Entries tagged with 'reviews'
Posted by Nick Solares, July 22, 2008 at 10:30 AM
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.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 17, 2008 at 4:15 PM
Fred 62
1850 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90027 (at Russell Avenue; map); 323-667 0062; fred62.com
The Short Order: The Jucy Lucy here is not modeled on the famous cheese-stuffed burger at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis but on the burgers at In-N-Out. The Jucy Lucy here, though, is like an In-N-Out burger on steroids. And tastes even better
Want Fries with That? They come with, but if they didn't, you could skip them. They're not as crisp or flavorful as they need to be
Price: $9.63 for the Jucy Lucy
Fred 62 is named after its owners, both named Fred, both born in, you guessed it, 1962. Back in 1997, designer Fred Sutherland and chef Fred Eric collaborated to create what they call a "retro-kitsch diner" in the burgeoning Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angles. There is a distinct possibility that such ambitions can result in a trite, tiresome, and contrived restaurant that focuses too much on the kitsch and not enough on the food. Fortunately Fred 62 avoids most of the culinary pitfalls and turns out some inventive twists on classic diner fare.
The decor is an interesting mix of traditional diner trappings (a long counter divides the room, replete with classic soda fountains), along with a cheeky, low-brow slant (the servers all have racing stripes to match those of the leather booths that resemble cars seats). The building is painted in shades of green, orange, and yellow, giving it a rather gaudy and cartoonish look. Like I said, low-brow. Aesthetic misgivings aside, I was here to eat what the menu modestly bills, as "the worlds greatest hamburger sandwich."
I won't keep you in suspense. I don't think it is the world's greatest hamburger, but it is nonetheless very good—certainly one of the best burgers I have had in L.A. The burger in question is called the Jucy Lucy, but it is nothing like the one that has been reported on here at AHT extensively, which is actually filled with cheese before cooking. Fred 62's Jucy Lucy might not be filled with cheese, but it does at least live up to its name.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, July 16, 2008 at 4:15 PM
- Shake Shack
- Big Nick's Burger & Pizza Joint
- Blue Smoke
- Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
- Peter Luger
And you gotta love Richman for some of his inspired wandering within his blurbs. On Big Nick's:
Thank goodness for the internet. For almost two decades I’ve been sitting in the same scarred booth at Big Nick’s, under a medley of obscure celebrity photos, secretly harboring a crush on Vicki Darnell, an impressively endowed starlet. I never knew anything about her until now—I just Googled her and learned that she played the role of Sugar in the 1990 classic Frankenhooker. (If you see this, Vicki, dinner at Big Nick’s is on me.) I love this place, New York City’s signature dive. The half-pound burger is surprisingly good: Well-seasoned beef is cooked on an indoor grill and served on a so-so bun. Order it with a milkshake, the real thing at Big Nick’s. If you’re used to the fake ones at fast-food joints, you might mistakenly complain that this one is too thin.
Google Vicki Darnell for yourself: http://www.google.com/search?q=Vicki+Darnell
Related
"2 for 1 Burgers": Blue Smoke on the Cheap
AHT Shake Shack coverage
Posted by Nick Solares, July 15, 2008 at 3:00 PM
"They lined us all up in front of a hundred yards of prime rib—magnificent meat, beautifully marbled. Then they started throwing it in these big cauldrons, all of it—boiling. I looked in, an' it was turning gray.... I couldn't f****** believe that one...."
Ted's Restaurant
1044 Broad Street, Meriden CT 06450; map); 203-237-6660; steamedcheeseburger.com
The Short Order: The cheeseburgers are steamed here. Yes, steamed. In little trays in a custom-made cabinet. Unfortunately, the novelty doesn't make up for the dry beef, as all the juice are poured out of the tray and discarded
Want Fries with That? Yes. The homefries here are amazing ($1.75)
Price: Steamed cheeseburger, $4.25; steamed hamburger, $3.25
Fans of Francis Ford Coppola's seminal 1979 film Apocalypse Now will recognize the quote above from the character Chef (Frederic Forrest) as he explains to Willard (Martin Sheen) why he quit working in the Army mess hall.
