nycburgerblog

NYC Bugerblog is sooo web 2.0

2009-06-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

Ok so a new project is on the way.... looking for a July Launch.

Its called 2minutelunch

Here is a very very very rough preview. I threw it together with my sony digital camera and I-Movie. The real thing will be much smoother and feature cooler places.

Looking to showcase the best in NYC gems....those unique places that written reviews just simply can't do justice

Check it out

Pop Burgers On Your Cell Phone

2008-06-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Pop Burger is now accepting cell phone based coupons at both locations. (14 e. 58th st and 60 9th Ave) They have 3 coupons available: a free order of fries with a lunch entree, a free order of burgers with $10 lunch purchase and or a free 3 burger order with any specialty drink purchase in the lounge.

The coupons are available at www.8coupons.com and can either be printed or text messaged to a phone. To redeem you just show your phone to the cashier.

The direct link for the Pop Burger coupons is http://www.8coupons.com/search/discount/333333363331-Pop-Burger.htm#10768

Redskins Draft Johnny Rockets

2007-02-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

In his goal to continue owning every cool thing possible, Daniel Snyder, has just bought the Johnny Rockets Burger Chain. Snyder already owns the most profitable football team in the league, The Washington Redskins, and not too long ago purchased Six Flags Theme Parks.
Well now the guy also owns Johnny Rockets and he plans to introduce an additional store format to help bring the store count from a little over 200 upto 1000 in the next few years. The current stores offer awesome burgers in a cheesy 50’s malt shoppe singing counter help atmosphere. Snyder plans to build smaller less lame versions of the store that serve only the staples. Should be a freaking home run. Please build one next to my apt.

For those of you that have never tried Johnny Rockets I strongly suggest you go check them out. There is one in the city…42 e. 8th street.

More info

Special thanks to Sam Park for the heads up.

Blue 9 adds some burgers

2006-12-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

So in In-N-Out style Blue 9 Burger has made some changes to their menu. In what may have started out as a hidden menu that just never caught on are 3 new burger options.

For an extra 50 cents you can upgrade to any of the following

Medieval Style: grilled mustard, grilled onions, extra lettuce, pickles, and sauce on both buns. Seems a lot like animal style to me….I don’t really do mustard on burgers so I didn’t try this one.

Mango Infusion Style: Grilled mango-chili sauce, lettuce, tomato, mango-chilli sauce (either a type-o on the sign or they just give it to you hot and cold) I decided not to try this one. They give out the mango sauce for free to put on the fries so I didn’t see any reason to pay extra for it.

Fire Cracker Style: Grilled chili sauce, lettuce, tomato. and chili sauce. This one seemed the best of the three so I gave it a shot.

The burger it self was a little lacking…not as good as Blue 9 normally does it. The lettuce was wilted and they gave me a thin slice of the end of the tomato. I hope the place isn’t going down hill.
The sauce on the other hand totally made up for it. I am not the type of person who eats jalapenos raw for fun, but I would also say that I can do a good job of taking spice The burger defiantly had more kick then I was expecting. It might be too hot for some but I thought it was just right. The sauce added a great taste to the burger as well, not just heat.
If you’re a fan of burgers and spice I would def give it a try. If you have never been to Blue 9 Burger I would recommend just getting the original for starters, I would also tell you to leave your apt a little more often…if you love burgers and live in ny you really should have tried Blue 9 already.

Metro Cafe and Wine Bar

2006-09-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

Metro Café and Wine Bar.
32 East 21st Street (between Park and Bway)

Ok so the last two burgers I wrote about were awfull. No help what so ever in giving you ideas on what to eat. Its about time for a real jem. I think I will even award this placewith the title of

“Best Date Burger Place”

(I think that is the first offical title ever given out by this blog)
No they don’t have some huge burger to eat lady and the tramp style (hmm could be interesting…very messy though), but they do have a great burger, good ambiance, good service, and a huge wine selection.

It is called Metro Café and Wine Bar so the fact that they have a lot of wine shouldn’t really be a surprise. I did like how they had over 100 wines by the glass to choose from as well as little sampler flights. This city is full of good wines bars though, if it wasn’t for the fact that this bar had a dam good burger I wouldn’t be writing about it.
Metro had quite a few burgers to choose from. Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Veggie, and American Style Kobe Beef. Many places today falsly label Kobe Burges. Kobe Beef is like Champagne. Just any wine with bubbles isn’t necessary Champagne. Real Kobe Beef is also not legal in the US, so ether that place is not telling the truth or they are just breaking the law.
I decided to go with the Kobe Style Burger. The burger that arrived was massive. With a whopping 9oz of beef you would think after four bites this burger would be all over the plate, the table, my lap, the floor; a recipe for disaster on any date.

