My wife and I stopped into Virginia’s during their weekend happy hour to try the famous burger.
I have to say, it was pretty good. They cooked it to a nice medium / medium rare.
For $30 it came with fries and a glass or wine or beer.
The fries were super crispy and well seasoned.
The shrimp cocktail was juicy and flavorful.
And the drinks were pretty good prices as well. $10 wine, $5 pickle back, $4 high life.
I would definitely go back to try more.
VIRGINIA’S
200 E 3rd St.
New York, NY 10009
Rippers is a famous beachside burger shop in Rockaway. This joint serves up big, juicy, perfectly cooked burgers for the hungry masses at the beach.
I have to say this was one of the best burgers I’ve had since I went to Lions Bar.
The griddle cook offered the burger a nice textural crunch, and the inside was cooked to a perfect juicy medium. Good cheese coverage, and not too many toppings or sauces.
The fries were also really crispy and nice too, with some seafood/Old Bay type seasoning on them.
RIPPERS
86-01 Shore Front Pkwy
Rockaway Beach, NY 11693
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
The folks behind Mister Paradise, one of my favorite burgers of all time, just opened up Highlife Burger a street or two up from Mister Paradise. The cake dealer and I went in to try it out, and we were very happy with the food!
The burgers are reminiscent of “In n Out,” a California staple. They’re much better, though.
The hot dog is pretty great too. It comes covered in melty cheese sauce and potato chips.
The fries are great too, though I didn’t get a photo. They’re sort of like a batter-fried McDonalds style.
I will definitely be back here for more. $7.50 for a single and $10.50 for a double are great prices!
HIGHLIFE BURGER
135 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10003
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
I kept seeing posts about this place on Instagram, so I had to try it. Specifically, I wanted the burger with a big ol’ slab of fried cheese on top.
It was great. Crisp in all the right places, soft and melty in the others.
The double smash packed a ton of flavor.
I will definitely go back to try more stuff here, especially the pernil.
EL SAZON
83 Baxter St.
New York, NY 10013
My wife and I took a short trip to San Diego to celebrate a friend’s retirement from the Navy, so we spent a bunch of time walking around, eating and drinking our way through the city.
Here’s what we tried:
Donut Bar
This spot was pretty good. We liked the lemon pistachio better than the raspberry cheesecake.
Tacos El Gordo
Great spot for tacos, and reasonably priced considering that this place gets a lot of hype and crowds. The al pastor tacos was the winner for us, but we also tried cabeza (face), lengua (tongue) and tripe.
Mike Hess Brewery
The barrel aged Vietnamese coffee stout was our favorite.
San Diego Burger Co.
This wasn’t that good. Skip this joint. I had high hopes, but the patty was a little under seasoned and the bun was dry and crumbled.
Dinner at Greystone Prime Steakhouse is detailed HERE.
Senor Taquero
This spot was probably my favorite place to eat of the entire trip. I wish we had some regular tacos here too. They were so cheap (3 for $7.99)! The rolled chicken tacos and adobado burrito were killer. The churro had a nice vanilla pudding type of filling inside.
Ballast Point Brewery
We had a short pit stop here while we were waiting for Swagyu to open. Speedboat was like a corona with a lime in it. Refreshing.
Swagyu
This was great but pricey at $23. I’d much rather have gone back to Senor Taquero to try the tacos.
The World Famous I-Bar
This is where the retirement party was held. The bar was the inspiration for the scenes in the movie Maverick that take place in the Air Force bar on base. Very cool spot.
Not bad for a weekend trip! We hit a lot of spots.
My wife and I came here twice. The first visit was just for a snack and a drink, so I never wrote it up. But now that we’ve had a full meal here, I figured I would put together a review from both experiences.
On the first visit, we had drinks, an Israeli scotch egg, and some cake. They have a nice selection of beer and wine. Saison Dupont is my favorite of all time.
The Israeli scotch egg is surrounded by falafel, which was unique and delicious.
On the second visit we did some entrees. My wife had the lamb burger, which comes with crunchy slaw and a harissa mayo. She added Gruyere cheese at the owner’s suggestion. It was absolutely delicious. Easily a top three lamb burger.
I had the chicken schnitzel plate, which came with fries and a salad. The schnitzel was unique in that it was breaded with a sesame seed batter!
I really liked it.
The cake we had on our first visit was a flourless chocolate birthday cake, which, I think, may have even been vegan. I liked it more than my wife did.
We will definitely be back to try more items from Eastwood. Super friendly staff, great prices, and great food!
EASTWOOD
200 Clinton St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
This joint, run by the same folks as Cervos, just opened nearby. My wife and I tried five items:
Squid Pintxos
These were awesome. I would get them again and again. I only wish there was more on the plate! Perfectly fried and dressed, and really nice toasty bread underneath. I was transported back to San Sebastian.
