Entries tagged with 'NYC'
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 26, 2008 at 10:00 AM
I went to Five Napkin Burger on Tuesday night with Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine and his son, Will. This is our story.
More like our initial impression, since it's too early to really get into it about this burger.
Five Napkin Burger is a spin-off the Upper West Side's Nice Matin, where the "Five Napkin Burger" originated as a menu item. Apparently, Simon Oren and Andy D'Amico, the folks behind Nice Matin, thought the Five Napkin Burger was strong enough to carry its own restaurant.
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Posted by Nick Solares, June 24, 2008 at 10:00 AM
The Shake Shack
Southeast corner of Madison Square Park (corner of 23rd Street and Madison Avenue; map); shakeshacknyc.com
The Short Order: One of the best burgers in the Big Apple. Inspired by West Coast-style burgers but with a unique New York spin. These days there's almost always a long, long line. The signature Shackburger is very good, but the plain cheeseburger is even better, as it allows the great flavor and texture of the sirloin-brisket beef mixture to stand alone
Want Fries with That? No. They blow. They're frozen, pre-fab, and OreIda-like. Get a tasty shake or frozen custard instead
Price: Shackburger, $4.75; cheeseburger, $4; double cheeseburger, $6.50
I was sitting in Los Angeles's famous Apple Pan restaurant a few weeks back talking with a lady who was curious as to why someone might be taking pictures of hamburgers. We got to talking about burgers, blogging, and A Hamburger Today, and when she found out that I lived in New York, she immediately asked about the Shake Shack. As I finished expounding my thoughts on the place, I heard a polite "excuse me, did you just mention Shake Shack?"
It turns out the gentleman asking the question was a friend of none other than George Motz, author and director of Hamburger America, the book and the film. It's a small world, and Shake Shack has managed to become virtually synonymous with hamburgers in New York. Even if they can't quite put their finger on the name, out-of-towners will often effuse about the great burgers they had in the park.
Upon returning home to New York after an extensive education in L.A. burgers (many, many reviews to come) I needed two things. The first was a bit of exercise, and the second was a frame of reference. Something to put into context what I had sampled on the West Coast and relate it to my hamburger experiences in and around New York.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, June 23, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Oh, before I forget (I've already forgotten to mention it here before), I just wanted to say that there's a Five Guys opening in Park Slope. George Motz tipped me to this a while ago, but I just got an admittedly unexciting picture of the under-construction front this weekend. It's in the former D'Agostino's on Seventh Avenue and 6th Street.
This is great news, as Park Slope has a dearth of good burgers. And even though Five Guys has that wrongheaded thing going on with using lean beef and cooking it to well-done, the joint somehow manages to turn out a good, juicy burger nonetheless. A welcome addition to the neighborhood.
Five Guys, Park Slope
284 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215 (map)
718-499-9380
fiveguys.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM
The "Classic," with onion, lettuce, tomato, sliced pickle, homemade ketchup, Dijon mustard.
I've been wrong before. (Many times before.)
But I'm big enough (no, not from the cheeseburgers) to admit it.
Stand, which I complained about a while ago as having a bun that utterly undermined the burger, has redeemed itself. It now serves its delicious patties on a bun that suits them well. It's been using this new bun for some time, but I'm just now getting around to correcting myself publicly on AHT.
Out: the baguette-texture bun that forced you to use so much jaw power that the innards eventually slid out the back.
In: A softer, brioche-type bun that yields to the bite easily and does a fine job of soaking up the beefy-tasting patty's juice.
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Food blogger Janine of Life with Food and Drink is obsessively tracking the opening of Five Napkin Burger, the burger-bankin' spin-off of Nice Matin. According to Thrillist, the joint's "a cow-centric pleasuredome devoted to its namesake: a 10-ounce, comte-cheese-topped meaty prima donna so acclaimed at UWS resto Nice Matin the owners decided to honor it w/ its own restaurant." 630 Ninth Avenue, New York NY 10036 (at 45th Street; map); 212-757-2277 [via Midtown Lunch]
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Zaitzeff
Location Visited: 72 Nassau Street, New York NY 10038; map); 212-571-7272; zaitzeffnyc.com. Additional location at 18 Avenue B, New York NY 10009 (Alphabet City)
The Short Order: Everything points to a dry, disappointing burger here—grass-fed sirloin, nonstandard bun, cooked on a griddle under a weight—but the meat is surprisingly, amazingly juicy and hella flavorful. I am still dreaming of this burger
Want Fries with That? Fresh, hand-cut regular and sweet potato fries have potential but are greasy; skip them, especially at these prices
Price: Sirloin QP, $8.25; HP, $13.50. Kobe QP, $9; HP, $15.25. Fries, $4.25
Further Reading From: Hamburger America, NYC Food Guy, Yelp
Wow. That's all I can say. I finally got my ass to Zaitzeff down in the Financial District. That's a great burger, I'll tell you what.