In a true feat of culinary architecture the burger stayed in tact for the whole meal. The patty was very firm and well packed. Most burgers this size split apart when lifted. The glazed bun also helped reduce slop potential but not becoming overly soggy mid meal. The only thing falling to the plate was all the juice from the burger (lots and lots of it).
The Beef tasted great, and with the generous heap of grilled onions and all the sides I was def. stuffed after eating. I am not sure if the Kobe Style is really any better than the standard burger it might be a way to just make a few extra bucks.
This is a place that I am sure I will come back to so I will have to go with the less expensive version next time and write an update.
The burger wasn’t the only star of the meal. My pickle would probably have been Second Ave Deli worthy, the Cole Slaw, also great, though maybe a tad sweet for some of you sourpuss’s. The Fries were fantastic. About 3x as thick as the ones McDonalds serves and they had a slight crusty-ness to them.
The meal might get a little pricey if your burger coma prevents you from leaving and you decide to stay and order wine after wine by the glass, but all and all that wont be a bad use of your money or an evening.

The web page also has a 10% off coupon (click here for it).

Type: kinda classy, date burger, thick burger
Price: Kobe Style Burger, fries, slaw, coke and tip was a little under 20 (non-kobe style was a few bucks less expensive)
Recommended?-Yes for sure. Stay for an hour or two.

Links to other reviews of Metro Cafe and Wine Bar:
Citysearch

HELP FIGHT CANCER BY DRINKING AT HOME

2006-09-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

So as some of you know my 4th anniversary of overcoming Hodgkin’s disease has recently passed. Coincidently my friend Michelle just happens to currently be participating in a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Since I would not be alive if it wasn’t for the work of this organization and others like it I have made a donation and I am asking you all to please do the same.
This weekend before you go out and party I would like you to drink 2 drinks in your apartments. It would be nice if you would then “say this is for (insert my name or anybody else you want to think of)”
Now with that 20 dollars you just saved by not paying for 2 overpriced drinks at whatever bar you are on your way to can instead be sent to do good by clicking on this link.

Click Here

Please feel free to take more than 2 shots. If you are really totally broke then at least send this to a bunch of people.

I don’t meant to try and guilt trip you all. Just think of it from a pure business standpoint. The money you save = The money you donate. You come out the same (plus even a tax write off)

Thanks a bunch,
Steve

BAMN!

2006-09-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

BAMN!
St. Marks btw 2nd and 3rd.
www.bamnfood.com

NYU STUDENTS NOW MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN CLEAN LAUNDRY OR COIN OP MUNCHIES

The concept seemed a tad scary and interesting all at once. A restaurant that sells the majority of its food via self serve vending machines. Open “25 hours” the sign reads.Its all junk food all the time. The machines were filled with the usual bowling alley/pool club snack bar chow. Anything you could imagine deep fried and then stuck under a heat lamp.
Aside from typical finger food such as mozzarella sticks, corndogs, chicken wings, and french fries, they also had some interesting concoctions such as mac and cheese croquettes , fried PB&J and something made out of spam. For the low price of 10 quarters you could also get a hamburger.
I had zero expectations as approached the machine. All burgers sold out…hmm that means I would get a fresh one from the short order cook…expectations went up slightly. It took a good 5 min for them to make my burger, about the same time as it would at Blue 9. I started to get a little excited. I even ordered two. One teriyaki style and one regular.

Finally the two burgers came. They looked ok. Decent size, esp for the price. Big fluffy buns, real lettuce and tomato. Unfortunately The first bite of the regular burger had me wishing I had just tried the deep fried mac n’ cheese. The burger was dry and tasteless. The teriyaki burger was slightly better but I didn’t really even want to finish either.
To be fair this really isn’t even a burger place. In other visits I had tried some of the other stuff and it wasn’t too bad. It’s a quarky little place (though not as good as the late NY Milk Shake CO.) that is a nice addition to the world famous St. Mark’s junk food row.

Type: Vend-o-burger
Price: Cheep
Recomend: No, not for the burger.

Links to other reviews of BAMN!
Citysearch
A Hamburger Today

BUBBA BURGER--LET'S GO (get a new brand) METS

2006-09-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Bubba Burger- Shea Stadium

So the official hamburger of Shea Stadium and my beloved Mets is the Bubba Burger. Whats a Bubba Burger? Well its not really as good as it sounds. Bubba’s is a new (or at least to me) brand of frozen supermarket patties. Now the fact that Shea stadium is using frozen patties should be no surprise. They have to make hundreds of these…and quickly. For years the building has been serving them and now somebody finally had the good idea to charge a company extra money for the rights to be “The Official Burger of The New York Mets”. I mean do what you have to do in order to get pricey players like Pedro and fellow M.O.T Green!
So now for the Burgers. As far as foil wrapped burgers go the bun was not too mooshey and this was probably the thickest self serve burger I have ever had. The problem was that with the added thickness it just ment their was more of THE WORST FOIL WRAPPED BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!!!! Ouch that hurt so much to say. Mets I love you. Do what you have to do to sigh big name players…put ads on the toilet paper, put a billboard up everywhere…just give up on Buba! At least throw on some lettuce and tomatoes!
So yes that hurt, stick to hot dogs Mets fans.