Fried Mussels
I would pass on these. They tasted like canned or tinned mussels that were breaded and fried. A bit too potent. I’m curious if they might be better on another night. Perhaps just a funky batch?
White Shrimp
Best item of the night. These were perfectly cooked and dressed in a deliciously light and garlicky tomato sauce and drizzled with olive oil. Make sure you ask for extra sourdough to soak up the sauce!
Rainbow Trout
I was surprised that this was a whole fish (deboned)! It was really light but flavorful. I would get it again.
Burger
Yes – that burger has fried anchovies on it. It wasn’t as nasty as I expected. It was actually tasty, in a way. The roquefort lessened the fishy flavor, but it did feel like I was eating a burger on the seaside. Nice medium rare temp with a good crust too. I probably wouldn’t get it again, but I’m glad I tried it.
We will definitely be back to try more items! FYI: There is no eel on the menu, at all.
EEL BAR
252 Broome St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review HERE:
A second location of the popular Williamsburg bar “The Commodore” just opened in the lower east side at Avenue C and Houston Street. My wife and I have been eagerly awaiting the open since we saw renovations going on there last year. The interior is really cool, almost like you’re aboard a yacht. They even have life fish in a tank along the right side wall, with circular portals for viewing.
We started with two frozen drinks and both were great. The winner between the Orange Julio and the frozen mojito was the mojito, however. They also serve $4 cans of Schaefer, which is a steal. During happy hour, you can get a beer and a shot for $7, which is a price that’s on par with the cheapest dives in town.
Speaking of happy hour, they offer their burger with fries for $14 (normally just the burger costs $14, but at happy hour the fries come with). The burger is a nice crumbly patty that’s well seasoned and dressed with all the fixings.
We also tried their fried chicken, which, despite saying three thighs on the menu, actually came with four. Also great biscuits, two hot sauces and a sweet honey butter. At $22 this is a great deal, especially considering how crispy outside and juicy inside the chicken was. Delicious.
We also tried their fried green tomato sandwich with slaw. I enjoyed this, and the baguette was a really nice surprice here on this sandwich. I expected it to be too hard and rough, but it was warm, soft and really nicely butter-toasted.
Definitely can’t wait to go back and try their fish items, grilled cheese and nachos.
THE COMMODORE II
14 Avenue C
New York, NY 10009
First, check out THIS EPISODE of Around the Hood in 8 Minutes, featuring Burger Queens.
We stopped at this joint during a group ride, and it really hit the spot. The burger itself was a double smash patty, and I got the works on it in terms of toppings.
The shoestring fries were also perfectly crispy and delicious, well seasoned. I would definitely go here again to try the fried chicken thigh sandwich.
BURGER QUEENS
96-19 23rd Ave.
Queens, NY 11369
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This place has been popping up all over Instagram, and once I saw the images of their burger and mortadella sandwich, I knew I had to get in ASAP to try.
We went right when they opened at 5pm on a Saturday, and the place was jammed by 5:30. Apparently everyone had the same idea!
We started with the fried mozzarella and Lions baked potato (with sour cream and an egg yolk).
The baked potato was a game changer. It was so freaking flavorful. We both loved it. As for the mozzarella…
Perfect temperature for stretching! And surprisingly light. Very flavorful.
The burger was 100% perfection. A nice thick aged patty, topped with two slices of American cheese, atop a slice of grilled onion, which helps to protect the beautiful sesame seed bottom bun. Four slices of pickle came on the plate as well. We obviously put them on top.
My pictures sucked, but the interior was a perfect medium rare / medium, which is ideal for this ind of “steakhouse” style burger. This was a killer. On par with Luger or Red Hook Tavern for just $18. For $4 you can get fries with it, and the fries were excellent. Nice and crispy, not too salty. The only down was that they charged us for the side order of fries ($8) rather than the “accompanying” fried ($4). I was wondering why this was such a huge order.
The mortadella sandwich was excellent too. While it ate a bit salty due to the Calabrian chili tapenade, the flavor was out of this world. The pistachio studded mortadella had a ton of porky character, and the blue cheese on this was more like a spread than a crumble or a saucy mess. It worked, though I questioned whether it would when I saw it on the menu.
As you can see, this came with chips. So we had three types of potato with this meal: chips, fries and a baked potato.
Side note: They also make a great martini.
This place is also going to be offering a steak night on Wednesdays for something like $35, and monthly “Beefsteak” meals which will be an all-inclusive price that covers drinks, starters, steak and dessert. I really can’t want to try those!
THE LIONS
132 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009