In a Nutshell
Portuguese Roll: This burger's bread looks sorta like a big English muffin, but it's fluffy, not spongy and chewy. And it looks beautiful all toasted like they do here.
Two Kinds of Beef, Two Sizes: You can either get a "Kobe burger" (actually made with American Wagyu beef) or a sirloin burger. Each version comes in quarter-pound and half-pound sizes.
All-Natural Philosophy: Apparently, founder Zach Zaitzeff saw an underserved niche in the Wall Street eats market—meals made with all-natural, sustainorganical goody-goody ingredients. The sirloin is sourced from D'Artagnan and the Kobe comes from Morgan Ranch. Even the ketchup is the Heinz Organic variety.
Griddled Patties: The burgers are made on a tiny flat-top griddle in an impossibly small kitchen area. The cook does up your burgers while keeping an eye on batches of fresh, hand-cut fries simmering in cast-iron pans nearby.
Pricey: As of publication, a quarter-pound sirloin burger runs $8.25 for burger only; half-pound sirloin is $13.50. "Kobe" burger, quarter-pound, $9; half-pound, $15.25. Wall Streeters can afford this, even in a crap economy, I'm sure.
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Posted by Nick Solares, June 10, 2008 at 10:00 AM
I love a good piece of history almost as much as I love a good hamburger, so when I can find a place that has both, well, that is something I truly relish.
Old Town Bar on 18th Street in Manhattan's Flatiron District is as steeped in history as almost any bar you can name. Sure, Pete's Tavern, located just a few blocks away, can lay claim to being the oldest bar in New York (dating back to 1864) and also of having a rich literary history, being universally known as the "tavern O. Henry made famous."
Old Town Bar
45 East 18th Street, New York NY 10003; map); 212-529-6732; oldtownbar.com
The Skinny: Great bar with a great history, but the burger is not great. Have a pint instead.
Want Fries with That? Skin-on fries come with the burger but are limp and often just above room temperature
Price: $10 for cheeseburger and fries
But Old Town itself dates back to 1892, and, while it might lack the literary pedigree of Pete's, it has its own, significant history in the political arena. Located close to the effective seat of political power for more than a century in New York City, namely Tammany Hall, Old Town Bar was allowed to operate as a speakeasy during Prohibition under Tammany's patronage. Tammany Hall moved from 14th Street in 1929 to a new location, and, incidentally, its final resting place on 17th Street, just a stone's throw away from Old Town.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, June 5, 2008 at 6:57 PM
This listing on Grub Streets, I'm guessing it's for Black Iron Burger Shop. What say you?
Posted by Nick Solares, June 3, 2008 at 10:25 AM
There are lot of famous streets in New York City. Broadway is, of course, known for the theater, Wall Street as the heart of the city's financial center, and 45th Street as "steak row," although almost all of the chophouses that gave the street its name have since moved or closed.
I would like to nominate Third Avenue in Manhattan as "Hamburger Row." Not because it is so densely populated with burger establishments—I am sure that there are numerous stretches of suburban highway that pack in more burger joints per mile—but because Third Avenue has an amazing variety of burgers, representing virtually all genres of the beloved sandwich, not to mention some of the finest examples of their respective breeds.
Staring downtown and working north, here is an admittedly incomplete list of burger spots that offer a wide variety of styles. I am not including fast food chains, although I am fairly certain that all the major players have at least one or two locations along the Avenue.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, June 3, 2008 at 12:30 AM
You might have just caught Stephen Colbert mention the $175 burger in New York on Monday's Colbert Report. He is, of course, talking about the foie-gras-and-gold-leaf-topped Kobe burger from The Wall Street Burger Shoppe.
Some of you might recall that the blog Eater "deathwatched" Burger Shoppe on Friday.
Now, nation, I'm no fan of the Wall Street Burger Shoppe, but I'm going to have to give Eater a wag of the finger here in light of this news.
Because everyone knows that the Colbert Bump supersedes an Eater Deathwatch. Jimmy, roll the clip after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 30, 2008 at 8:50 AM
The owner of the popular Madison Square Park stand - famous for its juicy burgers, frozen custards and unbearable lines - wants to bring a mobile "shake truck" to downtown Brooklyn, sources said yesterday.
The Brooklyn truck could set up shop in the MetroTech plaza for lunch by the end of the summer. The truck is expected to hit other spots on weekends and at night. [New York Daily News]
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 29, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Just thought I'd drop in today with a quickie on Brgr in Chelsea—on Seventh Avenue at 26th Street.
I've never done an in-depth look at the place, in part because it ended up being a go-to spot for me and the rest of the folks at the AHT–Serious Eats offices. And you know that old adage about not deficatin' where you do your domesticatin', right?
Not that I would slag the place—It puts out a solid burger.
Anyway, we've now been a number of times since the original mastermind behind the operation, Chris Russell, was ousted late last year, and I figured I'd blab about the changes and the state of the burger there. Burger blabbitation begins after the jump.
