BLT Burgers: Alcoholic milkshakes!!!

What we love: Alcoholic milkshakes!  The beer selection, especially Drew's Pale Ale.  Cupcakes.

What we could live without: The prices.  The contrived roadhouse environment.  Over-battered onion rings.

Burger scale: A-

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

BLT Burger is yet another addition to Laurent Tourendel's ever-growing BLT empire.  Despite it's faux roadhouse diner finish, obnoxiously loud classic rock beats, and the ginormous steer head on the wall (or, because of the ginormous steer head on its wall), this place cranks out burgers that deserve some real street cred.

The burgers come on your standard 8-in-a-pack soft squishy white bread bun.  We opted out of the ridiculously overpriced $16 American Kobe in lieu of the classic burger, which is a combination of sirloin, brisket, chuck and short rib.  The patties were well salted, medium rare with a nice char on the outside.

But, we've had equally good (if not better burgers), before.  What really drew our attention were Dale's Pale Ale, an awesome Co. brew, and the fun alcoholic milkshakes with tongue-in-cheek, names such as Grandma's Treat, The Shocker, and the Night Rider.

Burgers at BLT

On a separate note, one of our very own recently got engaged. Congrats to C on her engagement!

Burger Series 7: BLT Burger

Happy 2008!

The first burger gathering of the year will be at BLT Burger which is yet another addition to Laurent Tourondel's gastro empire. We meet on Thursday, January 24 at 8pm.

By our very accurate calculations, BLT restaurants will outnumber Duane Reade and Starbucks combined by mid-2008.

To get to the restaurant, take the F, V, 1, 2, 3 and get off at 14th St. The restaurant is located at 470 Sixth Avenue btwn 11th & 12th Sts (212-243-8226).

The restaurant does not take reservations and we can't be seated until everyone's present. If you have RSVPed but cannot make it, let us know so we don't wait.

New York Magazine's Where to Eat in 2008

Restaurant critic Adam Platt annual list of the best New York restaurants for 2008. He starts off with a summary of the year in dining, moves on to a list of the best new restaurants, best new up and coming chefs, trends we've seen enough of, the places for the best cocktails, and the restaurants to find the least politically correct dishes.

Happy eating!

read more | digg story

Maxie's Bar & Grill: Sports Bar, anyone?

What we love: The original Angelo and Maxie's. The TVs.

What we could live without: Garlic. The TVs.

Burger scale: B+

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

When Angelo and Maxie announced the launch of a relaxed American style eatery for a younger, more casual crowd, we were intrigued. When they said the menu would be split between "Burgers" or "Not Burgers," we went to check it out.

The burgers at Maxie's Bar and Grill are...fine. They're safe, inoffensive, middle of the road high-er end burgers that could do with a little less garlic, but not so much so that we think it's necessary to make issue of it. (We were able to put the garlic to good use and repel an army of vampires with our morning breath the next day, so all's well that ends well.) However, the burgers definitely aren't worth writing home about. Yet, here we are, writing about them because we said we would.

Burgers at Maxie's Bar Grill

While the burgers left no real impression on us, what was remarkable and memorable about Maxie's Bar and Grill was the sheer number of televisions that the proprietors managed to cram into a single restaurant. The place was chock full of large screen flat-paneled televisions, each one broadcasting a different station, a different sport, a different game. For ADD visual junkies such as ourselves, it was like a slice of attention deficit heaven on Park Ave. Ahh, hockey...CNN...baseball...baskeball...soccer...

Maxie's Bar and Grill isn't as much an American style eatery as it is a place to watch sports. And, if you can pull yourself away from the mesmerizing call of so many flat paneled televisions in a single space, feel free to help yourself to something to eat on the "Burgers"..."Not Burgers"...TV....menu.

Burger Series 6: Maxie's Bar and Grill

Happy ThanksgivingHannukahChristmasKwanzaaNewYear!

Only two more weeks until the end of the year, and the last burger shindig of 2007 will be at Maxie's Bar and Grill on Thursday, December 20th at 8:30pm.

We hope you'll be able to make it! Otherwise, have a great winter holiday season, and we'll see you in 2008.

Maxie's Bar & Grill is a spinoff from Angelo & Maxie's and features a more relaxed atmosphere and casual menu. The restaurant is located at 233 Park Ave South at 19th St.

To get to the restaurant, take the 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W at 14th St.-Union Sq.

If you won't be able to make it but have RSVPed, please let us know so we don't end up waiting for you.

Just Food Regional Summit this Saturday

Good Food Now: Just Food's Regional Summit on Food, Farms, and Community Health at The New School

Saturday, December 1, 8:45 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street Admission: $75 sponsor; $60 basic; $35 student

The nonprofit organization, Just Food, is holding its 2007 meeting on food, farms, and community health in partnership with The New School. This daylong conference increases awareness of food and agricultural policies and looks for solutions to problems pertaining to the regional food system. Featured keynote speaker is Aaron Woolf, maker of the documentary King Corn. Please visit www.justfood.org for more information. Sponsored by Just Food in partnership with Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, the Tishman Environment and Design Center, and The New School for General Studies in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group's 15th Annual Resource Harvest.

