Burger Club

[glenn]

My first bite (illegally taken with the cheese) tasted good to me. Then, after being informed by Suzanme that the average weight of the burgers was 5.7698 ounces, the rare burgers had a temperature of 121 degrees celcius (or thereabouts), the blue was blue but the black wasn't black and then being toldI had to answer every question on the 12 page evaluation or I couldn't leave, the 2nd bite almost choked me.

Whatever, I enjoyed, especially the fries, but most of all the company. Thanks again to the burger bitch for putting it together. Oh, the next best part after the great company was dessert, the spicy hot chocolate with a shot of espresso added at, jeez, what's the name of that place?

[elyse]

burger bitch

Tee hee hee!

It was Chocolate Bar.

[picaman]

Here's the summary sheet for Tavern on Jane

A few notes on methodology:

The total burger score is the sum of the averages of each category.

Condiment samples on evaluation sheets submitted by Husbands Who Only Eat were disregarded.

The summary sheet format was altered slightly to show the average of the subtotals.

Jamie

[Blondie]

Oh, the next best part after the great company was dessert, the spicy hot chocolate with a shot of espresso added at, jeez, what's the name of that place?

The Chocolate Bar on 8th Avenue between Horatio and Jane. I'm addicted to that spicy hot chocolate.

I liked the burger very much even though, like bergerka, I ordered medium rare and it arrived rare. The fries were outstanding. It was great to see so many new faces, and no matter how great the burgers were, the conversation was better. Thanks everyone

[=Mark]

OKAY!  Next Burger Club meeting will be this coming Saturday (NOT today) the 25th, 1:00 pm, at Jane Street Tavern.  It's on the corner of Jane and 8th Avenue.  That's like... two or three streets below 14th Street.  It's on the west side of the street.  212-675-2526.  Please tell me if you're in so I can make the reservation and make sure they'll have enough burgers.

Is that the place that used to be Jane Street Seafood Cafe? Man, I miss that place!

Another Burgr club I missed. Am at Bro Rich's place getting ready for a week in the woods of West Virginia with old college buddies...

[picaman]

My first bite (illegally taken with the cheese) tasted good to me.  Then, after being informed by Suzanme that the average weight of the burgers was 5.7698 ounces, the rare burgers had a temperature of 121 degrees celcius (or thereabouts), the blue was blue but the black wasn't black and then being toldI had to answer every question on the 12 page evaluation or I couldn't leave, the 2nd bite almost choked me.

I had a GREAT time at Burger Club again today--thanks to everyone for the camaraderie and conversation. I thought the burger itself was good but overall for me, a bit below Molly's burger. The Tavern on Jane burger positives were the quality, texture, saltiness and juiciness of the meat, while the negatives were the char/browning (not enough for me) and the bun (a bit generic for my taste.) It was also a bit small; burgers are an indulgence and a biggish burger is necessary for optimizing my indulgence factor.

The fries, though, were perfect and wonderful, as were the pickle slices.

Great seeing everyone from Molly's and the new attendees as well. Looking forward to the next burger adventure!

Jamie

[sherribabee]

The burger was OK. I ordered mine medium-rare and it arrived medium-well, but was still yummy.

The fries were spectacular! The pickles were sliced!

But the best part was definitely the company.

EDIT: OK, I can't get the pics to work. I'll email them to someone more capable.

Edited October 26, 2003 by sherribabee (log)

[sherribabee]

OK, apparently ofoto doesn't want to cooperate and show the images. Suggestions, anyone?

Maybe I can email the pics to someone who knows how to get them to show up?

PM me. Thanks.

[picaman]

4 pictures show up just fine for me.

Jamie

[MHesse]

Another good afternoon with the Club. I was another whose medium-rare order came quite on the rare side. I think that's why the texture was so mushy - undercooked meat. I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer pickle spears to the TOJ's thin slices (but I eat pickles off the burger). Yes, good fries. Burger size was better (smaller than Molly's). Overall memory - mushy center. Wonder bread bun couldn't stand up to the juice, but then it's not about the bun, right? Chocolate Bar looked delicious, but I was over the calorie limit. Next time. Good to get to the West Village again and look around.

I also liked the crayons. Fresh, without that annoying waxy taste. Orange was my favorite.

I left an E = B C squared on the wall.

--mark

[MHesse]

OK, apparently ofoto doesn't want to cooperate and show the images.

I just see those nasty Xs. Clicking on 'show picture' no help.

[Rachel Perlow]

I'm curious and don't remember reading it before on this huge thread, but is the restaurant warned in advance that the large party reservation are all planning on ordering burgers? Elyse, is the reservation made under your name or eGullet? Is it possible that a dozen burger orders all coming in at the same time might effect the doneness of a few of those burgers, as opposed to when a more normal 2 or 4 top comes in and maybe not everyone orders burgers.

[elyse]

I left an E = B C squared on the wall.

You are too cool.

