it up to East Harlem that often and when I do it's usually to go to Patsy's Pizzeria.
Based on the Times blip, though, I don't know if I'd want to waste my time. Writer Betsy Andrews disses the the "Munch" (3-ounce) and "Midi" (5-ounce) burgers but gives the "Maxi" (8-ounce) a lukewarm review. (In fact, it's hard to tell if she likes any of the burgers she's written about.) Here she is on Joy:
There’s plenty of the namesake emotion in the eight-ounce Maxi burger ($5.75), though. Started on the griddle and finished on the fire, it’s an amply seasoned, succulent chuck burger that’s just this side of plump enough.
Its spoiler is its thin bun, flame-grilled to fragility. Slather on chimichuri, and you’ll end up basically bunless — which is too bad because the chimichuri is the piquant champ of dressings at a place that prides itself on its house-made sauces. Runner-up is the Asian-style sweet chili.
Andrews then goes on to say that "Joy is a sweet hangout for the best patty for blocks." Doesn't sound like it to me.
Still, it's probably worth a trip, as there's another burger joint up there called Burger Inc. The AHT crew definitely needs to check these two out.
Joy Burger Bar
1567 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10029 (at 100th Street; map); 212-289-6222
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Posted by Robyn Lee, August 28, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Spitzer's Kobe beef burger looks better than it tastes. Photograph taken by Nick Solares
New York Post food critic Steve Cuozzo lists 13 things New York restaurant chefs and owners should "annihilate", including this bit about luxury burgers:
Sirloin, Black Angus and Wagyu beef in a bun do us no favors. They don't have enough fat to produce the oozy mouth feel that's half the reason for eating a hamburger. Fresh, ground chuck might sound down-market, but it works best, from the Burger Heaven chain to Andy D'Amico's terrific new Five Napkin Burger.
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Initial Report: Five Napkin Burger, Hell's Kitchen
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Posted by Ed Levine, August 28, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Hundred Acres
38 MacDougal Street, New York, NY (b/n Prince and Houston Streets; map); 212-475-7500; hundredacresnyc.com
The Short Order: Extraordinary dry-aged, coarsely ground, grass-fed and grain-finished burger.
Want Fries with That? Great salty, medium-thick,skin-on fries, crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside.
Price: Hamburger or cheeseburger, $18
There is no shortage of fancy-pants burgers in New York City, ranging from ridiculously overpriced Kobe burgers to burgers filled with foie gras, short ribs, and even fatback. But how does someone distinguish his or her fancy-pants burger from the pack of great burger wanna-bes?
Marc Meyer, chef and co-owner of Hundred Acres (and the co-owner of Cookshop and Five Points), had an additional burden. He felt compelled to come up with a burger that would stand out among all the other fancy-pants burgers in the city and also be different from his excellent Cookshop and Five Points burgers.
He found a farm in Virginia, Deblyn, part of the EcoFriendly Foods co-op, that raises a limited number of animals on grass and finishes them on grain. The co-op then ages the meat for 4 to 8 weeks and sells quarters to Meyer. He coarsely grinds neck and shoulder meat and puts six ounces of it on a Tom Cat bakery brioche-like bun. Meyer then takes a slice of sublime Goot Essa cheddar, adds some Vidalia onion mayo, and a side order of skin-on fries. Does he succeed in fashioning a distinctive fancy-pants burger?
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New York magazine reports: "The proprietary blend will likely be too expensive for any but a few high-end clients, admits La Frieda V.P Mark Pastore. The mix will be a limited series, with each batch numbered for total traceability. 'We’re really just bringing it out for a few chefs,' Pastore says, declining to give any names. 'But we thought we would debut it at the Burger Bash. That’s where the burger world will meet, and we will be surprised if it doesn’t win.'"
Posted by kenjialtci, August 25, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Editor's note: Kenji Alt is a food writer for Cook's Illustrated magazine who takes a special interest in burgers. He is also a madman. You might remember his post on The Blumenburger, where he followed Heston Blumenthal's burger recipe, which takes 30 hours, 4 minutes and requires 32 ingredients. He's back, this time with an epic feat that took only 8 hours but seems far more grueling in our book. I mean twelve burgers?
Don’t get me wrong. I love living in Boston, and the city’s got a lot to offer, but among those things, there are a few key items that are missing (particularly for a former New Yorker): delis, decent bagels, pizza (I’d settle for even vaguely edible pizza), good hot dogs, and great griddled burgers. Now there are a lot of locals who will disagree with me and point to any number of restaurants that serve acceptable but unremarkable chopped-meat sandwiches. I’ve yet to find one that I don’t take major issue with.
R. F. O’Sullivan is too damn big to eat with your hands. (Why don’t Boston burger joints understand the concept that bigger is not necessarily better?) Once you get past the atmosphere, Bartley’s Burger Cottage patties, while juicy and greasy, are underseasoned, mealy, and frankly, bland. And despite (or because of) UBurger's spurious claim that their burgers are made of fresh ground beef (don’t believe it—they buy preground chuck just like most other places and mix it together with a nominal amount of house-ground stuff), they cook up with that rubbery feel that only an overcompressed, overworked patty gets.