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 28, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Ed Tretter is devoted to his burgers. He fawns over 67 Burger, his restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the way doting parents might over their children. I sat down to talk to him recently during a hectic lunch hour, and, despite being constantly distracted by perceived inaccuracies in presentation and production that required his immediate attention, his passion for both his restaurant and hamburgers in general was evident.
He has certainly done his homework, employing many of the trappings of some of New York's more prominent burger houses—flame-broiled, fresh-ground patties; high-quality ingredients; and an ordering system inspired by Brgr. But I don't think it is fair to dismiss 67 Burger as purely derivative. There's a lot of thought put into the way things should be done. Bacon, for example, is deliberately placed beneath the patty for reasons of flavor and texture. The custom-made buns are baked in special muffin tins that Tretter's baker procured to better fit his plump seven-ounce burgers.
Juice to Spare
67 Burger: The Autopsy.
I first heard about 67 Burger when George Motz mentioned on his blog that it was the "juiciest burger" he had ever eaten. Considering the man has eaten hundreds of burgers in almost every state in the union, that is really saying something. Indeed, in my experience, the burgers here positively brim with juiciness. Cutting a burger in half to take an "autopsy" shot resulted in a thick geyser of juice shooting straight out of the top of the sandwich, a pink streak in the bun would have left no doubt in a crime scene investigator's mind that this was one juicy burger. The bottom portion of the bun became so soaked that it almost completely fell apart.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 22, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Kenn's Broome Street Bar
363 West Broadway, New York NY 10013; map)
212-925-2086
Website
Short Order: A solid half-pound burger served on a pita rather than a bun. Underflavored meat but with a great char-grilled flavor nonetheless. Could use some more salt; order yours with bacon to make up for it
Want Fries with That? Tough luck. The burger comes with potato chips or a small salad; go for the chips
Price: $9 for American cheeseburger; $9.75 for bacon American cheeseburger
Grade: B
I believe it was two years ago that Celia Cheng of the online food magazine Cravings told me about the burger at Kenn's Broome Street Bar in SoHo. It's quite good, she said, and ... it's served on a pita.
Hold it right there, missy, I said. That's not a burger. No bun, no burger.
Well, after you've been writing about the same food item for years, your taste buds start craving something new and different. So after a lengthy time spent ignoring this burger I got the bug to check it out. Something about a pita-enveloped patty sounded downright delicious.
So I found myself at Kenn's for lunch yesterday with Matt "Hamburger Matty" Jacobs.
On the corner of West Broadway and Broome Street, Kenn's Broome Street Bar is one of those classic well-worn pubs that seems to draw folks of all stripes. We were seated next to a couple of suit-and-tie dealmaker dudes, but throughout the place were more casually dressed patrons, as well as some fashionable SoHo types.
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 20, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Editor's note: Ladies and gents, I introduced you to Nick "Beef Aficionado" Solares when he debuted on A Hamburger Today a couple weeks ago, but I'd like to point out this morning that he'll be showing up each week on Tuesday morning with his signature mouthwatering photos and thoughtful reviews of New York–area burger joints. Here's his latest. Dig in! —The Mgmt.
Diner
85 Broadway, Brooklyn NY 11211 (at Berry Street; map); 718-486-307
dinernyc.com
Short Order: Burgers made from grass-fed beef often turn out dry and tough. At Diner, however, the in-house butcher, freshly ground meat, and perfect cooking technique make for a fine sandwich
Want Fries with That? Pale-looking fries are actually crisp with a tender interior that tastes like potato
Price: $12; comes with fries
Not to be confused with the Brooklyn Diner that Adam so enjoyed last week, which is confusingly located in Manhattan, Diner is located in Brooklyn—Williamsburg, to be specific.
If I had to describe Diner in two words, they would be bohemian eclectia. Dating back almost a decade, Diner certainly anticipated the burgeoning of Williamsburg as a cultural and culinary destination. The restaurant takes its name from the fact that it is situated in a 1920s Kullman diner and is certainly not named for its menu, which, aside from a few staples including a hamburger, changes nightly and is far more avant garde than the restaurant's name suggests. You won't find pancakes here, but you will find savory crepes. And, while they offer steak, it is pasture-fed and dry-aged in house.
In one of the more impressive feats of waitressing, the entire menu is memorized and recounted for each table with exacting detail. The waitress frantically scribbles each course with a pencil onto the paper that lines your table (right) as she effortlessly lists them, often giving specifics beyond just the dish, furnishing one with the knowledge of the provenance of the fresh, locally sourced seasonal ingredients and method of preparation.
The restaurant is located in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge, and, despite its narrow confines, offers booth, table, and bar seating as well as outdoor dining. The decor is a heterogeneous mix of tile, glass, and metal and perfectly complements the food.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 20, 2008 at 9:15 AM
Not the $175 burger. But if this regular burger at Burger Shoppe is any indication, you don't want to throw down for the most expensive burger in New York.
From the New York Daily News today:
The Richard Nouveau - from the Wall Street Burger Shoppe, natch - comes topped with a blizzard of real gold flakes, plus 25 grams of black truffles, a seared slab of foie gras and an aged Gruyere typically reserved for a high-class cheese tray.