Type: Foil wrapped crap
Price: not worth a single penny
Recommend: No…but LET’S GO METS!!!!!!

New York Mag's Pissy Top 5

2006-08-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here is New York's Top 5 Burger list

1) Shake Shack (ok might not be everybodys fav but I dont think many people would argue that it isn't one of the top burgers in ny)

2) Blue Smoke (havent had it..did try to go this week but the 2 hr wait kinda made me change plans. It reminds me of the "Art Burger" which is my all time fav burger...Ill write about it later)

3)Burger Joint (not The burger Joint..duh. This is probably many ny'rs number 1. I love it. I have no problem with it on the top 5. I would put it above the Shack)

4) Donovan's Pub (we will come back to this one)

5) Schnack (I want to say this is on only here to please the hipster kids but to be honest I have never been. I do love those sliders though)

So now back to #4..... This is the one that really makes me upset. Time Out NY gave it the #1 spot, NY gives it #4. I didnt even feel like putting it in the blog after I went 7 mo ago! To me the burger was nothing at all special. Yes it was a big thing of meat, yes it had a nice bun and fresh veggies but that was it. Nothing special, no great tase to the meat, nothing to make it stand out. Just a slightly above average burger! In my table of 3 not a single person was impressed. Plus its all the way out in Queens Def not worth the trip. Yeah it looks kinda cool inside but its just a foodie tourist trap if you ask me.

I do however give the magazine props for doing a flat out top 5. Much better than the cop out the village voice did for best burger. Burger list aside how can you not pick up a copy of New York with the feature story "The 101 Best Cheap Eats" Its a great eating todo list for the rest of the year.

Corner Bistro

2006-07-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Corner Bistro
331 west 4th St.

I think 95% of all reviews of corner bistro go something like this….

"My burger was awesome! You need to come here!!!!! It was so good and didn’t cost much!! You can get bacon and its good bacon! What a cute little old world new york dive-y spot!!! My burger came on a paper plate and it was sooo jucy I made a mess!!!! (now the kicker…a re-hash of the same napkin joke) I wish my waiter had broght me more burgers and more napkins lol (tee hee tee hee...yes that was a lil' Jimmy laugh)"

For the most part everybody is right and I agree with those 70000 reviews. Although now they seem to just leave a huge stack of napkins at the table so you wont be running out.

The other reviews are just haters that work for other burger places or annoying burger hipsters who want to look cool by saying they don’t like the iconic stop (Donavans pub is far and not that good so shuuuut up haha). I mean this place doesnt have to be your number one, but to say you dont like it....come on. Its good beef and a bun what could go wrong?

So whats the deal? Is this gonna be your fav burger in nyc?

It was big and might be hard for some people to manage without getting it all over. Its not anywhere near as bad trying to eat at Jackson Hole. But some people might find it having too much meat but with all the problems in the world Id say life could def be worse..

They don’t do 45 different burgers but what they do do ,they do well. They forgot to(or were not willing to) grill my onions (bastards). But that might not be an issue for everybody and it wasn’t thaaat big a deal I guess and who needs to choose from 9 different toppings anyway as long as you have the essentials and the lettuce and tomato were all top notch…very important in my book.
I kinda thought the fries stunk. They were like mcdonalds but skinner. Just not my style, but if your all about the thinner more greesey fries well good for you.
I wish I had gotten my burger medium rare instead of medium. The meat was a little try, that was very confusing for me since it was so drippy. It was def wet but tasted dry…A total paradox if you must. I actually lost sleep over this for about 6 min. This sort of thing happens sometimes on grill cooking and in space I suppose.
My miss-order as far as temp goes wasn’t enough to make me say I disliked my burger. It was great, I still loved it. I came starving and I left full and satisfied. Didn’t cost much either.
If you like big-ass burgers this is a must try. It will be one of your favs. (me I like burger joint better but who am I?)

Disclaimer: I totally stole the outside picture from the CB web page. I normally don’t do that sort of thing but it was really pouring out and I couldn’t snap a shot.
http://cornerbistro.citysearch.com/

Type: Big Ass burger in an old nyc pub
Price: Cheep
Recommended: yup

The Burger Joint (not Burger Joint)

2006-07-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Burger Joint (not Burger Joint)
241 3rd Ave (at 20th st)

You can never have enough mini burgers….(well no that’s not really true I find bad things start to happen when I reach the 5 burger mark) Anyway while I do stop by from time to time I have always had a thing against The Burger Joint for the simple reason that it tends to get mixed up with the far superior “Burger Joint” (shouldn’t the better place get the word “the” !?!? )

Anyway I checked out the Gramercy outpost. Its always packed with rookie cops from the police academy which is sometimes a downer if you choose to make it a drunk food stop and all of a sudden find your self having to behave.