Yes, I have ground beef envy. New Yorkers have been blessed by a burger renaissance, and every couple of weeks, when my slight burger pangs become uncontrollable fits of sandwiched chopped-cow lust, I’m moved to take the 200-mile trip to the city. (Of course, my New Yorker fiancé believes me when I tell her that I’m coming down just to visit her.)
Like an alcoholic who gets wasted the night before jumping on the wagon, I decided to try to cure my burger cupidity by going on a daylong feeding frenzy. A burger bender, if you will: 12 burgers in 8 hours.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 25, 2008 at 6:00 AM
Says New York magazine:
Black Iron Burger Shop was created with a noble tool in mind: a heavy piece of ancient black iron that burgers would be griddled upon. But then owner Jason Hennings came up with an even more noble tool: an $8,000 Keating Miraclean griddle, a steel-and-chrome, thermostatically regulated monster that will be a lot easier on the small space than a black iron monolith would have been.
It opens today, according to the magazine.
Black Iron Burger Shop
540 East Fifth Street, New York NY 10009 (b/n avenues A and B; map)
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 18, 2008 at 5:00 PM
Clicking in to the AHT inbox today, there's this. —The Mgmt.
Yo Adam,
Yesterday I was walking around Long Island City and noticed a daily special run by Jackson Avenue Steakhouse. For $7.95 you get an eight-ounce burger, fries and pint of Radeberger beer. The special is all day, every day if you sit at the bar.
I went in to try it out and was very impressed. The burger was meaty and tender, not overly seasoned with a very nice freshness to the beef. I ordered mine medium and it came out between medium and medium-rare, which was perfect for me. Even at that temperature it was very juicy, running down my hand at bite one. The fries are hand-cut potatoes fried in what I believe to be peanut oil and tasted very similar to the fries Five Guys, albeit slightly thinner. I ordered them well done. The Radeberger was, well, a good pilsner.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 14, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Fun Factoid
According to Wikipedia, "In the AMC Television series Mad Men, the employees of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency frequent P.J. Clarke's."
I've been to P. J. Clarke's a number of times—the original in Midtown East and the one near Lincoln Center (but not the one downtown). But the thing I always have to remind myself before I go is that, even though P. J. Clarke's is a pub, it does not serve a "pub burger."
What I mean is that P. J. Clarke's burger is not a gargantuan ten-ounce slightly flattened-softball-shape burger. You don't need a snake jaw to eat it, unlike so many of the sandwiches served at bars known for their burgers (I'm thinking Donovan's, Molly's, etc.).
Instead, you get what I'm guessing is closer to a five- or six-ounce patty, perfectly cooked to temperature, perfectly seasoned (OK, maybe just a bit too salty), and with just the right amount of char on it to give the surface some crunchy, chewy bits to play against the soft, juicy interior.
This is one great burger.
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Posted by Nick Solares, August 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another review from Nick Solares. Nick is also the publisher of Beef Aficionado, his blog that explores beef beyond burgerdom.
Blue 9
92 Third Avenue, New York NY 10003 (b/n 12th and 13th streets; map); 212-979-0053
Price: Blue 9 burger, $4.62; cheeseburger, $3.55; hamburger, $3.15; fries, $2
Notes: Open late! Sun.–Mon., 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Fri.–Sat., 11 a.m. to 5 a.m.
People often ask me what the best burger in New York is. It's a question I don't feel comfortable answering for a number of reasons, but most important because I haven't tried every burger in New York City.
And that is the problem I have with those "top" burger lists that seem to be bandied about with such frequency these days. There is an implied supposition that the author has indeed tried all of the burgers in the city, which of course is impossible.
You might think that the ratings derived from the mass consensus of the Zagat reader survey or of various online opinion sites or "guides" would be a bit more balanced, but I tend to find them unreliable at best. For one, I have found that in the case of the latter, people tend to post reviews out of anger derived from a negative experience. There is also the problem of context and sensibility. If you are reading this blog, you probably have a fairly evolved concept of hamburgers and can separate a great burger from its less-than-salubrious surroundings.
I always find it humorous when I read a negative review of a burger spot and the service and decor are discussed in great detail but there is nary a mention of the burger itself. Even funnier are those reviews that complain about the burger being overcooked and dried out, and then it turns out that the author was referring to a turkey or veggie burger.
So when people ask me what the best burger in New York is, I tell them that I couldn't possibly know but I can tell them my favorites. One of my favorites, and it is very high on my list—sometimes in the top spot—is Blue 9.
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Posted by Nick Solares, August 7, 2008 at 12:20 PM
If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another review from Nick Solares. Nick is also the publisher of Beef Aficionado, his blog that explores beef beyond burgerdom.
