J. G. Melon
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.
J. G. Melon has been mentioned quite a bit on A Hamburger Today and Serious Eats:New York lately. I listed it as one of the definitive burgers on Third Avenue as I made the case for that Manhattan street to be dubbed "Hamburger Alley." Bobby Flay named it as his favorite burger in an interview on SE:NY. And just last week Alan Richman ignobly removed it from his top burger list because of the "meatheads" who work there. The J. G. Melon burger is often listed on any legitimate survey of New York City's best burgers, and George Motz intended to feature it in his book Hamburger America, but no one at the bar would return his call. When I asked the manager about the latter situation, he was unaware of it but commented that they were probably too busy making burgers.
J. G. Melon is one of those bars that looks like it's been there forever but actually dates back to 1972. Not that that makes it a spring chicken (or should that be spring calf?) but the well-worn, kitschy decor (replete with numerous watermelon effigies) and tin ceiling all look decades older. The building itself is dark green, not unlike a watermelon, in fact, and the ceiling is red (but does not have any pits painted on). The front room that houses the bar and the kitchen is softly lighted with orange and yellow hues and leads to a rear dining room that is far darker. The kitchen is literally a shack, and despite its diminutive proportions, as many as three cooks work feverishly inside it, cranking out hundreds of burgers a day.
