Category Archives: Burgers

BRGR

January 18, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Last night I had the chance to drop in for a bite at BRGR with my buddy on his recommendation. This place holds up against the fast casual joints like Shake Shack, Burger Fi and Schnippers.

The decor makes it feel like you’re in someone’s 1980’s style finished basement, but updated for today’s interior design norms.

Good quality burgers, nicely cooked, great seasoning, quality buns and toppings. I had the “beautiful day” burger. American cheese, lettuce tomato pickle and grilled onions. Awesome. Next time I would get a second patty on top.

The fries here are on par with Mc Donald’s. Golden shoestring types, with a good crisp and well seasoned.

The black and white shake is ready to drink as soon as it comes to you. Most places serving shakes make them too think and you can’t get the shit through the straw, unless you can suck harder than Jenna Jameson.

For dessert, I had a hot dog. I was confused as fuck when they brought it out to me.

They split and grill the dog long ways, and then cut the dog in half and arrange it on a hamburger bun. Pretty cool. This one was topped with lettuce, tomato, American, mustard and pickles. Delicious, but the burger take the stack here.

BRGR
1026 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10065

American, Burgers, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Burger & Lobster

January 16, 2015 Johnny Prime 2 Comments

My wife and I tried this new joint that has recently hopped the pond from the UK to find a home on our shores on 19th street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

The concept of this place is pretty fucking simple, which I like. They offer three dishes: a burger, a grilled or steamed lobster, or a lobster roll. Each comes with fries and a salad, and each costs $20.

For the burger, what we have is a great 8oz blend of Pat LaFrieda prime meats, topped with American and cheddar cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. Bacon is free to add on top as well. I got mine on the side.

The bun is really nice. It was durable, yet soft, warm and toasty. The black and white sesame seeds were a nice touch. The burger meat itself was delicious. The patty had a nice char and was well seasoned. It was cooked nicely to my specifications:

The grilled lobster was really nice too. The weight of these babies come in at 1.5lbs each, so it’s a pretty good deal when you think about it. It was cooked perfectly, had tons of great flavor, and the grilling technique imparted a nice char.

I’m going to go ahead and say that this lobster roll is the best that I’ve had. I haven’t had too many yet, but this whopper has 6oz of meat, not much filler by way of mayo or chopped veggies, and it is dressed and seasoned perfectly. The meat was so juicy, tender and lumpy. The bun was perfection. It had a light taste of butter, was toasted and firm on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside.

The fries were like McDonalds, but better, which is high praise for me since I love those Mickey D’s fries.

The salad was nice too. A mix of garden greens with some sliced radish, croutons, red onion and a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese – all dressed deftly with a basic vinaigrette.

Decor is nice in here too, and the space is absolutely MASSIVE.

A variety of condiments and a neat set of shell crackers are on the tables, and you even get a cool plastic lobster bib to rock while you stuff your face with delicious food.

UPDATE 3/11/17 – PRESS REVIEW OF NEW MENU ITEMS

My wife and I came back in to try some new specialty items that were added to the menu. I must say, I was impressed!

First off, they added a smaller burgers to the menu for those with a lighter appetite. But they didn’t stop there. They also used that smaller patty for some specialty burgers. To make up for the smaller 6oz patty, they’ve added amazing toppings like lobster meat, pulled pork and foie gras. We tried both the lobster burger, called “The Beast,” and “The Frenchman,” which had foie gras on top.

Both were great. The foie burger was both funky and sweet: Funky from that rich goose fat, and sweet from the cranberry jam. I mean, look at this – perfection!

Take a look at this tall and proud lobster-topped burger.

It also gets a pop of great flavor from the truffle mayo. That’s Swiss cheese on top, too. So nicely balanced with equal portions of lobster meat and high quality Pat LaFrieda beef.

Now let’s get down to the new lobster roll items. You can see them flanking the original on the menu below.

We tried “The 7 Samurai” and passed on “The Fiesta.” Next time.

This beauty is a lobster roll dressed with ginger mayo, cucumber, sesame and Japanese spices. Really awesome. This was my favorite item of the day. The cucumber, ginger and sesame added a really daring Japanese flavor profile to this New England classic.

And I really can’t say enough good things about the bread they use for the lobster rolls here. I started getting into it in my old review above, but I want to expand a bit on it. It’s like a very thick slice of loaf bread with a half slice or pocket in the center for filling with lobster. The outside is toasted and buttery, but not wet or greasy.

It really is the perfect vehicle for delivering the lobster into your mouth. And everything you order here, as I mentioned above, comes with both fries AND a salad. Both are great.

I don’t know how we managed to fit dessert, but I guess there is a separate, second stomach designated just for dessert in the anatomy of food crazy freaks like me. Chocolate mousse. Awesome.

BURGER & LOBSTER
39 W. 19th St.
New York, NY 10011

Burgers, Downtown, Flash Deals, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Manhattan Proper

January 10, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

We scored a sweet Gilt City deal for this place: $30 gets you a bucket of suds (six of either Bud, Bud Light, or Coors Light – you can also mix and match), and a pair of burger plates.

