THE BEST: Burger

[elyse]

I could tell. But you know I can't keep my mouth shut.

[elyse]

Okay, I just my second cheeseburger in a week from Burger Joint. Just a craving I've been having. The first one was great for the first three bites and then got mushy and bland, but was appropriately greasy. The second one was nicely charred on the outside (joy of all joys!) but the damn grill man pressed the shit out of it and it was dry. I saw him doing it to one burger as I was ordering, but thought it must have been a special request. Anyway, the taste was still pretty good. Nick was there.

NOT on my list for best burgers.

[R Washburn]

Also, in upstate Manhattan in my Inwood-hood, Piper's Kilt has a competitive burger in an appropriately semi-diveish atmosphere.

I tried their bacon cheeseburger last night and it was quite good. Well worth $6.75.

I also like: Burger Joint at the Parker Meridian, (only $4.50 but I always eat two of them.) Smallish (5 oz. ?) grilled burgers with lots of toppings. Fries are $1.50.

Blue Smoke ($12?). Big bar burger. I usually order spicy cheese fries as a side and substitute the fries that come with the burger for something else.

[elyse]

Oops. My Burger Joint is Big Nick's on Broadway.

[R Washburn]

Oops. My Burger Joint is Big Nick's on Broadway.

I figured that since you mentioned Nick. I have never had a particularly good Burger at either of Nick's locations. I really like Burger Joint, though. It is located on the opposite side of the lobby from Norma's (which I do not care for).

[elyse]

FYI, Burger Joint is not the Parker Meridian location. You can call that "the other Burger Joint" if you like. Burger Joint on Broadway has been there faaaar longer than the other place.

[picaman]

Also, in upstate Manhattan in my Inwood-hood, Piper's Kilt has a competitive burger in an appropriately semi-diveish atmosphere.

I tried their bacon cheeseburger last night and it was quite good. Well worth $6.75.

How funny...my partner and I were there as well, around 6:00PM. Went for the Manhattan burger (swiss, canadian bacon, grilled onions.) It was either $7.25 or $7.50--alright, so I splurged

Glad you enjoyed it!

Jamie

[steakas]

I am looking for a very good hamburger restaurant in NYC (my parents are visiting from Europe and they want to taste original hamburger).

Thanks for your suggestions...

Michael Jordan's in Grand Central! I have not had a better hamburger anywhere. It's expensive but very well worth it. Beware, it's large (I think 20oz)

[juuceman]

I think it's silly to travel for a burger -- or much of anything, for that matter -- so I am very happy that the one at Le Zinc (Duane Street in Tribeca) is as good as it is: big, juicy, cooked perfectly, on a good onion roll, topped with terrific bacon and excellent cheddar, and accompanied with usually-perfect fries.  (Oddly enough, I have never tried the burger at City Hall, which is a few steps closer.  )

you near john street bar and grill?? pretty good burger, cooked as you like it, although they do tend towards the rarer side.. it's $3.50 with potato chips, another two bucks to add their home made fries which are usually worth it.. not corner bistro/mc donalds style frites though.. more of a squared off steak fry.. their buns are delivered bakery fresh throughout the week, and are burger buns, not oversized brioche style rolls which i can't stand with my burger..

it's not worth travelling more than a block or two for, but it's in my neighborhood, possibly yours??

[Suzanne F]

Sure is! That's the place downstairs, near Les Halles, right? For $3.50, what can I lose?

[mjc]

I went to Blue Smoke this weekend and had the burger and thought it was very good, especially the smoked bacon on top.

We also took a tour of the smoker which was cool.

[mayapple]

I love the burgers at The Noho Star (corner Lafayette and Bleeker). Their fries are excellent as well. Oooh, why did I ever move away? I would kill for their blue cheese bacon burger. And a homeade ginger ale on the side. Gah.

[schutd]

Had a great 5 dollar Burger with Fries over on 3rd btwn 12th and 13th on Sunday. A place called Blue 9 (i think). Anyway, Fast food style, but fresh cut fries, and never frozen beef. For 5 bucks, I was happy as a clam.

[R Washburn]

Had a great 5 dollar Burger with Fries over on 3rd btwn 12th and 13th on Sunday. A place called Blue 9 (i think). Anyway, Fast food style, but fresh cut fries, and never frozen beef. For 5 bucks, I was happy as a clam.

If you like the Blue9 burger, than I think you will really like the hamburgers at Burgerjoint (in the Parker Meridian hotel, NOT Big Nick's). They are $5 for a cheeseburger and fries are $1.50.

Soon after Levine's NYT article came out I did a tasting of Burger Heaven, Burgerjoint and Blue9, and concluded that Burgerjoint was my favorite. I did like Blue9, though.