I guess the "Richard Nouveau" is the burger's name—in line with the menu-name conventions there. I don't know, though. Given the regular burger I had there in late March, I don't think I'd be ponying up $1.75 let alone $175. It's made with ten ounces of Kobe beef.
Posted by Nick Solares, May 15, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I must admit that I had high expectations for the hamburger at Junior's, the fabled Brooklyn diner that is famous for its justifiably hyped cheesecake. Since opening in 1950 Junior's has firmly cemented itself into the New York food vernacular. It is a rite of passage for any politician running for state or national office to make Junior's a campaign stop, and the cheesecake there is considered by many the best that the city has to offer.
Given the popularity and acclaim that Junior's enjoys, I figured that there must be something special going on with its burger, which is so often the staple of a successful diner.
Junior's History
The story behind Junior's is one of those quintessentially New York rags-to-riches tales. Founder Harry Rosen dropped out of high school and became a soda jerk during the roaring '20s, eventually opening a string of sandwich shops of his own in Manhattan called the Enduro, named after the manufacturer of the stainless steel that lined his kitchens. By the 1930s, he had opened an Enduro on the corner of the Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. He soon shuttered his Manhattan concerns in favor of the Brooklyn location.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 13, 2008 at 9:45 AM
I stood on the corner of 43rd and Broadway waiting for NYC Food Guy to show up. We had a one o'clock at Brooklyn Diner. Or so I thought. The clock struck 1:20 p.m. Where was this ahole?
Turns out I was the ahole, having completely borked the rendezvous by going to the Times Square location rather than the West 57th Street spot. Oops. We rainchecked for the following week, and I met him at the right spot, where he was holding down a two-person booth under mini plaques inscribed with the names David J. Fiorina and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, among others. He was itching to plow through some burgerage.
Since this is one of Food Dude's favorite New York burgers and he knew his way around the fare, I let him guide me on the order, figuring I'd ape his style. He opted for the cheeseburger deluxe, menu description: "Custom ground beef, Vermont cheddar cheese, smokehouse bacon, frizzled onion rings, and served with french fried potatoes. 'Best Burger in New York, Gael Greene, New York magazine '07'." Food Guy ordered it medium-rare, so I didn't even have to break rank with him on the doneness.
From his report on the place, I knew that the "frizzled onion rings" were actually served on the burger. I already liked this place.
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 9, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Spitzer’s Corner unabashedly bills itself as a “gastro pub.” A perusal of the menu indicates that it's paying more than lip service to that concept, as it was created by Wayne Nish and includes such esoteric fare as foie gras–stuffed prunes, a duck confit sandwich and a sweetbread po'boy, as well as three different hamburgers.
The room is designed by Asfour Guzy of Blue Ribbon fame and, while I appreciate the Spartan design, some might find it rather austere. The walls, which are lined with wood from floor to ceiling, are supposedly made from recycled pickle barrels. Long communal picnic tables line the interior, and large windows provide plenty of light during the day and a good view of the local fashionista parade at night.
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Posted by Nick Solares, May 1, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Editor's note: Ladies and gents, meet Nick Solares, aka the Beef Aficionado. He's the newest contributor to AHT, so give him a warm welcome, whydoncha? He'll be joining us weekly with his adventures in burgery. This is the first of many posts to come. —The Mgmt.
It is no accident that I picked a decidedly downmarket and untrendy restaurant to review for my initial posting on A Hamburger Today. I think that it speaks to the way I feel about burgers; they should be unpretentious and low-brow, a culinary delight for the everyman.
I have yet to be impressed by a chef-designed truffle, foie gras, and Kobe beef short rib–stuffed “gourmet” burger served on date nut bread with a 50-year-old balsamic vinegar reduction and caviar—at least not to the degree in which a simple $5 cheeseburger might stir me.
I have a basic rule or tenant when it comes to burgers: Individually the ingredients should not be as great as the sum of their parts. If they are, just make something else. I don’t think there is any great achievement in making a delicious sandwich out of ingredients that cost as much as a prime steak. But take some fresh ground chuck, American cheese, and a generic white bun—ingredients that in and of themselves are not that compelling—and combine them to make an extraordinary burger. That is something that impresses both my palate and my egalitarian sensibilities.
Joe Junior, a restaurant that typifies the term “greasy spoon,” located somewhat improbably on the corner of a historically landmarked block in Gramercy, impresses me thusly.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 27, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Says Nick from Beef Aficionado, who snapped the photo above: "Looks like a new burger spot called Black Iron Burger Shop will be opening in June on 5th Street between avenues A and B. Very classic looking."
I'm just guessing here, but I'm going to guess that the burgers here will be grilled. How can you name a place that and not grill them?