I had a similar experience walking in to Ted's. I couldn't believe what they were doing to their beef.
Ted's is a famed burger stand that I want to love, but I simply cannot overcome my aversion to their specialty. Said specialty is the steamed cheeseburger, a culinary curiosity that is indigenous and exclusive to central Connecticut. Although Ted's is not the creator of the steamed "cheeseburg," as they are known locally (that honor goes to the now defunct Jack's Lunch in nearby Middletown), they have been serving them since 1959.
Upon entering the diminutive roadside burger shop, you see a long counter, behind which you see huge piles of fresh ground chuck with a beautiful red hue and what looks like a generous flecking of fat. A burly counterman scoops up beef and loosely packs it into small trays so that it remains somewhat flaky. He fills separate trays with generous slabs of a pale-white cheese and then slides them all into custom-made breadbox-size contraption: the steam cabinet.
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Posted by Jenn Sit, July 14, 2008 at 6:00 PM
On Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, tucked away along a strip of golf resorts, hotels, and overpriced seafood restaurants is Harold's, an old-school diner car that serves up a big, mean burger to locals and in-the-know tourists.
If you blink, you'll miss it—and we did. The first time we cruised down the parkway looking for this joint, we were stumped, grumpy, and ended up at a pizza place that helped lift our spirits. The second time around, the burger gods must have been taken pity on us. We pulled into a random gas station, and, lo and behold, there was Harold's on the other side, our burger beacon of hope that momentarily distracted us from our pricey gas woes.
I shouted with glee and ran to the diner, never suspecting that I'd be meeting my biggest burger adversary to date: The Big H, the monster of all burgers.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, July 9, 2008 at 10:00 AM
The Pinesburger is the specialty at this charming little roadside tavern about three miles north of Ithaca on Route 89 (also known as Taughannock Boulevard).
The Pinesburger comes on Ithaca Bakery French bread—the same stuff that the famous Hot Truck French bread pizzas are served on (and what seems to be the ubiquitous bread choice for sandwiches in the area). It's topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and your choice of Thousand Island or mayo. I went for Thousand Island, as it seemed to be the thing to do.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 8, 2008 at 10:00 AM
From left: Clyde's burger, Mr. Smith's.
I spent a weekend in the nation's capital and had time to tuck in to a few burgers on my visit. Because of their proximity, both geographic and aesthetic, I'm covering two burgers together in this post, having already covered Ben's Chili Bowl here because I think it merits special attention.
Clyde's
My first burger of the trip was at Clyde's, a local chain. I generally avoid chains, but Clyde's looked genuinely historical. Indeed, the Georgetown location I dined at is the original and dates to 1963. I had originally planned on eating at Mr. Smith's just up the road but found it so packed I beat a hasty retreat. Clyde's made for a convenient alternative.
There is a collegial, saloon feel to Clyde's and despite appearing to be a straightforward bar and grill, it actually has higher culinary aspirations, offering fare that while not quite in the "gastropub" realm is certainly more inventive, some might say effete, than your average bar.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 5, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Editor's note: Happy 4th of July weekend! How 'bout a burger from the ever-widening seat of American government? If you're in the nation's capital for the holiday, use this as a guide for checking out Ben's Chili Bowl —The Mgmt.
It is 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and the jukebox at Ben's Chili Bowl is cranking out "Super Freak" on 11. The long counter that flanks the entire side of the main room is jam-packed with diners tucking in to stacks of fluffy pancakes, heaping bowls of chili, Ben's famous half smoke sausages and of course chiliburgers. They are all in tune with the music, rocking or bobbing or swiveling on their stools in time to the beat as they feast on the generous portions before them. The open kitchen on the other side of the counter also seems to be in time with the beat as an enormous cadre of cooks and waitresses turn out a dizzying number of plates to a packed dining room to the funky verbal gyrations of Rick James.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 3, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: We couldn't think of a better burger to report on this Thursday, a day before the 4th of July, than the one at All American Drive-In in Massapequa, New York. Hum a Sousa march to yourself while you read. —The Mgmt.