[elyse]

Had a great 5 dollar Burger with Fries over on 3rd btwn 12th and 13th on Sunday. A place called Blue 9 (i think). Anyway, Fast food style, but fresh cut fries, and never frozen beef. For 5 bucks, I was happy as a clam.

If you like the Blue9 burger, than I think you will really like the hamburgers at Burgerjoint (in the Parker Meridian hotel, NOT Big Nick's). They are $5 for a cheeseburger and fries are $1.50.

Soon after Levine's NYT article came out I did a tasting of Burger Heaven, Burgerjoint and Blue9, and concluded that Burgerjoint was my favorite. I did like Blue9, though.

R Washburn, it's not Big Nick's. EVER.

[schutd]

Oh yeah. I had to ask the wife what the place was that we had Burgers at that one time, and it was Burgerjoint. GREAT call. Loved em.

[Mister_Cutlets]

Try Veselka! You may have to adjust for doneness by ordering a degree less than you want, and letting the burger it on your plate for a minute or so. But it's my favorite burger in the city right now.

yrs,

Mr. Cutlets

[tommy]

In any event, steakhouse burgers at the good steakhouses tend to be made of very high quality meat and often they're char-grilled. Smith & Wollensky and Michael Jordan's are to primo examples.

had a burger at Michael Jordan's the other day. ordered m/r, sent out m/w. regardless, it was very juicy and flavorful, with a great crust and good bun.

they have 2 burgers: a 10 oz for about $15 and a 16 oz for about $20 i think. the 10 ounce seemed like the right size. i'd put this burger up there with S&W and Blue Smoke. wines by the glass at Michael Jordan's bar are pathetic. i'm offended they'd even offer Glass Mountain.

[tommy]

after reading so much about the City Hall burger for the last 2 years, i had to try it. came out with a bun that was hard, i'd say stale. city hall, apparently, keeps a peppermill on each table (good). mine was filled primarily with white pepper (bad). in fact, we asked why the hell they'd put white pepper in a pepper mill and not have an indication on the mill stating as much. the waiter gave a half-assed answer of "that's what the chef likes". i told him that i thought it was odd, and how it basically ruined my burger (yes, white pepper does not taste like black pepper). he offered to get the chef, and i thought that was nice. but a cocky "manager" came over all defensive-like. right off the bat he was a complete asshole, even though we made it clear that we weren't complaining, but rather we were curious. the transaction was so inappropriate that i can't even put it into words.

suffice it to say, i won't be returning, not because the burger sucked, but because the manager sucked. strike up another horrible experience to horrible service/management.

Edited April 9, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Abe Froman]

I'm a McHale's guy... also give Molly's a high mark.

[glenn]

I'm so curious about the white pepper. It sounds borderline insane. If you ain't gonna find out, I'm tempted to call and ask. Should I ask for the manager?

[tommy]

I'm so curious about the white pepper.  It sounds borderline insane.  If you ain't gonna find out, I'm tempted to call and ask.  Should I ask for the manager?

he'll probably tell you the same thing he told me: they use a blend that they make downstairs. pink, white, black, green. the a-hole opened up the pepper grinder to show me, because to me it was clearly white pepper. when he poured out about 20 peppercorns, 15 of which were white, 2 green, 1 black, and a pink, he pointed, all proud like, at the peppercorns and said "see, it's a mix". i wanted to slap the piss out of him for being so stupid.

after his third insistence that "the chef likes white pepper" i asked if the chef cooks the steaks with white pepper. the answer was obviously 'no', but that didn't stop him from trying to force absurd logic and tall-tales into the discussion.

Edited April 9, 2004 by tommy (log)

[wagyuboy]

White pepper has that perfume-y taste that would be awful with a burger. Nobody's mentioned these 'cause they're cheap and not in the same league as City Hall or Peter Luger's at lunch, but Blue 9 on 3rd Ave has burgers that remind me of In-n-Out, which is comforting for anyone who ever lived in California. Just don't order the fries.

Edited April 9, 2004 by wagyuboy (log)

[TrishCT]

I may have missed the post, but was there ever a consensus reached as to who makes the best burger in NYC? I am going to be making another pilgrimmage in a few weeks and daughter says she wants a burger this time.

[tommy]

there can't be a consensus on this type of thing for many reasons. the most obvious being that it's completely subjective. however, there are standards that make it to many "top 10" lists.

it should be noted that there are many types of burgers around NYC. i prefer the steakhouse variety, but that's not necessarily the most popular (seems the 12 dollar price tag throws a lot of people off, for one).