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 18, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Mr. Cutlets discloses his top ten burgers in New York City to the New York Daily News, and his No. 1 pick isn't even in the city. It's Hildebrandt's in Williston Park, out on Long Island. The rest of his list, however (with the exception of White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey), is within easy ranging for straphangers. AHT asked Mr. Cutlets about his top ten oh so long ago, and it's interesting to note how his list has changed in that time. (As it should; no top burger list should be static.) The head-to-head, after the jump.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 14, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Editor's note: Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while since we grilled someone, and we couldn't get back in the groove with a better subject. You know that burger history book by Josh Ozersky that comes out this month? Andrea Murphy here worked as Ozersky's research assistant on it. We figured we'd get all kinds of dirt on "Mr. Cutlets" from her. So, without further ado, let's get Grillin'!
How to shape an imaginary burger patty, Andrea?
Name: Andrea Murphy
Location: New York City
Occupation: Researcher
You served as Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky's research assistant for his book "Hamburger: A History." What exactly did that entail? I spent a lot of time at the New York Public Library (and other libraries) looking through newspapers, books, academic papers, obscure food industry journals, and other sources. What would usually happen is that Josh would give me a topic and I would go find information. Sometimes he was very specific (a list of movies either from the 1950s or that took place in the 1950s where people eat hamburgers) and other times more general. There was a lot of photocopying.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 11, 2008 at 11:22 AM
I'm not going to spend a lot of time dwelling on Action Burger. If you remember the Lucky Burger [AHT review] that opened and then closed on Avenue A in the East Village, the former owner there is affiliated with Action Burger. And, judging by taste and texture, the same burger from Avenue A has popped up across the river here in Williamsburg (on Grand between Union and Lorimer). I'm guessing the patties are "cold smoked" and marinated overnight the same way they were at Lucky. The result is an odd smokey flavor and a tough patty.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 7, 2008 at 5:45 PM
The now-celebrated burger at this Lower East Side joint was on the chopping block, with chef Josh Shuffman wanting to kill it and co-owner Adam Cohn rejiggering it. Says Cohn: "Not only were customers few but back then our burger was even more idiosyncratic: topped exclusively with a whole roasted poblano pepper, Monterrey jack cheese and aioli. It was for the few, not the many. Shuffman had it in for the burger and I had to fight a valiant rear-guard action in its defense."
Posted by Lauren Krueger, April 2, 2008 at 12:45 PM
CITY BURGER
Address: 1410 Broadway, New York NY 10018 (at 39th Street; map)
Phone: 212-997-7770
Website: Listed as cityburgerny.com but not operational at this time
The Skinny: A very decent burger for the neighborhood. It's still early, and they're working out the kinks. The staff is learning on the job. Irate, impatient customers in a small space is no fun.
Want Fries with That? Steak fries are $2.75 or $3.95 with cheese. The beer battered onion rings looked great.
The Fashion District is a great place to be if you're a clothes buyer and one of the last places you want to be if you're looking for a good meal. Within a four block radius of where I work there are five Starbucks, five Pax, two Hale & Hearty Soups, several McDonald's, and countless steam-table, pay-by-the pound delis. That's a lot of repetition and a lack of good choices. City Burger opened Monday, and I've been there twice already.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 1, 2008 at 2:30 PM
The weekly listings magazine examines the East Village spin-off of the Financial District's go-to burger spot:
The rest of the sleek chocolate-toned interior—wine bottles arranged neatly on horizontal racks, intricate floor tiling—is almost too pretty for what the restaurant hawks: big, succulent burgers served in quarter- or half-pound patties (choose from sirloin, kobe, veggie or turkey), tucked into chewy Portuguese muffins. We preferred the lean sirloin to the vaguely metallic-tasting Nebraska-raised “kobe,” and the suggested temperature (burgers emerge medium unless otherwise requested) was well suited to the juicy, grass-fed meat.
ZAITZEFF
Address: 18 Avenue B, New York NY 10009 (b/n 2nd and 3rd; map)
Phone: 212-477-7137
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 31, 2008 at 2:15 PM
New York magazine is reporting that the folks behind the Abitino's pizza mini chain are opening today the first of what they hope is a burger mini chain in City Burger. Like everyone and their brother these days, City Burger is using Pat LaFrieda beef.
CITY BURGER
Address: 1410 Broadway, New York NY 10018 (at 39th Street; map)
Phone: 212-997-7770
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 31, 2008 at 2:00 PM
THE BURGER SHOPPE
Address: 30 Water Street, New York NY 10004 (b/n Broad Street and Coenties Slip; map)
Phone: 212-425-1000
Website: burgershoppenyc.com
The Skinny: The space is beautiful—all 1930s retro charm on the burger-parlor ground floor with a cozy, well-worn bar on the second floor, but, on first taste, the fare doesn't live up to the fineries.
Want Fries with That? No. And don't bother with the onion rings, either.
The Burger Shoppe opened in the Financial District earlier this month to not a small amount of anticipation. With little in the way of spectacular eats around Wall Street, hopes were high that this newcomer would be, as Eater put it, the FiDi version of the Shake Shack. And shortly after opening, the reports started to stream in.
