It's short notice, but if you're around this Thursday, let's meet at the Shake Shack on the UWS. The Shake Shack doesn't take reservations and it can be a wait for food and seating, so if you can make it, start showing up around 7:30, order your food, get your buzzer, and head downstairs. We can try to save a few seats downstairs as they open up so we can sit together.
- The Burger Series
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Southwest NY Burger-Off Finalists, aka The Burger Series realizes it hates sliders
Southwest NY serves its Burger-Off Finalists this week, so the Burgers Series went to check it out.
The finalists:
1. New York Farmer: Sharp NY cheddar, carmelized sweet onions and horseradish aioli
2. Drunken Dutchman: smoked gouda, brandied mushrooms, applewood bacon and pommery mustard
3. Smokey Vermont: vermont cheddar, smokey chipotle BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, carmelized sweet onions and tobacco onion strings
4. Everything, Please: w/ pepperjack cheese, double smoked bacon, carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and Avocado
If we had to pick the flavor profiles we liked best, we would probably pick the Smokey Vermont and Everything Please.
But, we aren't going to pick. Not because we didnt like the burgers, but because the finalists were served in slider form so it was hard to tell if the burgers were any good.
WE DON'T LIKE SLIDERS. We don't know too many burger afficionados who like their cow or bird patties in slider form. (It's different when it comes to pork, that other insanely delicioso white meat, but that deserves a separate post.)
Mini-burger patties are usually overdone, and the bread to patty ratio is always bass ackwards. The result? A cute little package that looks like a burger, smells like a burger, but tastes and feels like yummy cardboard in the mouth. Small, but lethal, and to be avoided whenever possible.
The finalists:
1. New York Farmer: Sharp NY cheddar, carmelized sweet onions and horseradish aioli
2. Drunken Dutchman: smoked gouda, brandied mushrooms, applewood bacon and pommery mustard
3. Smokey Vermont: vermont cheddar, smokey chipotle BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, carmelized sweet onions and tobacco onion strings
4. Everything, Please: w/ pepperjack cheese, double smoked bacon, carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and Avocado
If we had to pick the flavor profiles we liked best, we would probably pick the Smokey Vermont and Everything Please.
But, we aren't going to pick. Not because we didnt like the burgers, but because the finalists were served in slider form so it was hard to tell if the burgers were any good.
WE DON'T LIKE SLIDERS. We don't know too many burger afficionados who like their cow or bird patties in slider form. (It's different when it comes to pork, that other insanely delicioso white meat, but that deserves a separate post.)
Mini-burger patties are usually overdone, and the bread to patty ratio is always bass ackwards. The result? A cute little package that looks like a burger, smells like a burger, but tastes and feels like yummy cardboard in the mouth. Small, but lethal, and to be avoided whenever possible.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
This is big
Famous Red Hook sandwich shop Defonte's has opened an outpost in Manhattan.The Manhattan Defonte's is located at 261 Third Ave. at 21st St.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
City Burger serves the Bentley of Beef
According to a review by Ryan Sutton, City Burger serves top notch meat.
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Fries, soda and a burger at Wendy’s, McDonald’s or Burger King make up the all-American meal. It’s the chef’s tasting, prix-fixe menu for the no-expense-account crowd, which these days is pretty much everyone.
Problem is, that fast-food is junk food.
Here’s the test: Ever ask for a medium-rare slider at White Castle? Not recommended.
Enter City Burger in midtown Manhattan. The combo is $9.55 and comes in a paper bag. The fries are crispy, the root beer is cold and the burger, charred on the outside and pink on the inside. This is reason to be excited.
It’s still fast-food. But it’s not junk food, at least not in the typical sense. It’s high-end junk food. That’s because the beef comes courtesy of Pat La Frieda, the ground-beef purveyor behind some of the city’s best burgers, including Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack (another high-end junk-food joint).
City Burger is like a stripped down, politically indifferent version of Shake Shack. There are no “stroller parking” signs, they don’t serve sundaes with dog biscuits, and as far as I know, they don’t offset their electric bill with wind-power credits. It’s about as pretty as a Jack in the Box, which is to say, not very.
Also, there’s no hour-long wait.
City Burger is the “only restaurant in America serving the La Frieda Black Label grade beef mixture,” says a sign in the venue, if you care about that sort of thing.
Car Burger
The dry-aged blend ($11.99) is described on the menu as the “Bentley of Beef.” A heavy six ounces, it’s more restaurant- size than fast-food size, but you can still eat it with one hand.
It has a gently gamy tang, bleeds juices, is rare and creamy on the inside, chewy and charred on the outside. When City Burger opened about a year ago, they grilled their meats. Now, they griddle it, giving it a nice greasy crust. It needs more salt, but the pickles and American cheese make up for that. A soft bun soaks everything up. Definitely one of the city’s better patties.
Pair it with an egg cream and you have yourself a proper New York lunch. The non-black-label burger is good too: a mix of chuck, brisket and short rib, though it’s not as intensely beefy. Hearty appetites can choose “Combo #4” ($13.95): a burger; five spicy Buffalo wings; fries or overcooked onion rings “for a supplement”; and a soda.