The place is kinda cute. They have the old milk shoppe soda fountain style stools and counters overlooking the open grill. They serve RC and some other syrup added mixtures just incase you have a craving for choc cola or whatever…..
The burgers are small and come cooked to order on thick golden potato buns. I wouldn’t really classify this as a slider, they are more like mini burgers (huh?!?!) Ok to me it seems that sliders are thinner slices of beef with larger fluffy buns that tend to soak up the extra moisture from the burger and get mooshey as a result. Examples : sassys, white castle…They don’t really taste or feel like regular sized burgers (kinda like how mini corn doesn’t taste like big corn) Mini hamburgers are the same as regular hamburgers bite for bite, they just make your hands look bigger (like buffalo wings, mini carrots, or animal crackers)
The Burgers here are nothing special, especially if you don’t give extra points for mini size. Not on Pop Burger’s level by any means. They also don’t come with lettuce, tomato or onions, which annoyed me.

If your in the area, or have a cop fetish, maybe buy one. Its not like your going to use up too much stomach real estate or cash trying one. If your making a list of must try burgers id say save your time.

Type: Mini Blah Burger
Price: Cheep
Recommend: Nopers

Almost back home

2006-06-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hello From Israel Everybody!

I have been here for the last few weeks, soon to return. I have been having a great time seeing the whole country...even snuck in a burger or two. I will update when I get back.

Hope All is well in NYC

Rare Bar and Grill

2006-04-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rare Bar and Grill
303 Lexington ave @ 37th
Inside Shelburne Murray Hill

Ok folks, if you’re a fan of the thick and meaty (as opposed to thinner burgers at blue 9 or shake shack) there is a good chance that this could very easily become your new favorite burger in nyc.

The Menu description is as follows:

All our burgers are 100% grade “A” American Chuck beef, ground and freshly prepared daily in our Kitchen. The “Rare” burger is an 8 oz (to me it seemed even bigger) juicy delight served on a homemade sweet toasted bun with a lower east side “Gus’s” pickle lettuce, tomato and onion.

I tried the Rare Classic. It was an enormous burger at the not too steep price of 8.50. Cooked Medium with some grilled onions thrown on top it was juicy and delicious.
Their was some dripping which I successfully managed to keep on the plate, yet the burger and bun surprisingly remained intact for the whole meal. Often with huge fresh burgers the bottom half of the bun completely gives out…but not at Rare. I give them extra points for that.
Rare also earned some extra points for offering 3 different types of fries. Shoe string, Sweet Potato shoe string and cottage style (waffle) are all options. I tried the Cottage and Sweet Potato. Both were very good, and one order is probably big enough to share. I didn’t realize until after I had left that they also offer all three together in a sampler.
For those that like their burgers with some extra toppings Rare also offers add on such as Apple Smoked Bacon, Fried Egg, Sautéed Mushrooms, Grilled Onions, Grilled Portobello and Canadian Bacon. If your looking to go fancy you can even add Truffle Butter or Foie Gras at 5 bucks a pop.
A variety of cheese is also available including a special cheeseburger of the week selected by the folks at Murray’s Cheese Shop.
I am also under the impression that they have a roof deck serving the same menu opening up in May. Looks like a perfect summer day in the making.

Type: Think and juicy
Price $8.50 burger $10 for fries big enough to split.
Recommend?- By all means put this one on your to-do list.

Sorry folks closed for passover

2006-04-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

To quote Caddyshack....
"A flute without holes, is not a flute. A donut without a hole, is a Danish" -Ty Webb

On that note a Burger without a bun is....salsbury steak aka crap-o-la haha.

See you all in a week or so.

SHAKE SHACK

2006-03-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Shake Shack
Inside Madison Square Park
@ Madison ave and 23rd
(though line will probably be near Bway)

It’s a great day in NYC. Its Friday, the temp is currently 68, The DeLaVega fish are out, and of course Shake Shack is open!!!
Having the day off it only took me a few min to realize where I needed to go for lunch. I sent out some emails to put together a lunch crew and by 11:20 I was off to Madison Square Park.
At 11:35 the line was not too bad. It looked like a 30-40 min wait. I was expecting much worse. It was nice out, I had my dog and I didn’t mind waiting. 25 min later the line had tripled in size. Around 12:15 I was ready to order and my friends were on the way. After letting a few people cut the group arrived and it was time to order.
I went with the Shack Burger without cheese, the Chicago Dog, fries, an Arnold Palmer, and A Brooklyn Larger…yes it was a lot of food but this is cause for celebration. Before I get into the burger I want to bring attention to the Chicago Dog. I am not from Chicago, and I have only been 3 or 4 times but I am a huge fan of the Chicago Style dog and all its toppings. Unfortunately I have not found many (any) in nyc Here is the description from the menu:

”Vienna all-beef dog on a poppy seed bun. Drag it through the garden! Topped with lettuce, tomato, sport peppers,green peppers, pickles, onion, neon relish, cucumber,celery salt and mustard”

Of course the dog was great. It was all over the place. While places like criff dogs and F&G (is that what its called?) sell crazy hot dogs all of them leave out the large poppy bun!!! The bun is very necessary for a well topped dog…anything else just falls apart.