NYC Nosh says: "... the food does offer a kind of nostalgic, caloric satisfaction."
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Posted by Adam Kuban, March 24, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky, editor of New York magazine's Grub Street and author of upcoming book The Hamburger: A History, says you can find the perfect burger at Veselka, in New York City's East Village:
VESELKA
Address: 144 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003
Phone: 212-228-9682
Website: veselka.com
Link: Mr. Cutlets's Perfect Hamburger [Chow]
According to Page Six in the New York Post today: "Danny Meyer just signed a lease to open its first branch at 366 Columbus Avenue (at 77th Street), which formerly housed Cajun eatery Jacques-Imo's NYC. Unlike the original open-air serving stand with the endless lines of customers in Madison Square Park, the new location will serve its brown bag fare in year-round comfort." But will it still be a "shack"?
Posted by Lauren Krueger, February 13, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Or, 'But What Do They Call it in France?
Hype never moves me the way it should. In fact, it turns me off. I refused to see Pulp Fiction for three years after its initial release for that very reason, and even then wasn't that impressed. But when multiple trusty sources of mine collude to recommend a burger, I feel I owe it to myself to at least give it a try.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, February 4, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Blue Ribbon Bakery
View Larger Map »
Address: 35 Downing Street, New York NY 10014 (Greenwich Village, b/n Downing and Bedford; map)
Getting There: 1 train to Houston Street; B/C/D/E/F/V to West 4th Street
Phone: 212-337-0404
Cost: $14.50, comes with fries
Website: blueribbonrestaurants.com
The Skinny: Very good thick and expansive burger with potential for greatness, were it cooked to order and more juicy. Excellent custom house-made bun.
Want Fries with That? Yes. Even if they didn't come standard with this burger, they're hand-cut and quite good, with a crisp salty exterior and fluffy moist interior.
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According to Eater, the heat lamps are finally on at Shake Shack. Sweet deal, but it's kind of a bad news, good news thing (but mostly good). The bad: The heating technology will encourage more people to visit. The good news ...
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Posted by Adam Kuban, January 22, 2008 at 6:00 AM
The recent cold spell here in New York City had me wondering what effect below-freezing temperatures would have on the infamously long line at the Shake Shack, which just this year began operating year-round. But if I was going to stand around and wait for a burger in bone-chilling weather—and then eat it outdoors in the park (the Shake Shack offers only outdoor seating)—I needed a strategy. I'll share it with you—along with some winter Shack observations—after the jump.
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Time Out New York runs down its top 10 burgers of 2008, and, interestingly, the herd is full of a bunch of new joints. Not a tired old standby on the list at all: Market Table, Telepan, Prune, Back Forty, Shorty's 32, 67 Burger, BLT Burger, Primehouse, Resto, Stand.
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 14, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Peter Meehan, in "$25 and Under," on the burgers at Seymour Burton:
But the patties, beefy and salty and made with meat from the fashionable and estimable Pat LaFrieda Wholesale Meats (you may know its meat from such fine sandwiches as the Shackburger and the hamburger at Market Table), had a crisp, grill-charred exterior and a moist, medium-rare middle that dripped fatty juice in the nooks and crannies of the Thomas’ sandwich-size English muffins that held them.
Burgers ($12) at Seymour Burton — which occasionally flirt with greatness — are served, default, with Cheddar cheese and raw onions (and a side of fries), a decision that Josh Shuffman, the chef de cuisine, who has handled the day-to-day cooking since September, said was “the most and the least we needed to do for a burger.”
Seymour Burton
Address: 511 East Fifth Street, New York NY 10009 (East Village, at Avenue A)
Phone: 212-260-1333
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 10, 2008 at 10:30 AM
I'm probably going to get ripped by some of you out there who will say the following "burger" is not a burger, but I'm going to mention it anyway 'cause it's interesting.
Zach Brooks, our weekly Serious Sandwiches contributor at Serious Eats, paid a visit to a new vegetarian fast food joint in Midtown Manhattan for his blog, Midtown Lunch. The place is called Zen Burger, but don't let that fool you. It's not about hippie whole food; its mission is to re-create the experience of McDonald's but with meatless products—with veggie burgers, crispy "chicken" sandwiches, fried "shrimp," and more.
The owners have plans to snowball the concept into a nationwide chain, so within a few years there could be one opening near you. The next one is slated to open on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood later this year.
But don't look to the place as a diet panacea. Says Zach, "The food is not healthy, just healthier. 30 percent fewer calories than McDonald’s is still pretty fattening."
Zen Burger
Address: 465 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10017 (map)
Phone: 212-661-6080
Website: zenburger.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 3, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Grub Street reports under the headline "Shake Shocker: No Lunch Line on Opening Day" that there was no line at the Shake Shack today, despite this being the first day of its winter operation. I hope that's mock shock on Grub Street's part, because it's absolutely freezing today and nobody in his right mind would queue up for anything in this weather.