I went with the Proper Burger, which was topped with cheddar and bacon. It was cooked just right – a perfect medium. I’ve had better burgers, but for the price/deal, this was a great buy.

The fries were perfect – a nice crispy golden brown, but still soft inside, and well seasoned.

My buddy went with the black & blue burger on the bartender Kyle’s recommendation (great bartender, by the way), which is topped with blue cheese and caramelized onions. As you can see below, his was undercooked a bit (he ordered medium), but he still loved the flavors.

Decently decorated inside – slightly high end-esque, but comfortable. Also a good amount of TVs.

MANHATTAN PROPER
6 Murray St.
New York, NY 10007

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Stagecoach Tavern

January 10, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ve walked by this joint a million times and never thought twice about entering.

But a buddy and me decided to stroll in and try the burger. I thought it was going to be a fucking tourist trap shithole, but I was wrong. The inside is spacious, and actually nice.

The burger here is incredible.

Better than Rosie O’Grady’s nearby, better than P.J. Carney’s as well. In fact, I’d say it is one of the best burgers in midtown. The patty had a great crunchy crust on the outside edges. it was cooked properly to my “medium” specification. It was thick but not too thick that you can’t add toppings, and the cheese ratio was just right. Bun was strong and pliable as well. The only thing I didn’t like was the lettuce (garden mix as opposed to iceberg). I also swapped out cheddar for American cheese.

My buddy got a “chicken burger,” which was essentially some chicken breast pounded flat and breaded/fried, then topped with ham and swiss, and smeared with some thousand island dressing.

The fries were also excellent here as well. Crispy, natural cut, golden-brown twigs of awesome.

STAGECOACH TAVERN
834 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Diner, Flash Deals, Midtown East

Johnny Rocket’s

January 3, 2015 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My first encounter with a Johnny Rocket’s was back in about 2000 in Hoboken, NJ. I liked the concept of a throwback, old school, all-American diner/burger and shake joint. Now that burgers and this restaurant concept is high on NYC foodie radar, I felt like it was time to give respect to a company that was ahead of its time.

My wife and I popped into the Third Avenue & 56th Street location with a special deal that my wife nabbed for $10 or something crazy. Basically we got to choose any two burgers, any two types of fries or onion rings, and any two shakes.

The place was booming with feel-good music from the 50s and early 60s. The decor was classic chrome and vinyl. As a fan of this era (cars, music, attire, etc), I was in a happy place.

I know this place is a chain, and it’s not Jean le Roquet or some French burger bistro. But let’s be honest here. If something tastes good, what the fuck does it matter?

Check out how delicious my classic double American cheeseburger looks, with jalapeños, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and chopped onion looks. This place is so far the ONLY burger joint in NYC that knew to put a smear of mayonnaise on the bottom bun to prevent burger juice destruction. I was impressed.

The patties were just a shade overcooked for my liking, at medium-well instead of medium, but then again I was never even asked how I’d like my burger cooked. You may have noticed, I went with the onion rings. They had a nice crispy batter on them, they were well seasoned, not too big, and not mushy inside. Perfect for me.

My wife got the “12” burger, which I believe came with sliced onion and cheddar. She also opted for cheese fries, which were pretty nice as well.

Shakes are presented in the classic 50s/60s style, in old style Coke glasses with the metal glass holder, and a stainless mixer cup that contains some overflow extra shake. These were filling! But delicious. I went with a vanilla-chocolate mix, and my wife went with a chocolate-strawberry mix.

Overall I will just say this: the prices are extremely reasonable for NYC food, and if you’re a food elitist then you may be missing out on good food. They do a good job here so don’t walk on by just because the name is synonymous with the food court in the mall, ESPECIALLY if you score a sweet deal like my wife did.

JOHNNY ROCKET’S
930 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10022

Burgers, Fusion, Italian, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Ramen, Restaurant Reviews, Union Square/Flatiron

Maialino’s “Roman Ramen”

December 31, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I’ll preface this little write-up by noting that I only came here to try this brilliantly conceived mash-up of Japanese and Italian – a fusion that was best made in Super Mario Bros. – only this time it was in the food world rather than the video game world. For a limited time Maialino was serving what they called Roman Ramen at the bar. I heard about it here. Now it’s gone! You’re all too late. I tried to warn you on FB.

Okay, so Maialino’s “Roman Ramen” uses farro noodles in a pork broth, with a thick slice of porchetta, black pepper oil, some shaved greens, and, of course, a soft-boiled egg to achieve the most perfect ramen fusion dish one could possibly imagine. Everything just fits well. The noodles reminded me a little bit of the rye style noodles from Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop. They had a nice bite and texture to them. The pork maybe could have been braised better, as there was a slight bit of chew to it, but I didn’t mind so much because the flavor was really outstanding. It was distinctly Italian in flavor but Japanese in delivery. Another ingredient suggestion would be some kind of fungus. Like the Japanese, Italians are quite fond of mushrooms (remember – they are all over Super Mario Bros.): So perhaps some thin sliced raw baby bellas or julienne cut cooked portobellos would fit nicely in this bowl. At only $10 it’s a good deal too. The black pepper oil really sets this bowl apart from the others. I need to locate this stuff ASAP because I can no longer live without it.