All American Drive-In
4286 Merrick Road, Massapequa NY 11758 (map); allamericanhamburger.us
The Short Order: All American's flavor will be familiar to anyone who has eaten under the Golden Arches, but it's the freshness of the product that sets it apart. Though the Double Double (two patties, two slices of cheese) provides the perfect beef-to-bun ratio, the cheeseburger is a study in simplicity, with a soft, fresh pillowy bun that leaves a dusting of flour on fingers. If getting a quarter-pounder, be sure to get cheese on it
Want Fries with That? Yes. They're crisp and golden and actually taste of potatoes ($1.15). The onion ringsare skippable
Price: Hamburger, $1.05; cheeseburger, $1.25; QP, $2.15; QPC, $2.55; Double Header, $2; Double Double, $2.40
Despite the fact that All American Drive-In has but one location, the burgers they serve will be instantly familiar to millions, perhaps even billions of people.
You see the three burgers on offer at this timeless little drive-in in exotic Massapequa, New York, are virtually identical to McDonald's early menu. Before Big Macs and breakfast burritos, before other chains started offering to do things your way, All American was churning out burgers "their way"—pickles, ketchup, finely diced onions—at a dizzying rate to the swarms of hungry suburbanites that flock here.
You want choice? OK, you can order your burgers with or without cheese.
I often wonder if one can be nostalgic for an era that one never lived in. Is there such a word in the English language? I certainly get the feeling of nostalgia when I dine at All American. The diminutive portion sizes, the immediacy of service, the taste of the food itself all evoke in me a bygone era, unfettered by the notions of super-sizing and conversely by any need to pay lip service to a balanced diet. There is nothing remotely green on any of the burgers here, the closest vegetable aside from the onion would be, using the Ronald Reagan nutritional standard, the ketchup that is de riguer.
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Posted by Nick Solares, July 1, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Editor's note: As we rocket toward the Fourth of July, what better way to celebrate what's essentially America's national dish than with a visit to where it all supposedly began—Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut. Leave it to Nick "Beef Aficionado" Solares to cover the joint the way it needs to be covered. —The Mgmt.
Louis' Lunch
261-263 Crown Street, New Haven CT 06510 (map); 203-562-5507; louislunch.com
Short Order: One of the nation's most important hamburger institutions, Louis' Lunch lays claim to having invented the dish we love so much. Cooked in a unique vertical broiler, the lean mix of beef is flavorful if not particularly juicy. In fact, the burger here is known more for its isn'ts than anything else. It isn't served on a bun but on slices of Pepperidge Farm white bread. It isn't served with condiments. It isn't going to bend to newfangled burgerworld whims. It is, however, a unique contribution to America's national cuisine
Want Fries with That? Fries? There are no fries here, fool. You can get chips, though. Other items on offer are homemade pies, potato salad, and soup. Drink a Foxon Park soda with it; the root beer is amazing
Price: $4.50
Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, has been making its hamburger sandwich since 1900, making it the longest continuously operating hamburger restaurant in America and claimant to be the creator of the venerable sandwich.
And while the world has largely adopted the plain white bun as the bread of choice for a burger, Louis' Lunch continues to serve them in its own distinct manner, vertically broiled, served on white bread, and sliced in half with the only permissible additions being onion, tomato and a cheese spread. The spread is necessary because the unique vertical broilers that Louis' Lunch uses would not be able to accommodate regular cheese.
Don't even think about putting ketchup on a burger at Louis'; there is a sign admonishing against even asking for it, because as Jeff Lassen, fourth-generation owner, says, "We want you to taste the meat."