Ok and now on to the burger… I am sorry that my review will suck for 2 reasons.

1) I ate the burger too fast to even think about it
2) It doesn’t matter what I say because you will go anyway and love it!!!!

Ok anyway… The burger was better than I had remembered. Unfortunately it was still just as small but whatever get two and suck it up. Lettuce tomato special sauce great beef soft yellow bun what a combo…somebody tell New York Burger co its not worth opening up for the next few mo.
You can see from the picture that they could have maybe thrown on some more special sauce after grilling ..that looks like just mayo but still it was great...Grilled onions would have helped too.

The Big Question…is it worth an hour and a half of your time. I was asked that question like 4 times by people passing by and here is the short answer…MAYBE… haha what a cop out.
The burger is great, can you find a better burger with a shorter line…probably esp if you know a word that rhymes with “urger oint”. Would I wait an hour and a half to just get the burger and run it back to my office to sit at my desk to eat..No. If it was a nice day like today and I had time to wait 90 min to order and then another 45 to sit outside in the sun, eat my burger and drink a beer or 3…yes by all means not much could possible be better.

So go…but don’t go half ass. Go make a day of it, bring a book, some friends, sit out in the sun, eat like a pig and get a little tipsy…its not here all year ya know.

Type: slow fast food…outdoor eating Mecca
Price: Not bad at all
Recommend: YES YES YES

P.S Opie loved the scraps

Girls......

2006-03-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

My attepmt to hang out with a westchester friend....

Girl (10:51:16 AM): I dont' know if I want a movie too
Girl (10:51:20 AM): I mean we might not make it
Girl (10:51:24 AM): if we just get dinner
ME (10:51:36 AM): maybe we can eat at the pallisades
ME (10:51:39 AM): and see a movie there
Girl (10:51:43 AM): ? no
ME (10:51:45 AM): they have fatburger
Girl (10:51:46 AM): that is too far
ME (10:51:50 AM): ill drive you
Girl (10:51:52 AM): I"m not eating fatburger
Girl (10:51:55 AM): forget it
ME (10:51:55 AM): haha fine
Girl (10:51:57 AM): no plans tonight'
Girl (10:51:59 AM): cancelled
ME (10:52:00 AM): what
ME (10:52:02 AM): !
Girl (10:52:03 AM): you are like college boy
ME (10:52:11 AM): have you ever been to fatburger
Girl (10:52:19 AM): I ask you to go out for dinner w/ me and you say you want fatburger
ME (10:52:20 AM): the one in the pallisades is the first one this side of LA
Girl (10:52:21 AM): I can't deal
Girl (10:52:28 AM): I have to go
ME (10:52:32 AM): ugh!!!!!!!

SIGH oh well

New York Burger Co.

2006-03-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK BURGER CO
303 Park Ave South (btw 23rd and 24th …yes one block away from Shake Shack)

Welcome to Gramercy’s other burger place. New York Burger Co. was the number one NYC Burger for 2005 according to AOL CityGuide but is it any good? While the menu offered 9 different burgers I kept it simple and went with the 6oz burger served with plum tomatoes, romaine, lettuce, and a brioche bun. Apparently the beef was “Charcoal Grilled” but I didn’t taste it…I mean I guess even Burger King is “Flame Broiled” so no big woop.
My burger ordered medium was a little dry, not as juicy as I would have liked. The size was right but in general the burger itself was nothing special. Better than at a diner but not one of NYC’s Elite.
I was a fan of the variety of sauces the joint offered. Chili Ketchup, A Maple Dijon sauce, 1000 island, Chipotle Honey, BBQ, and the NY Burger Co Special Sauce. I added a dip of this sauce with each bite to cheer up the otherwise only slightly better than average burger.
NYBC also served up fresh cut Idaho Fries cooked in 100% soybean oil. Apparently that is healthy or something…though if you’re worried about that sort of thing why bother at all. I liked the fries; they were thick and a little soggy…probably not for everybody though.
I might be tempted to try one of the more fancy specialty burgers at some point…they did look good. GQ Magazine also rates the onion rings here as the best in nyc…but I think they also say you can get rock hard abs in 4 weeks so who knows.