Landmark Tavern: Disappointing

What we love: The decor. Landmark Tavern's colorful history. Ghosts.

What we could live without: The over-hyped but mediocre burgers. Forgetful (but friendly) service.

Burger scale: B

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

It's October, and we wanted a burger joint with a juicy past. The Landmark Tavern definitely fit the bill.

Established in 1868, the Landmark Tavern originally sat on the banks of the Hudson and was a watering hole for dockworkers. One hundred forty years later, the Tavern's still there, although further inland. It's developed an uncanny ability to reinvent itself. It was a flophouse during the Great Famine. It was a speakeasy during the Prohibition. It was a television landmark, featured regularly on episodes of Spin City. Today, it's a British gastropub.

The Tavern has also managed to acquire a few things during its 140 years. It still has the mahogany bar carved from a single tree (1939) and the door is descended from its speakeasy days. It's reputedly home to as few as three ghosts. Legend has it one of the ghosts is an Irish girl who arrived starving during the Great Famine only to die on the third floor of the building. Another story tells of a Confederate soldier who was mortally wounded in a bar brawl and died in a bathtub on the second floor of the building. The last ghost is supposed to be George Raft, a speakeasy era gangster who grew up in the neighborhood. More recently, it's developed a reputation of having a decent burger.

Burgers at Landmark Tavern

While we loved the Tavern's history, we were less enthralled with its burgers. The burgers looked every bit the part of a gastropub burger -- tall, juicy and stacked. There was the panino bun, the eggplant jam, the caramelized onions. But alas, it was all look, no taste. Bland. Boring. Uneventful. Disappointing.

If you're in the neighborhood of the Landmark Tavern, definitely stop in for a pint. Pass on the burgers though.

Burger Series 5: Landmark Tavern

October's the time for tricks or treats!

In honor of All Saints' Day and All Hallows' Eve, we've combined our two favorite things about the month, ghosts and burgers, and will meet at Landmark Tavern on Thursday, October 25th at 7:30.

Rumor has it that the "Landmark Tavern, which opened in 1868...was a speakeasy favored by George Raft, the Hollywood tough guy who grew up in Hell's Kitchen. His ghost is said to haunt the bar, along with that of a Confederate Civil War veteran who, knifed in a fight, staggered up to the second floor to die in a bathtub that's still there. The ghost of an Irish immigrant girl who died in her bed wanders the third floor." ("Turf of Gangs and Gangsters" by John Strausbaugh.)

For more on Landmark Tavern, check out NY Magazine. The restaurant is located at 626 11th Ave at 46th Street.

To get to the restaurant, take any of the following trains and then walk to 46th St and 11th Ave.
A, C, E to 42nd St & 8th Ave
N, R, W to 49th St and 7th Ave
1, 9 to 50th St & Broadway

If you won't be able to make it, please let us know so we don't end up waiting for you.

eat for beauty

we'll be danged if we don't like the sound of that idea.

Eat Yourself Young Looking!
Japanese fountain of youth café to open in city. Will pig’s feet keep you pretty?
By Beth Landman

The beauty-addicted have long loved collagen, rubbing creams into their skin and plumping up lips and cheeks with injections. Now there’s a movement to eat the stuff. Himi Okajima, whose restaurant Himiyabi in Japan was one of the first to introduce collagen cuisine, will open Hakata TonTon in the West Village next month, where he’ll serve foods rich in the protein responsible for skin and muscle tone. “Collagen helps your body retain moisture,” Okajima says. “Your hair and skin will look better, but it’s not just for looking beautiful now. If you begin eating collagen in your thirties, you will look younger in your forties.” Hakata TonTon will concentrate on dishes made with pig’s feet, including spring rolls, pasta, and a hot pot that also contains chiles meant to cleanse your intestines. (Shark’s fin, a common collagen-rich ingredient in Japan, was deemed too expensive to serve here.) Does it work? “No question, ingesting collagen has a positive effect on joints, muscles, skin, and hair,” says Upper West Side–based celebrity nutritionist Oz Garcia. “People add collagen powder to their protein shakes, and even years ago our mothers ate Knox gelatin, which contains collagen, to strengthen their nails.” Dr. Ellen Gendler, an Upper East Side dermatologist, isn’t convinced. “There’s no evidence that this does anything beneficial,” she says. “The only way collagen definitely works to improve your appearance is by injecting it.”

From the October 1, 2007 issue of New York

a fat pig is a fat pig

in any language.

Dinner was at Fette Sau last night. It was good, but we'll opt out of eating 2.5lbs of meat any time in the forseeable future and only after we've fasted a week beforehand.

We shared the pulled pork, brisket and boneless rib along with a side of baked beans and potato salad. Next time we're there, however, we'll skip the baked beans, potato salad and boneless rib and just head straight for the pulled pork. Yum.