Let's examine the recipe and its origins. The claim regarding the creation of the first burger is that one day in 1900, founder Louis Lassen had some leftover meat that he had ground up when a customer in a hurry rushed up to what was then a tiny lunch wagon and demanded something quick and delicious. According to legend, Louis formed the ground beef into a patty, cooked it, sandwiched it between two slices of bread, and sent the customer on his way.
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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 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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Posted by Nick Solares, June 17, 2008 at 10:00 AM
As the newest member of the AHT team, I thought it appropriate to follow in Adam's intrepid steps and venture across the Hudson on a pilgrimage to two of America's most historically significant Hamburger establishments. I speak, of course, of White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, and White Mana in Jersey City, New Jersey. Adam visited both three years ago to the month, and while he raved about the burgers he ate in Hackensack he was less enthused by the Jersey city location. While I have eaten at both places on previous occasions I did so as a civilian, without the responsibility of reviewing the joints and putting them in to the context of the modern burger landscape.
Both establishments are now operated independently of each other and indeed have different owners but they were both founded by Louis Bridges back in 1946. The story goes that the structure that houses the Jersey City location was originally situated at the 1939 World's Fair and was then moved to its current resting place on Tonnele Avenue.
White Mana opened its doors on June 2, 1946, and has been going ever since; it is open 24 hours a day. The only major change, aside from the fact that the burgers cost a little more than the 10¢ they did back then is that during the 1980s, is that the restaurant lost an n in its name as the result of an error at the sign makers. The missing n was never straightened out, and the reconfigured name stuck.
The diner proved such a success that Bridges open three more Mannas in north Jersey in the 1940s, although now only the original and the Hackensack locations remain.
In reverse order to Adam's trip I started in Jersey City and then went north to Hackensack. While I am in complete agreement that the latter is far superior, I am not sure that I would necessarily countenance against visiting the original location in favor of the White Castle nearby as Adam did. I recommend you visit both!
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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 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 Ed Levine, May 18, 2008 at 2:00 PM
The seasonal hamburger has become virtually obsolete, at least in my neck of the woods—the Tri-State Area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut). That's why I was so excited a couple of weeks ago to make my first visit to Clamp's, a seasonal burger stand near my friends Sam and Arietta's house in northwestern Connecticut.
Sam had been raving about Clamp's for years, but he was concerned that it had gone downhill since the great-nephew of departed founder Edwin Clamp took it over. We arrived at Clamp's around 2:15 p.m. two Saturdays ago. It was shut up tight. I wandered up to the sign leaning against Clamp's exterior. The sign told the story.
That's right. Clamp's closes every day of its season (late April to Labor Day) between 2 and 3:30 p.m. I railed against the hamburger gods to no avail. Sam was undaunted. "Don't worry, Eddie. We'll come back tomorrow. For now, we can go grab a burger at the Gooseboro Drive-In. It's really close."
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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 Ed Levine, April 17, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I've been in the Dallas–Fort Worth area the last few days to attend the Pillsbury Bake-Off. The contest itself ended by lunchtime Monday, so I arranged to meet Bill Addison, the talented food writer and restaurant critic at the Dallas Morning News, for another foray into Fort Worth. I had no idea until I got down there that Fort Worth had so much more interesting real food than Dallas. Addison wouldn't come right out and say it, but I think even he would agree with that sentiment.
Anyway, I tried to visit Kincaid's on Sunday evening but arrived too late. So Bill and I made it our first stop on Monday. Kincaid's is about as celebrated a burger place as there is in America. It's lauded in George Motz's terrific new book, and you can find it on many best or top ten burger lists—lists that cover not just Texas but the whole country.
That's why I was so shocked about what we found.
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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 Lauren Krueger, April 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Enticed by the Smörgås Burger, optionally topped with Jarlsberg or Ski Queen goat cheese, we chose Smörgås Chef over a handful of restaurants we'd never visited. I should have walked out the door the second I realized the burger on the menu wasn't the one I had my heart set on, but at that point we had our drinks, and it would have meant being late to the awful play we had tickets to that night.