While the burger wasn’t bad I see no reason go here when you could just walk one more block over to shake shack.

Type: Slower fast food
Price: Burger Fries Drink 8.75
Recommend: No. Go to Shake Shack even if they have a line / don’t open for a few weeks

Burke in the Box

2006-03-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Burke in the Box
150 E. 59th st (inside Bloomindales)

So what’s a guy todo?…for whatever reason you agree to go shopping at Bloomindales with a friend of yours and after 2 hours of “no your ass doesn’t look fat in those jeans” you are about to go nuts. Well I say you have earned a treat even if a burger fries and a coke will set you back over 15 bucks. Welcome to Burke in the Box, the city’s latest entry in the mini burger market, located inside Bloomindales.
The total amount of food is not much different then Pop Burger…3 tiny burgers vs pop burger's 2 slightly bigger ones. If you are really really hungry you might not be full afterwards and unfortunately you cant just order one extra burger like you would be able to do at Sassys or White Castle. It’s a shame I know.
So the burgers….the beef patties resemble little meatballs and the inside even had a little pink! Something you don’t see too often in mini burgers. The beef was covered with some sprinkle of rub or seasoning that I didn’t really care for or have the ability to recognize ( I tried using the very complicated Bergermelier technique of holding the beef at a 90 degree angle while licking it…but no luck, only that crazy guy look from the people around me)….anyway a squirt of Heinz 57 fixes all.

In my mind the highlight of the burger was the bun it was served on. In order to create the patty caddie I think Burke had to mate a KFC Biscuit with an English Muffin. It was buttery and crusty and full of nooks and crannies.
The fixins fell short of my expectations. On top of the beef was a pickle slice or two and that was it. Speared on the outside of the bun was a cherry tomato. While this made the burger look rather fancy smancy it was a pain to eat. Simply moving the tomato to the inside of the burger just made a mess…ketchup all over my ipod. I tried to smoosh the tomato before it went on the burger. That helped a little but I wish they just used a slice of tomato instead.
Overall I enjoyed the burger. If you’re in Bloomindales by all means try one at least once. The meal wasn’t cheep…but then again not much in the store is.

Price:16ish burger fries drink

Type: Fancy Food Court / mini burger

Recomended: If you see no difference in paying 8 or 16 for a burger meal go for it. Otherwise stick to pop burger.

Thats a BFB

2006-02-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Check out this burger fromDenny's Beer Barrel Pub down in PA

Dam thats big....Click here for Dennys Beer Barrel Pubs's web page

Dont Be A Fool Go To Burger School

2006-02-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

The NYU school of Continuing Education (voted #1 school to advertise on NYC subways by US News and World Reports if I remember correctly) Will be holding a burger class next month with Burger expert George Motz, filmmaker behind “Hamburger America”.
The Class will include a filming of the movie, Q&A, and burger tasting.

Hamburger Heaven Wed March 1st 6:30-8pm
click that link or call (212) 988 7200 to sign up

Roll n Roaster

2006-02-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Roll n Roast
3rd ave and 11th st.
(212) 64-beef

I guess most people think of this place as an Arby’s style roast beef place and therefore avoid it. They seem to have every type of junk food possible here … fish and chips, pizza, chicken wings, fried shrimp, chicken breast sandwich, apple pie and of course burgers.
Before trying the burger today I had come a few times for the Corn Fritters. To my knowledge this is the only place In nyc that sells them and I would easily call the ones at Roll n Roast one of the top 10 fried foods in NYC, From what I make it these are nuggets of cream corn somehow stuck together and deep fried with some sort of nugget crust. They are AWSOME!!!
Ok so onto the burger. They are all cooked fresh to order (and welldoneness preference) so expect to wait 5-8 min. The patty comes out wide, thin and very greasy. Not greasy in a bad way though, its so flavorfull and oh and once it hits your lips, its so good.

They also picked the perfect bun to go along with the grease. Its almost crusty pastry like. If you have ever had an egg and cheese on a thick croissant toasted. The egg grease makes part of the pastry soggy but on the outside the crust still holds and gives you a flaky crunch but it all sort of molds into one filo doughish treat….. I mean that’s what id call it though you probably have no clue what I am talking about.
Ok so what else about this place….uhm its dirt cheep! For starters you can get a burger fries and a soda for 4.95!!!! OK OK here is the kicker pitchers of Bud light for $3.95…that’s right an entire pitcher for less than the price of a single beer at many other bars in the area.

This place is great. If you don’t think you can handle the greasy burger at least come to try the corn fritters.