Stand: Crowd pleasingly good

What we love: Uh, how about everything? Burgers that live up to the restaurant's claims, awesome milkshakes, decent beers, great service, late night menu and clean bathrooms

What we could live without: No reservations, picnic style tables that can't be moved around to accomodate large groups, small parties need to share tables

Burger scale: A++

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

It's a burger series first! Everyone has unanimously agreed that this is our favorite burger place so far. The burgers were excellent and done exactly to each person's specifications. It doesn't hurt that the service was super attentive (and cute). The milkshakes were yummy (although Paul's still holds a place near and dear to our hearts). And, the restaurant itself was clean, well lit and mostly all around perfect (uh, do you think they'll let us live here?).

Burgers at Stand

Burger Series 4: Stand

It was great to see you all over burgers and beers at the Waterfront Ale House!

The next Burger Series will be at Stand on Thursday, September 13.

24 East 12th Street (btwn 5th Ave & University)
New York, NY 10003
212.488.5900

a bun in the oven

is sometimes just a bun in the oven. why, did you think we were talking about something else???

Hamburger Helpers
By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

You never overhandle your meat. You wouldn’t be caught dead using anything but salt and pepper to season your patties. And you may even have sweet-talked your butcher into custom grinding a blend of chuck, sirloin, and hanger steak to your specifications. In short, you are an unrepentant burger nerd. But how are you in the buns department? Just in time for a Labor Day cookout, we’ve put some of the city’s best through a rigorous examination, toasting them to a golden brown and weighing them down with drippy bacon cheeseburgers. Because this was a test of strength as much as taste, we didn’t hold the pickles, lettuce, or tomatoes.

(Photo: Davies + Starr)

1. Blue Ribbon Bakery Market
It’s doubtful that co-owner Bruce Bromberg practiced burger-bun-making during his apprenticeship days at Paris’s legendary Poilâne, but nevertheless, he’s perfected the art on Bedford Street by cleverly crossing the squishy supermarket style with a wider, flatter, more durable fancy-bakery version. The result is a bun that’s slightly sweet, with a rich, challahlike flavor that doesn’t get in the way of the burger, and yet is capable of standing up to a reasonable amount of condiments ($3 for a four-bun bag). 14 Bedford St., nr. Downing St.; 212-647-0408

2. Arnold Select
The Ur-bun. Like the individually wrapped slice of American cheese, it’s a humble team player that knows its calling is to play a supporting but essential role, becoming one with the burger and, for that matter, the greater burger universe ($2.59 for an eight-bun bag). At Gristede’s locations citywide.

3. Amy’s Bread
In spite of its hard crust (maybe it was past its prime when we bought it), it has a light and airy crumb that improves with toasting. It’s a good choice for a bigger burger with unadvisable add-ons like avocado, say, or all the fixings, if that’s your thing (80 cents each). At Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., nr. 15th St.; 212-462-4338

4. Eli’s Manhattan
You want to like this bun. It’s big and puffy and fragrant and almost too good-looking to eat. As far as burger compatibility goes, however, it’s too bready, although you could try scooping out the middle the way dieting bagel lovers do ($6 for a six-bun bag). 1411 Third Ave., at 80th St.; 212-717-8100

5. Orwasher’s Bakery
This fashionably small bun takes an unfashionable stand against the soft-and-squishy school. Sadly, it’s too tough and chewy and not recommended unless you like that in a burger bun (80 cents each). 308 E. 78th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-288-6569

From the August 27, 2007 issue of New York

Waterfront Ale House: Eh, so what?

What we love: the wide selection of beers, ales, scotch and tequila, mini corndogs, gruff friendly service

What we could live without: mediocre burgers, hot sauce that can't live up to its hype

Burger scale: C

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

This month's entry will be short, because we can sum up our burger dining experience at the Waterfront Ale House in one word: Underwhelming.

(And, we'll keep writing because we've vowed to write about our burger chasing experiences in NYC.)

Located in the east side neighborhood of Kips Bay, the Waterfront Ale House lives up to its motto of lousy food. We liked the place for its friendly neighborhood feel and its selection of ales, microbrews and scotches. The burgers, however, were...

z
z
z

(Sorry, we must have dozed off trying to remember if we had a burger last night because we can't recall what it tasted like.)

Burgers at Waterfront Ale House

We remember the brioche buns; they were moderately delicious. We remember the waffle friends too. They waffled between soggy and tasteless. But, the burgers...

Our memory is hazy, but we think our medium to rare burger might have been dry. (A four letter word to any red meat lover, and a darn waste of good meat.)

The mini-corndog appetizers ended up being stealing the show, but moderately delicious brioche buns and weeny weiners just aren't enough to redeem mediocre burgers. Not even at the Waterfront Ale House. (Unless it came with free scotch and beer, which it didn't.)

Burger Series 3: Waterfront Ale House

Thanks for coming out to PJ Clarke's on July 19! For those of you unable to make it last month, we hope to see you this month.

We meet at the Waterfront Ale House on Thursday, August 23 at 7:30pm. The restaurant claims to have the best hot sauce in New York.

540 Second Ave (at 30th St)
New York, NY
212.696.4104