No, the burger on the menu was simply a burger, and no Ski Queen cheese was offered. It hardly mattered to me, as I happily asked for Jarlsburg. We also ordered Swedish meatballs and a herring plate, but that's only worth mentioning because later Mike asked if we were eating Polish food. He knows I love him because I thought really hard about whether or not to share that with the world. And you know I love you because I decided to share it.
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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 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 Lauren Krueger, January 24, 2008 at 1:00 PM
It is a well-accepted fact that if you live in the Boston area long enough, you're going to have a buddy named Sully. With that in mind, I'd like you to meet mine:
Located in Somerville, Massachusetts, next door to my friend Pete, O'Sullivan's serves up some amazing burgers. They're thick, they're tall, and they take a long time to cook. I would suggest showing up at O'Sullivan's about a half an hour less hungry than you think you are. That's complicated math, but trust me, it's worth figuring out. You're going to wait, and it's worth it. So, sit down and relax, pally.
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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.
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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 lemons, September 20, 2007 at 4:30 PM
Editor's note: A short time ago, Serious Eater Lemons contacted me about contributing some burger intel to A Hamburger Today/Serious Eats. "Sure thing!" I said. Here's the result. For more on St. Louis–area food, check out Lemons's blog: St. Louis Eats and Drinks. Enjoy! —Adam
The secret at Carl’s Drive Inn is speed. Owner Frank Cunetto knows his burgers are at their best fresh off the grill. These flat-grilled babies, available as singles, doubles or triples, arrive crisp around the edges and dressed to order. (Doubles offer the perfect ratio of meat to bun, I’d say.)
Cunetto is a stickler for how much fat and moisture is in his meat, and in the infrequent times he’s not manning the grill is happy to tell you why. He also makes his own root beer, which arrives, of course, in frosty mugs.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 10, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Update: Word is the bun has changed. I'm heading in later today to try it with the new bun. If this is true, Stand could well rank in my top 10 burger list. 1/19/2008
STAND
Address: 24 East 12th Street, New York NY 10003
Phone: 212-488-5900
URL: standburger.com
The Short Order: It coulda been a contender, but its gnarly baguette-tough bun inspires a new piece of burger phraseology here at AHT: The Backslider
Want Fries with That? Beats me. They look great in Bruni's post on the place, but I had the onion rings, which were rockin'.
Stand, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of Slice
These photos are from Stand on East 12th Street and University Place near Union Square in New York. I finally went today for the first time.*
To many New Yorkers, and certainly to foodbloggers, this burger is old news. I know it. Mea culpa. Stand opened ages ago. But, somehow, earlier this year, I lost my burger-blogging mojo.
I think I have it back. But not because of this burger.
Sure, it was good. I'll give it that.
Seven ounces of great-tasting, beefy flavored meat. Nice interplay of Dijon, red onion, and sweet homemade ketchup. And the lettuce, tomato, sliced pickle were certainly fresh enough.
Moreover, you couldn't ask for a more beautiful-looking meal—the large photos above are two of the best burger photos I've ever taken.
But this burger's bun is UNFORGIVABLE.
The baguette-like conveyance that sandwiches the meat, cheese, and toppings is far too chewy. As with the worst overstuffed deli sandwiches, burger & co. squirt out the back end when you apply the tooth pressure required to bite through this gnarly bun.
From this day forward, and unless and until I can think of something better, all such burgers marked by this nasty trait will be known as "backsliders."
It's a shame, too, because this could be a great burger given a new bun.
* This is a damn shame because, according to Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky, I missed this burger when it was a 70-30 mixture of beef-to-fat. Dammit!