[MHesse]

Is it possible that a dozen burger orders all coming in at the same time might effect the doneness of a few of those burgers, as opposed to when a more normal 2 or 4 top comes in and maybe not everyone orders burgers?

I think that might have been the case today. The staff were willing to please, and may have rushed a few out of the kitchen a bit to serve all close to the same time. I think it was ~20 minutes from order to service, but we don't know whether the kitchen cooked all of them at once and we forgot to tell them to bring them out as they were done.

--mh

[elyse]

I'm curious and don't remember reading it before on this huge thread, but is the restaurant warned in advance that the large party reservation are all planning on ordering burgers? Elyse, is the reservation made under your name or eGullet? Is it possible that a dozen burger orders all coming in at the same time might effect the doneness of a few of those burgers, as opposed to when a more normal 2 or 4 top comes in and maybe not everyone orders burgers.

I call ahead and warn them that we will be x number, all ordering burgers, so order enough for us. And the reservation is under my name.

Are you saying that we should all go in as two and four tops, scattered time-wise?

I agree that there must be confusion on the burgers donness, but how do we avoid that? I used to love the little plastic spikes they'd put in the burgers or steaks. I will continue to send back food if it doesn't come the way I want it. If your food isn't the way you like it, who do you have to blame?

[elyse]

I will also say, that none of the burgers (to my knowledge) were held under heat lamps at Jane, as opposed to Molly's, where my pickle, lettuce, and tomato were all hot.

sherri, I can't get the pictures.

Edited October 26, 2003 by elyse (log)

[hillbill]

I also liked the crayons.  Fresh, without that annoying waxy taste. Orange was my favorite.

Artisanal? None of that mass produced corporate Crayola crap, I hope!

[SobaAddict70]

I passed on the review form.

heh

I give their burgers a 6.5 out of a possible 10. I ordered mine medium rare, and it came quite rare on the inside. A little mushy, reminiscent of hamburger-flavored steak tartare.

Their fries were excellent however. 1 out of 2 ain't bad.

And when I got home, I took a much needed nap.

Soba

[forkAndPen]

Hey all

Had a great time at burger meeting #2.

My take on the burger - it was ok. Definitly more flavorful then molly's but I like the molly's burger better. I ordered it rare which in retrospect was a bad idea because it came still mooing. Which is fine if the outside is nicely charred - but it wasn't. Oh well the fries rocked and the company was great - Burger club is a success!

[Suzanne F]

I ordered mine black and blue (I was sitting next to Glenn), and it had not the least bit of char on the outside; it was just cooked enough to turn the outside a grayish-brown and warm the inside to 104 degrees. Which meant there was no crust to hold it together. And it was too loosely formed (a 5" diameter, 3/4" thick patty only weighed about 6 ounces). Slop slop slop. The meat was tasty -- unlike Molly's, at least these folks sprinkled a little salt on the outside. But damn it, the BLACK is as vital as the blue. Elyse's replacement was much closer to what I had hoped for. So I stole a few of her fries: superb! And the pickle slices were very good, too: sour but crisp, and quite thin. Cole slaw, eh. Salad (instead of fries) okay: mostly escarole, but with a couple of grape tomatoes and a decent Green Goddess dressing in an adorable little pitcher. The mushrooms for a topping were very good: fresh, sauteed with a little garlic, and just the right amount for the burger. Service was very good, especially considering that, as at Molly's, there was only one waiter and one busboy on duty for the whole place. Good beer (once they brought the correct ones ordered) and even good coffee. And THE BEST COMPANY which made up for the disappointing burger.

[KirkL]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Burger Club...ahem...

Ok, ya got me. Guess I'm a poster now. Ah well, what's one more obsession...

Anyway, another lovely afternoon spent with excellent company and decent meat. What could be better?

I liked the ToJ burger much better than the Molly's burger. It had a nice beefy flavor that unfortunately was lacking from the Molly's burger. On the other hand, I should give Molly's another try as my first burger arrived well-done when it should have been med-rare. Then by the time Elyse convinced me to switch out for the med-rare waiting Mr. Shaw's arrival, it had chilled, so my Molly's experience was, I think, somewhat different then the others in attendance.

In the end though, good dining companions can can add flavor and warmth to almost any food.

And damn, that Spicy Hot Chocolate from Chocolat Bar was like heaven in a cup!

Elyse, I've had yet another wildly successful pie crust experience. Jamie and I had an extra slice to celebrate the Marlin victory!

See you all at the next seating of the club!

[elyse]

Welcome to posting, Kirk! You made another pie yesterdaY? Damn you.

[KirkL]

You made another pie yesterdaY? Damn you.

Yes, another apple. This time with yummy, yummy Bundaberg OP Rum-soaked raisins! Jamie now likes raisins.

K.

[elyse]

Have you signed up for the PIE potluck?

[forkAndPen]

Burger Club pictures from Sherribabee - should work this time. Enjoy!