It also points to something larger I've thought about since it was reported that the Shack would remain open all year. In doing so, I think the Shake Shack loses part of its charm and appeal. Sure, the burgers will still be great, but part of what was so fun about the place was that annual opening on the first day of spring and all the stupid hype that surrounded it.
That is all. Oh, and Happy New Year!
Posted by Lauren Krueger, December 12, 2007 at 9:00 AM
Or, 'The Things I Do for You'
When I told Adam I was stuck in jury duty, he said it might be a good opportunity to taste-test a burger I wouldn't otherwise encounter. So when I saw five or six signs proclaiming "Teriyaki Burger!" I felt I had to try it.
And, look, I knew what I was getting into. I'd never eaten at (or even seen) a Samurai Sam's before, but the area around the Kew Gardens courthouse wasn't exactly throbbing with burgertunities, and I figured a sign is a sign, right? At any rate, how could I not try it? This is the same impulse that forces me to order tacos at Le Croissant Cafe because they have a tiny "we serve Mexican food!" sign in the window. My sense of adventure has a stubborn way of manifesting itself at the most inopportune times.
Every person before and after me ordered either a Teriyaki or Yakitori Bowl. I walked up to the counter and smugly asked for the Teriyaki Burger. The cashier asked if I wanted it with cheese. I said no when what I should have said was "nevermind, I'm leaving." Cheese plus teriyaki sauce? My mind was already reeling, but I forged ahead.
Continue reading »
Posted by Lauren Krueger, November 26, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Brace yourselves: My new favorite burger lives in the Bronx. At a pizza place, no less.
Coals is a cozy hangout near the Fordham campus. The restaurant is part bar, part table-service, part rec room, and they specialize in pizza. Grilled pizza, even! The pizzas look gorgeous, and it was difficult to stay focused, but I was chasing a burger and nothing else would do. The Coals Burger is only served after 5 p.m., which was something I almost
didn't find out until it was too late. And had I missed out on this burger, you would
have heard my howl of disappointment from every borough.
COALS
Address: 1888 Eastchester Road, Bronx NY 10461 (map)
Phone: 718-823-7002
When we walked in, the place was full, if not packed. The Wizard of Oz was playing on a widescreen TV above the bar, and the crowd seemed happy. Four middle-aged ladies told us they'd been sitting at their table too long and that we should take it. This place was absolutely oozing good vibes.
I ordered my burger and was given a choice of cheddar or asiago. And I ask you, who can choose cheddar when faced with asiago? Maybe you, but not me. I tried to make Mike order a pizza, as I was feeling self-conscious about ignoring the house specialty, but he chose an asiago burger as well. The waiter told us everyone was getting burgers that night. I tried to be a good reporter and ask him why that was.
He shrugged and said, "Because they're good." Duh.
Continue reading »
Posted by Lauren Krueger, November 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Welcome to the world, Jimmy's Burger Shack. I'm Lauren, and I'm also new here. Hopefully, I'm doing a little better than you are.
For one thing, you're a lot sturdier than a shack (right).
We all know that combining burgers and the word "shack" brings drool to the corners of many a New Yorker's mouth, but that doesn't mean you should sling it around like that.
Small potatoes, I know; on to the food! Jimmy's serves mini burgers (beef, turkey, or veggie) on pillowy potato rolls. The mini burger, of which I was previously unaware, occupies the space on the burger spectrum between "slider" and "burger," hovering around the size of a slider but adorned like a full-sized burger. I'm making this up, but it's true.
My thoughts on the burgers themselves is that they're too big for the buns, and that if they were made smaller, they'd be too expensive at that price. Typically I am all about putting everything you can grab on a burger, but not on a mini. If you're going to be toppings mad, do it with a reasonable playing field. And I'm really sorry for eating Ed's grilled onion burger, both because he missed out and because I don't care that much for onions. They're OK if they're cooked, but not something I'd seek out most of the time. Out of two bleu cheesed mini burgers I ended up eating, neither one was worth ordering again. Why then, you ask, did I? I didn't! I ordered a regular burger with no cheese, and it came back bleu. Bleargh!
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Posted by Adam Kuban, November 1, 2007 at 8:28 PM
More info at Midtown Lunch, where the photo above comes from.
And, even more at NYC Eats.
Five Guys (Midtown)
Address: 43 West 55th Street, New York NY 10019
Phone: 212-459-9600
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 29, 2007 at 8:45 AM
It's only mentioned in passing, but this Q&A on real estate trade website Globe St. mentions that the California-based Fatburger is coming to Manhattan's Greenwich Village:
What we’re looking for mostly is a high-traffic environment where we can have good exposure and work with a relatively small footprint. Big-box centers with outparcels where we can get good exposures and get an endcap seem to be the dominant type of location that we’re looking at currently. That gets the traffic and gives us the visibility. Quite often those centers are built side by side with lifestyle centers. If we had to choose we would go with the way I just described. That’s not to say we can’t be successful in other venues. The other location that we think works well in urban settings is storefront retail where there is sufficient traffic driven by adjacent retail and nearby parking, or alternatively very high density, as would be the case in the Village.