City Burger is at 1410 Broadway at 39th Street.
Information: 212-997-7770
http://www.cityburgerny.com
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Fries, soda and a burger at Wendy’s, McDonald’s or Burger King make up the all-American meal. It’s the chef’s tasting, prix-fixe menu for the no-expense-account crowd, which these days is pretty much everyone.
Problem is, that fast-food is junk food.
Here’s the test: Ever ask for a medium-rare slider at White Castle? Not recommended.
Enter City Burger in midtown Manhattan. The combo is $9.55 and comes in a paper bag. The fries are crispy, the root beer is cold and the burger, charred on the outside and pink on the inside. This is reason to be excited.
It’s still fast-food. But it’s not junk food, at least not in the typical sense. It’s high-end junk food. That’s because the beef comes courtesy of Pat La Frieda, the ground-beef purveyor behind some of the city’s best burgers, including Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack (another high-end junk-food joint).
City Burger is like a stripped down, politically indifferent version of Shake Shack. There are no “stroller parking” signs, they don’t serve sundaes with dog biscuits, and as far as I know, they don’t offset their electric bill with wind-power credits. It’s about as pretty as a Jack in the Box, which is to say, not very.
Also, there’s no hour-long wait.
City Burger is the “only restaurant in America serving the La Frieda Black Label grade beef mixture,” says a sign in the venue, if you care about that sort of thing.
Car Burger
The dry-aged blend ($11.99) is described on the menu as the “Bentley of Beef.” A heavy six ounces, it’s more restaurant- size than fast-food size, but you can still eat it with one hand.
It has a gently gamy tang, bleeds juices, is rare and creamy on the inside, chewy and charred on the outside. When City Burger opened about a year ago, they grilled their meats. Now, they griddle it, giving it a nice greasy crust. It needs more salt, but the pickles and American cheese make up for that. A soft bun soaks everything up. Definitely one of the city’s better patties.
Pair it with an egg cream and you have yourself a proper New York lunch. The non-black-label burger is good too: a mix of chuck, brisket and short rib, though it’s not as intensely beefy. Hearty appetites can choose “Combo #4” ($13.95): a burger; five spicy Buffalo wings; fries or overcooked onion rings “for a supplement”; and a soda.
City Burger is at 1410 Broadway at 39th Street.
Information: 212-997-7770
http://www.cityburgerny.com
Friday, February 20, 2009
Stoned Crow: Mmmm, beef.
what we love: juicy, tasty, no-nonsense burgers, good meat quality, jalapeños included on the plate.what we could live without: structural integrity of the buns left a bit to be desired. thick bacon could have been cooked a bit more.
burger scale: A-
price range: burgers were $12, fries (separate) were $6
payment method: cashish. Due to our large party (10) they added a 20% gratuity, which, while egregious, would have been paid regardless due to quality service.
This is a no frills west village neighborhood joint. This downstairs bar looks like the sort of basement joint frequented by locals avoiding the tacky NYU crowd. Movie posters adorn the wall, some au courant, some classic, along with a murder of crows on the wall above the pool table in the back.
The burgers are in keeping with the establishment. There aren't a wide variety of options on the menu. Regular or Crow are your choices; the Crow comes with your choice of regular or cheddar cheese and thick cut slab bacon. Preparation was good, meat was cooked properly for the most part, though the un-toasted sesame buns were not at all up to the task of containing a half pound of juicy beef. Fries are a separate affair and were cooked to near-perfect crispiness. We added on the cheese fries, made with real cheese, but they were a tad soggy and disappointing.
If you are in the neighborhood and looking to hide from the hipsters and the trustafarian NYU children, its a good place to grab a beer and a fine, no-frills burger.
For pictures, go here.
A Burger Off?
A Burger wha...?
A Burger Off!
Merchants is running a lunch time burger-off at two of their downtown restaurants, Southwest NY and Pound and Pence. For four weeks, Southwest and Pound and Pence will pit two featured burgers against each other and ask patrons to vote on their fave burger for that week. On the fifth week, they'll feature the two top scoring burgers.
Week 1, which we missed:
1. New York Farmer: Sharp NY cheddar, carmelized sweet onions and horseradish aioli
2. Italian Hero: w/ fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, grilled portabella mushroom and balsamic glazed onions
Week 2, which we also missed:
1. Drunken Dutchman: smoked gouda, brandied mushrooms, applewood bacon and pommery mustard
2. The Wild Blue: saga Blue Cheese, wild mushrooms and red wine shallot marmelade, sweet potato fries
Week 3, this week's burger off, ends on Sunday:
1. Smokey Vermont: vermont cheddar, smokey chipotle BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, carmelized sweet onions and tobacco onion strings
2. A Cabernet in France: w/ brie, wild mushrooms and Cabernet glazed onions
Week 4, next week:
1. The Classic: American cheese, applewood smoked bacon, crispy onion strings, Hellman's mayo and French's mustard
2. Everything, Please: w/ pepperjack cheese, double smoked bacon, carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and Avocado
Week 5 - The final round of the burger-off where the top two contenders are featured.