Type: fast food n booze
Price: dirt cheep
Recommend: Def

Fanelli's Cafe

2006-02-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Fanelli’s Café
94 Prince Street @ Mercer

I had been meaning to head to this place ever since it graced the cover of Time Out NY’s 100 best burger issue. It just looked so big and tasty. Such a sexy bun, such firm tomatoes, The mag also ranked it as the 7th best burger in the city so I was certainly expecting a dam good burger.
The old time booze hall style Fanelli’s Café is not what you might expect to find in SoHo, but then again the rent was probably a little less back in 1847.
So how about the burger? Pub style thick hunk of fresh meat. Good fresh veggies, crisp pickle but the interesting twist is the large onion bun that they serve it on (funny… the term bunion never caught on). It was a nice touch, added some flava, even for somebody like me who isn’t really even a big fan of the O-bun.

The other reviews I had checked all described this burger as a dripper. Unfortunately my burger, ordered medium rare, was actually on the dry side. Now perhaps it was an off day but I didn’t get a single drip of burger blood. I was rather disappointed to tell you the truth all of the other Time Out 10 members I had tried had all been great. This burger just seemed like an above average pub patty.
On a side note, the fries tasted great. Skinny but fresh cut tasting and they came at no extra charge while other pub buger joints such as JG and PJ charge.

If you have had a different experience post a comment… I know some people love this place. It just didn’t stand out to me.

Type: Pub Burger
Price: burger fries coke tip 14
Recommended: Perhaps it was just a bad day, but I wouldn’t call this a must eat.

You know shes a keeper.....

2006-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

So a White Castle in Cincinnati OH is having thier annual Valentines day Dinner. Decorations and Dinner by candle light included....

I can hear the ladies now: "aww you shouldn't have... no I mean really you are so not getting any"

THE PUMP energy food

2006-01-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

The PUMP- energy food
Mult locations including 113 east 31st (and lex)

This place came highly recommended by a lot of girls I know. Its not really a burger spot, however the burger pita looked interesting so I gave it a shot.
The menu (www.menupages.com) lists it as a “Lean Steak Burger: A lean 6oz steak burger” as with the other pitas it was to be served with romaine lettuce, cucumbers, and onions stuffed into a whole-wheat pita.
Looking over the description the whole burger in a pita concept didn’t thrill me much…I just flashed back to every time I order falafel and have at least one or two balls roll onto my lap. The 6oz of quality steak sounded good so I went ahead and ordered.
When my burger/pita arrived I was actually surprised at how much I liked having the pita. Whatever brand of pita they used managed to do a great job holding in everything…significantly better than even a hamburger bun would do. Not messey at all. The Pita Pocket also allowed for an extra amount of veggies/salad to be stuffed in which was nice.
The downer of the meal was the “steak” itself. I suppose steak doesn’t guarantee any sort of quality…I mean steak-ums are steak. With the high quality image of this place I was expecting more than the frozen supermarket brand tasting beef patty that was delivered to me.

Overall I don’t recommend the burger. Pump has some great items but this is not one of them.

Price: 6 beans
Type: Health Nut
Recommend: Burger no, other pitas are very good though.

Sassy's Sliders

2006-01-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

Sassy's Sliders
1530 Third Ave (and 86th)
(212) 828 6900

Who are these people that live on the UES but have never been to Sassy’s? I just don’t get you. Its on 86th and 3rd right next to Papaya King. What is Sassy’s? It’s White Castle, but better. They use much higher quality meat then White Castle but only charge a little more per burger. Unlike Pop Burger, which I would describe as a regular hamburger just smaller, Sassy’s sells sliders.
Like most sliders the soft and puffy bun makes up about 75% of the burger. The burger juice and steam makes the bun slightly soggy or evey doughey. Toppings here include grilled unions and a pickle slice and of course you can also get cheese. At a Buck O’ Nine most people pick up at least 4.
One of my favorite things about this place is the ability to mix it up. If you order a combo you don’t have to get all the same sliders. Along with beef (very good) they also sell bite size Chicken Parm (never had) Turkey (nothing special) Veggie (I didn’t like it but I think veggie burgers are junk in general) and BBQ pulled chicken (worth trying)
In addition to the burgers Sassy’s also sells 4 types of fresh cut fries (at least I think they are) Regular, Cajun, Garlic, and my fav Sweet Potato (worth the trip alone).
So to wrap it up…if you even slightly like White Castle you will love Sassy’s. If you hate White Castle you might not love the burgers but you should at least check out the Sweet Potato fries and a shake.

Type: Slider
Price: $1.09 each
Recomend: Yeah, hop on the 6 and check it out.

Did you know....?

2006-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Did you know that White Castle was the first burger fast food chain....