Year 2: pork was more thinly sliced, which I ended up liking even better, as it reminded me of prosciutto. Broth was a little more substantial and deep in flavor. Mo’ betta greens, like arugula and some herbs. Still no mushrooms, and this time was a little lighter on the pepper oil (I was a little bummed about that but it was still fucking great).

I washed this bitch down with some Italian brew too – pretty good:

As a side note, the regular menu for this place looked incredible. I’ll definitely be back.

On a second trip, my wife and I came for the lunch price fix menu. For $35 you get any app, any prime or second item for your entree, and biscotti.

For the apps, we chose fried artichokes and the octopus with beans. Both were excellent. The artichokes were crispy and lemony, and the octopus was charred nicely. I’ve had softer octo before, but this was definitely still good.

For the entrees, my wife went with the malfatti, which is a broad pasta noodle that was served in a lemony brown butter sauce with suckling pig. This was great. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente and the pig was tender and flavorful.

Of course I chose the roasted sirloin for my dish. It was cooked perfectly to medium rare, and it still had a great charred crust on the edges. It was served with onions and potatoes: classic.

I also had to try the cavatelli with escarole and beans. Cavatelli is my favorite pasta, and escarole and beans is one of my favorite classical Italian peasant dishes. They did a great job here. It really reminded me of my mother’s cooking.

I sopped a lot of the nice juices up with the delicious table breads:

The only down side to the meal was the slowness in service. They were really busy, so it took very long to get each course. And they also nearly forgot to bring out the biscotti until I reminded them.

I’m generally not a huge fan of biscotti, or really any Italian cookies for that matter, but the flat, soft gingerbread cookie underneath was really delicious.

Not a bad bill for all we were able to try:

And in a really nice ambiance at that. I love the restaurant. It feels rustic yet elegant all at the same time.

UPDATE 6/5/17

THE BURGER IS BACK! Maialino is once again serving up their special burger, available at the bar from 12-2pm, and then from 10:30pm to close. It’s a delicious patty topped with gorgonzola and crispy pancetta, sitting on a rosemary brioche bun with lettuce and onion. Absurdly good.

MAIALINO
Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10010

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Jasper’s Taphouse & Kitchen

December 30, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I came here for a quick lunch special during the week when we had some time off from work. They offer a great deal: $10 for a cheeseburger with fries (curly or hand-cut) or salad, plus a pint of their house lager. Pretty sweet!

Unfortunately the burger was overcooked (came back well or maybe medium well, rather than medium), under seasoned, and under cheesed (it was one small slice on a thick patty).

The fries were perfectly cooked and crispy, but also lacked some seasoning. My wife had the curly fries, and I had the hand-cut. I liked mine better.

Over all it was still a good deal, but I’d rather pay full price for a perfectly executed burger than save a few bucks on a half-assed job.

JASPER’S TAPHOUSE & KITCHEN
761 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10018 ‎

Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Brickyard Gastropub

December 24, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Brickyard is a bar on 9th Avenue near 52nd Street that has some pretty fair-priced lunch specials.

The one I tried was $10 for a burger and fries, with just $3 drafts of anything on tap. I went with a nice refreshing UFO wheat beer to start off.

The burger was actually pretty decent, but the meat needed more seasoning, as well as an additional slice of cheese. The fries could use a bit more crisp to them as well. Not bad though: burger, fries and beer for $18 with tax and tip included. The pickle spear that came with the burger was a half-sour too, which I really liked.

BRICKYARD GASTROPUB
785 9th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

American, Burgers, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews, West Village

Corner Bistro

December 20, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Corner Bistro has long been hailed as one of the best places in NYC for a burger. About 12 years ago I sunk my teeth into a burger here, and only just recently had the chance to come back and try it again.

Most beers are under $4, and the bloody Mary was $7.

The hype is well placed. It IS a great burger and a very fair price (Bistro Burger for under $10). It was nicely cooked, but could benefit from slightly fewer raw onion circles and perhaps a second slice of cheese.

The fries were nicely golden, but lacked a little salt. Nearly perfect.

Better eating experience overall at Gotham West Market, despite the ambiance not being even close to the original. Also tots beat fries here.

CORNER BISTRO
331 W. 4th St.
New York, NY 10014

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Hooters

December 16, 2014 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Yes, Hooters… Did you think I was some kind of food elitist?

We all know the wings are pretty decent here. But Monday night is “Bunday” at Hooters, which means burger specials (ranging from $9.99 to $12.99) and $2.50 beers (bud, Bud Light, and Michelob Ultra). Three beers and a “Big Baja” burger (provolone, jalapeños, salsa) with fries (more like a half order of the curly fries) or tots for $25, right around the block from my apartment? Yup – I’m there.

Looks pretty good, right? I’m a professional photographer, though. I can make Jessica Simpson look good. In any event, the burger was fine – properly cooked and tasty. I’ve had better, and I’ve had worse. You go here for the deal, and if you’re a desperate pervert or don’t get cable or internet, you go for the tits. My buddy came for (the tits and) the BBQ bacon cheddar burger.