A Burger Off!
Merchants is running a lunch time burger-off at two of their downtown restaurants, Southwest NY and Pound and Pence. For four weeks, Southwest and Pound and Pence will pit two featured burgers against each other and ask patrons to vote on their fave burger for that week. On the fifth week, they'll feature the two top scoring burgers.
Week 1, which we missed:
1. New York Farmer: Sharp NY cheddar, carmelized sweet onions and horseradish aioli
2. Italian Hero: w/ fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, grilled portabella mushroom and balsamic glazed onions
Week 2, which we also missed:
1. Drunken Dutchman: smoked gouda, brandied mushrooms, applewood bacon and pommery mustard
2. The Wild Blue: saga Blue Cheese, wild mushrooms and red wine shallot marmelade, sweet potato fries
Week 3, this week's burger off, ends on Sunday:
1. Smokey Vermont: vermont cheddar, smokey chipotle BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, carmelized sweet onions and tobacco onion strings
2. A Cabernet in France: w/ brie, wild mushrooms and Cabernet glazed onions
Week 4, next week:
1. The Classic: American cheese, applewood smoked bacon, crispy onion strings, Hellman's mayo and French's mustard
2. Everything, Please: w/ pepperjack cheese, double smoked bacon, carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and Avocado
Week 5 - The final round of the burger-off where the top two contenders are featured.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
gour·mand
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gourmaunt, from Middle French gourmant
Date: 15th century
1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking
2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink
Etymology: Middle English gourmaunt, from Middle French gourmant
Date: 15th century
1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking
2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink
Monday, February 9, 2009
Burger Series 16: The Stoned Crow
Happy new year! We meet at The Stoned Crow this month.According to the UG, Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite, the Stoned Crow's burger simply "rocks." And, it ought to. The Stoned Crow's cook, "Jaime Saucedo...was a ten-year veteran of the Corner Bistro"! The good news for us is "while crowds pack the Bistro, the Crow remains under the burger radar, known only to the inner sanctum of pool players and NYU barflies."
We will also be announcing your fave top three burger places from last year, so if you haven't done so yet, be sure to make your vote count by taking the Burger Series Survey. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7b6PXuCyQ2t8Ht_2bJ61gB4w_3d_3d
We can't wait to kick off Burger Series 2009 with you!
- The Burger Series
Monday, January 19, 2009
Yet another WV pub (sigh)
But this one comes with a pedigree, so we'd like to give it a try.
Joaquin Baca (of Momofuku and Rusty Knot fame) has put together an interesting menu for Wilfie & Nell as a favor to his friend Mark Gibson, co-owner of the WV pub:
Here were shepherd’s pies and meat pies. Here were fries with malt vinegar. And here were Scotch eggs, which in case you didn’t know are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, then breaded and deep-fried...In short, here was standard-issue pub grub.
Closer inspection revealed things like chicken-liver pâté with onion jam (delicious), Berkshire-pork sliders (delectable), and corned-beef sandwiches with Swiss Gruyère (drool-inducing). Furthermore, Wilfie & Nell, the fine print read, would like to thank the following purveyors: Blue Ribbon Bakery, Murray’s Cheese Shop, Piccinini Brothers (meats), and Bob McClure (pickles).
Joaquin Baca (of Momofuku and Rusty Knot fame) has put together an interesting menu for Wilfie & Nell as a favor to his friend Mark Gibson, co-owner of the WV pub:
Here were shepherd’s pies and meat pies. Here were fries with malt vinegar. And here were Scotch eggs, which in case you didn’t know are hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, then breaded and deep-fried...In short, here was standard-issue pub grub.
Closer inspection revealed things like chicken-liver pâté with onion jam (delicious), Berkshire-pork sliders (delectable), and corned-beef sandwiches with Swiss Gruyère (drool-inducing). Furthermore, Wilfie & Nell, the fine print read, would like to thank the following purveyors: Blue Ribbon Bakery, Murray’s Cheese Shop, Piccinini Brothers (meats), and Bob McClure (pickles).
Friday, January 16, 2009
Ultimate Recipe Showdown Announces the Winning Burger Recipe
Watch the video and get the recipe.Harold Cohen, 74, a retired plastic surgeon from Hollywood, Fla. has traveled the world and now spends his time developing the perfect burger. Although legally blind, Harold has created a travel-inspired Iberian Burger.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Where to Eat 2009
Hooray, Adam Platt releases his Where to Eat 2009 list! Not surprisingly, chefs have replaced haute cuisine with comfort food made with fresh and local ingredients. These are recessionary times, after all...
http://nymag.com/restaurants/wheretoeat/2009/
http://nymag.com/restaurants/wheretoeat/2009/
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A Travel Channel Show dedicated to our favorite food topic!
The Travel Channel aired a Food Paradise episode on Hamburgers tonight and lists several famous and historic must-visit burger joints across the country. For the show's list of burger restaurants, read more. The hour long episode airs again at various times all next week.
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