They started in 1921 in Wichita Kansas selling burgers for a nickle www.whitecastle.com

Million Dollar Baby

2006-01-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ok so not at all related to Burgers but have you checked out this web page that this highschool kid made in England? In an attempt to raise money for college he decided to create a web page made up of 1,000,000 pixel sized banner ads. He sold them as 10x10 grids first to friends and sure enough he wound up selling almost the whole screen. As of now 999,000 had been sold. The last 1,000 have been put on ebay and are currently selling for over $47,000!!!

http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com

Pop Burger

2006-01-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

Dam ok… Bite for Bite Pop Burger is def one of my favorite burgers in NYC. For 5 bucks you get 2 mini burgers with lettuce and a plum tomato slice. No extra charge for cheese. In fact unless you tell them otherwise they go ahead and just put the cheese on for you.
They Don’t really give you an option on how to get the meat cooked…it all comes mediumish. By that I mean sometimes medium well and sometimes medium rare but mostly just medium. Everything is great and fresh cooked to order. I think I could eat like 8 or so.
I think a lot of people just pass over this place as a novelty… “Oh you mean the mini burger dance club…” but if these puppies where full sized I am sure they would be on most peoples favorite list. The Quality of these burgers is top notch. The size is the only thing they have in common with White Castle (well other than hitting the spot after a night of partying or riding a cheetah across the woods of NJ)
The restaurant it self is also worth a look. The Mullet style set up (business in the front …Party in the rear) has a take out counter / eating area near the entrance that blasts Biggie, Tribe Called Quest and other 90’s Rap. In the rear they have a full blown lounge. DJ, pool, full bar w. cocktail waitresses.
While its not as model clad or posh as some of its neighbors…the last time I checked you couldn’t get a plate of awesome burgers with your Grey Goose bottle at Hiro.

Price: 5 dalla burger burger
Type: Mini but Goodie
Recommend?: Next time you go out in the area be sure to stop off for a late night bite.

City Search top 10

2006-01-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

Ok so you really cant go by everything you see on citysearch considering so many of these reviews are done by friends of the owners etc…. Still the best of burgers list worth a look.

Here is their top 10

1. Burger Joint
2. Schnack
3. Corner Bistro
4. Donvan’s Pub
5. Paul’s Place
6. Blue 9
7. Bonnie’s Grill
8. Good World Bar & Grill
9. Frankie & Johnnie’s
10. Hope & Anchor

I know nothing about 7-10…could be some fake reviewers or who knows maybe they are very good. Top 10’s are sometimes helpful but in the end they just piss everybody off…but that’s all part of the fun.

Blue 9

2006-01-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

Blue 9 Burger flat out is imitation In-N-Out. But not that there is anything wrong with that. Afterall the company refuses to move east (bastards)
On my struggle back home after new years I walked in around 4:10. Not accepting the fact that they were no longer taking orders I offered a 5 dollar tip to get them to restart the grill. Was it worth it? Yes.
So the Blue 9 Burger, like in n out is based on a simple concept. You take a fast food burger, but instead of junk beef you use better beef like from a real cow (what is it that they use at burger king?) Instead of droopy lettuce and smooshy tomatoes you use fresh produce that you actually taste with each bite. They also don’t go overkill by using much too much bun for the amount of beef (like McD’s)
This is a great fast food burger. Even better with the grilled onions. The bun is always better toasted but they never seem to toast it enough even when I ask them to burn it haha.

Its no In-N-Out nor is it the best fast food burger in the city, but it is very good and when your drunk its incredible.

Type: Fast Food Westcoast Burger/In-N-Out ish
Price: Under 10 for burger fries and soda
Recomend: Yup its a staple

J.G. Melon

2006-01-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

So this was my first trip to J.G Melons. It was on a bunch of the so called top 10’s so I figured I should check it out.
The joint had an old school classy pubness to it. The wooden walls were covered with paintings and objects with melon designs on them. The kitchen (a small hut just big enough for the 2 cooks) sat directly opposite the bar leaving the grilling hunks of beautiful beef in full view for everybody to drool at.
The burger itself was great High quality beef. Not too much for the bun to handle. Just the right size and thinkness. I hate that whole "meatloaf with a wimpy bun" style some places try to pass off as burgers. I had herd this was a soak through the bun place but this wasnt really the case...It was a little charred on the outside but not at all dried out on the inside. You can tell that the beef was fresh and packed but at the same time it wasn’t sloppy and falling all over the place. A clean eat. (perhaps a first date place if shes really cool haha)
The burger didn’t come with lettuce or tomato only onions. You might be able to get them but I didn’t ask. For the reviews I go with what the regular burger comes with…no deviation to the chiefs creation.
The JG Melon fries were def original and to me seemed just as worth the trip as the burger. They were about the size and width of a pickle slice. Some a little large are more plump while some were almost potato chip crispy thin.

Service was fine. It was still packed for the early dinner / football crowd.

Overall Highly recommended. The burger was significantly better than average and the fries push J.G Melon over the top…could turn out to be a top 10 but we shall see as more places get reviewed.

Price:under 10
Type: Fatty Patty Pub Style
Recomend: Duh

J.G Melon 1291 Third Ave (3rd and 74th st)