Of course, if you can't wait for that location, there's always the Jersey City one, at 286 Washington Street.
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 29, 2007 at 4:03 PM
Serious Eats overlord Ed Levine says:
Market Table, the new market-cum-restaurant from Little Owl's Joey Campanaro and Mike Price, is now open, and, based on one thoroughly enjoyable lunch shared with Serious Eats's Alaina Browne, is certainly worthy of attention. The burger, supposedly made with a mix of meat similar if not identical to the Shake Shack, is absolutely killer, though because it's charcoal-grilled and because its accompaniments—everything from the condiments, toppings, and bun—are completely different from Shake Shack's, you can't make a direct comparison.
Market Table's burger comes with gorgonzola cheese, bacon, and caramelized onions, which are the holy trinity of burger toppings, as far as I'm concerned. The house-made roll has just a little bit of crunch on the outside, and it may be the best hamburger bun in New York at the moment.
Ed brought back a half of a burger to the Serious Eats/AHT office on Friday, and, even though it was cold and a little worse for the trip back, it did taste damn good, even with the froufrou toppings.
The gimmick behind Market Table is that it's also a market, so you can buy the same meat that they make the burgers with. Ed picked up some of that, too. It was $18 for four pre-made patties that seemed to be about a third-pound in weight.
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 18, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Sure, you've named a dog or two in your life. You may have even named a little bouncing bundle of joy. If you're loaded, you've probably christened a boat, using one of those silly nautical puns. But have you named a burger joint? Probably not.
Now you've got a chance to name two different places, complete with prizes.
Grubstreet is hosting a contest to name Daniel Boulud's new burger joint. This one is unofficial—your name won't ever appear on Boulud's awning, but if Grubstreet likes it, you'll win a burger, beer, and ice cream dinner for two.
Further uptown, in Harlem, naming this burger joint (for real) will net a cool grand. [via Eater]
Posted by Adam Kuban, September 10, 2007 at 8:08 AM
"Beef Aficionado" Nick has the story on his blog. A mixed review, but it's early still.
The patty had plenty of flavor and juice but just needed a little more fire. Despite some nice grill marks the surface was just a little light in color.The rest of the ingredients were wonderfully fresh however. With the line at Shake Shack being so absolutely incomprehensibly long these days (It is a great burger but I wouldn't wait for Kobe beef as long as some people wait for a burger) Goodburger is a viable alternative in the area. And I would argue that it is a comparable, albeit different burger vis a vis the Shack. Many I am sure will prefer the flame grilling cooking method, and I doubt the line will be as long.
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 17, 2007 at 6:00 AM
Angus Deluxe: A six-ounce patty, with American cheese, sliced red onions and tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, mayo, and pickles. So, yesterday "Hamburger Matty" and I took the bait and visited the McDonald's at 46th Street and Broadway in Times Square at the invitation of some McD's PR folks. We were there to try the chain's new Angus Third Pounder burgers—the Angus Deluxe, Angus Mushroom and Swiss, and Angus Bacon and Cheese. Did we drink the Kool-Aid?
Let's just say the Angus burgers were the best burgers on the menu. The patties were thicker, exhibited some nice exterior searing, had some noticeable juiciness, and were augmented with some nice-looking, good-tasting, fresh and crisp toppings. The Deluxe actually tasted like a hamburger and not a dry facsimile of one. That said, they have McDonald's DNA through and through, and somehow manage to retain that signature taste that almost everyone is familiar with—there's just more of it. Sort of like a bigger, better cooked Quarter Pounder; if you can't get behind the taste of the chain's standard fare, the Angus isn't likely to get you in the door. And it's not until you isolate the meat from the toppings that you'll notice a difference in flavor and texture. The Angus patty was slightly more tangy—and I mean slightly. It's a minor upgrade in beefiness that I'm afraid was lost beneath all the toppings. The texture was more pleasing than that of Quarter Pounder—looser and not as tough.
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 9, 2007 at 11:12 AM
From Grub Streets:
The greatest hamburger mystery of our time has been solved: We have it from a high-level source near the situation that the location of the long-awaited sequel to Shake Shack is Citi Field, better known as the new Shea Stadium.
[Tip o' the hat to Feisty Foodie for the link.]
Posted by Adam Kuban, August 8, 2007 at 12:21 PM
We mentioned it on AHT in passing a couple weeks ago, but today Grub Street is reporting more details on the new Pop Burger coming to Midtown Manhattan:
... come September a new outpost — three times the size of the current location — will take over all three stories of a building at 14 East 58th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues, with the first floor dedicated to counter service; the second floor serving as a lounge decked out with speakers, projectors, a bar, a D.J. booth, and raw-oak paneling; and the third floor acting as a private party space with pool table.
While AHT founding editor Honey P. liked the Pop Burger we visited, I typically find the burgers there a bit dry and a bit overpriced.
Related: Pop Burger
Address: 14 East 58th Street, New York NY 10022 [map]