Veselka
144 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003 (at 9th Street; map); 212-228-9682; veselka.com
The Short Order: Grilled, eight-ounce burgers are perfectly balanced, beefy, and smokey. An unexpectedly well-crafted burger from a joint better known for Eastern European dishes
Want Fries with That? The skin-on fries that accompany the deluxe burger are tasty, with a crisp, crunchy exterior. I didn't request it, but they came out well-done, which I prefer
Price: Cheeseburger, $6.50; cheeseburger deluxe, $8.25
Tom Birchard is a passionate burger man, which is curious, considering that he owns Veselka, the East Village Ukranian restaurant. You might not expect to find a great hamburger in a place better known for borscht, kielbasa, and pierogies. But just as Veselka has evolved from a small corner newspaper stand to the restaurant it is today, so too has the burger, reaching its current state through what Birchard describes as "a lot of trial and error."
The story of Veselka ("rainbow" in Ukranian), is one of those quintessentially American tales. Wolodymyr Darmochwal and his family fled Ukraine in the wake of WWII, surviving a German refugee camp and arriving in the U.S. in 1944. Within a decade he was able to open a small newsstand on the corner of Second Avenue and 9th Street in the East Village. By 1962 Veselka subsumed the neighboring luncheonette and started serving Ukrainian comfort food. By 1996 it had expanded further east taking over another adjoining space and creating the open restaurant of today.
Veselka is one of the last of the Slavic restaurants that once proliferated in the East Village. Other neighborhoods had the diner, with a generic "American" menu as the budget mainstay of choice, but the East Village had such venerable institutions as Leshko's and Kiev, all serving up a distinctive Eastern European menu. While there remain a couple of greasy spoon Slavic joints further up Second Avenue, Veselka is the most venerable restaurant of its type left. It is heartening that, in a city increasingly being taken over by chain stores, Veselka is still run by the same family. Birchard is Darmochwal's son-in-law, and both of Birchard's sons, Jason and Todd, work there. Even the founder's son, Mykola Darmochwal, is still involved, having recently rationalized the accounting and computer systems.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 6, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Grub Street editor Josh "Mister Cutlets" Ozersky pits two new New York fancy-pants burgers head to head to see which is better—Lever House (390 Park Avenue, New York NY 10022; map) or Sheridan Square (138 Seventh Avenue South, New York NY 10014; map). Having only read about them, I can say my own stomach leans toward Ozerksy's conclusion:
Verdict: Lever House's is more composed and masterful, a burger for the ages. But for a visceral, messy, primordially gratifying burger experience, the Juicy Lucy delivers the goods. New York is big enough for both of these, the Carnegie Hall and the Bowery Ballroom of burgers.
The Juicy Lucy at Sheridan Square being a cheese-stuffed burger, of course.
Related: All "Jucy Lucy" posts on AHT
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 5, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Photograph at top left by Raphael
Today, as part of an image makeover, Ruby Tuesday is going to blow up the last of its old-style locations at 3 p.m. ET (you can watch, live, online at rubytuesday.com). We figured this was as good a time as ever to go over the burger there.
You see, a number of A Hamburger Today readers have written in steadily over the lifespan of this blog swearing that Ruby Tuesday, surprisingly, had an excellent burger. And indeed, a recent commenter on Serious Eats notes that it was originally founded as an upscale burger restaurant.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM
If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another review from Nick Solares. Nick is also the publisher of Beef Aficionado, his blog that explores beef beyond burgerdom.
Paul's Da Burger Joint
131 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003 (at St. Mark's Place; map); 212-529-3033; paulsburgers.com
Heat Source: Flat-top griddle
Bun Type: Seeded Wonder bread roast beef roll, un-toasted unless you request it toasted.
The Short Order: Paul's burger has a lot of problems. The bun is too small and doesn't hold up to the patty. The patty is flavorless and needs to be heaped with toppings in order to taste like anything.
Want Fries with That? No; they don't have much flavor and you should be full enough from eating the burger alone.
Price: Burger, $4.20/Deluxe, $6.70; cheeseburger, $4.80/7.30; bacon cheeseburger, $8.10/$10.60
I remember when Paul's Palace (now known as Paul's Da Burger Joint) opened back in 1989. It was an audacious move to open a burger joint in the bohemian East Village during a time when wheat grass, alfalfa sprouts, tofu and other health food fads dominated the hood's culinary zeitgeist. Juice bars and sushi were trendy; big greasy burgers and fries, not so much. But Paul apparently knew something, because when the tragically hip sprout eaters got drunk, wheat grass juice was no match for a big, greasy burger and fries.
He also knew that working people wanted a decent meal at a good price. Almost two decades later Paul's thrives, still curing hangovers and ensuring that the steady stream of city workers, truck drivers, college students, and mailmen flocking here were satiated.
Paul's serves a burger style first popularized by Jackson Hole back in the 1970s—a hefty eight-ounce griddle-cooked burger that is so thick, it requires a metal dome to be placed on top during cooking, so the beef reaches the proper temperature. Paul's is not alone in the immediate neighborhood in offering this type of burger—both Silver Spurs and Cozy Soup 'n Burger over on Broadway offer variations of the theme, albeit with far less success. I have heard that Paul actually worked at Jackson Hole at one point; if so, he clearly picked up a thing or two.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, July 25, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Five Guys, Park Slope. As the Eater blog would say, "CERTIFIED OPEN." Just got back from lunch