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 28, 2007 at 3:30 PM
This creation from Boston's Lower Depths Tap Room sounds ingenious:
The prospect of discovering the ultimate bacon cheeseburger is what first piqued my interest: beyond being topped with maple-smoked bacon, the steakhouse’s eight ounces of Angus chuck are actually mixed with bacon grease prior to cooking. The first thing you’ll notice, though, is the strong flavor of fresh garlic that’s also used to season the beef. Next come the combined tastes of mango salsa and habanero aïoli, which balance the garlic and charred beef with a striking mix of sweetness and heat. (Memo to UBurger: the Lower Depths really cooks burgers to order, and my medium-rare request produced a crisp exterior and a juicy, admirably pink heart.)
You had me at infused bacon grease. But what's with the garlic and the mango salsa aïoli? Gilding the lily, says me.
The Lower Depths Tap Room's Steakhouse Burger [Boston Phoenix]
Posted by Adam Kuban, February 22, 2007 at 4:26 PM
Yesterday I showed you a series of photos, taken by my friend Listmaker, of my friend Marc as Marc had his first couple bites of the exotic Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger at an independent league baseball game last year. At the time the photos were taken, I told him, "Marc: I want a write-up of your experience for AHT. Stat!" Well, it only took seven months, but I guess yesterday's post was all the kick in the pants he needed.
Today, he responds: "You've gone and posted my mug all over your hamburger website. That means I finally looked over the draft of the Grizzlie Burger review. I fixed it up a bit. Sorry I didn't send this to you last summer!"
No problem, Marc. The important thing is that we have your story now, to warm our hearts on a cold winter day. Burgermeisters, dig in!
Also, Listmaker wanted to draw attention to the fact that there's more KK Bacon Cheeseburger action here, if you're interested.—The Mgmt.
Photographs by Listmaker
In March of last year, A Hamburger Today referenced a press release from the Gateway Grizzlies, an independent league baseball team from Sauget, Illinois. The team had created the Grizzlie Burger (known elsewhere as the Luther Burger). I couldn't help but refer to it as "that Krispy Kreme burger." It's a bacon cheeseburger served on a glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut instead of a traditional bun.
Later, in summer of last year, a friend and I took a baseball road trip through the Midwest. When I realized the Gateway Grizzlies played a few miles southeast of the Saint Louis Cardinals, one of the teams we'd included on our trek, I insisted that GCS Ballpark be included on the itinerary. It soon became the one destination that couldn't be altered. On the evening of Sunday, July 2, 2006, Listmaker and I walked into the Grizzlies' stadium at the start of the second inning—thankfully not too late to try the burger I hadn't stopped talking about during the previous month. [He really was talking about this burger a lot at the time.—Ed.]
I'd visited my parents.
Me: A friend and I are going on a baseball trip to major, minor, and independent league games, and we're going to...
Mom (interrupting): "Are you going to try that hamburger I saw on the news? The one with the Krispy Kreme bun?"
Me: "Of course! You heard about that? Wow!"
I'd asked for time off at work.
Me: I'm going to try a bacon cheeseburger with a sliced-open Krispy Kreme doughnut serving as the bun.
Co-worker (visibly disturbed at the thought): Eww, gross. Wait: You don't eat cheeseburgers.
Me: I know. I might make an exception. Or, maybe they'll serve it without cheese. I hope they serve it without cheese. [Marc likes cheese, and he likes burgers. He doesn't like cheese on his burgers, however. Go figure. —Ed.]
Basically, I had mentioned this burger to everyone I knew. It's a food item you can't resist talking about. How is it prepared? What does it taste like? Beef and sugar? Together? Is that sane? Is that possible?
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 26, 2006 at 4:54 PM
BLT BURGER
Address: 470 Sixth Ave., New York NY 10001 [map]
Getting There: F/V trains to 14th Street
Cost: $7 for burger with lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles; cheese, ¢50 extra; cash and credit accepted
Short Order: A respectable fast-food style burger; beefy flavor, pleasantly salty taste
You Want Fries With That? Beats me. They offer hand-cut fries made from I
