Tag Archives: cheeseburger

Parlor Steakhouse

NOTE: THIS PLACE IS CLOSED!

I haven’t had the chance to review this joint completely on the steakhouse tip, but me and a couple of friends came here for the bottomless brunch deal (caveat – not really bottomless – limit of five drinks within two hours).

At $29 you have a pretty good selection of entrees to choose from, including steak and eggs. We all went with the burger for this go-round, which came pre-sliced on the plate, and which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (I’m fine with it):

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It was a decent burger, but we were all in agreement that there are better burgers around. Good, strong yet soft bun, nice toppings, although I wasn’t too crazy about the pickled onions. A little bit of a thicker patty than I like, but whatever. The real star(s) of the plate were the French fries with fried onions on top:

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They were absolutely perfect in every way. Crisp outside, soft inside, nicely salted, etc.

I stuck with the Bloody Mary for my drinks, but managed to get some photos of my friend’s girly drinks (bellini and mimosa).

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PARLOR STEAKHOUSE
1600 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10128

Mikey’s

This little lower east side burger joint is the perfect place for a hits-the-spot burger and fries combo.

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For $10 even, you get a pretty fucking solid little burger and a HUGE order of french fries. And on the weekend they still serve up the lunch special, which means you get a free can of soda with it.

mikeys burger

mikeys fries

The bun is a great potato jammy, and the burger comes topped with lettuce, tomato and onion. The patty gets a wonderful crisp on it due to the flat top griddle:

mikeys griddle

The menu is pretty great looking. I will definitely be back to try a couple of the hotdogs:

mikeys menu

MIKEY’S BURGER
134 Ludlow St
New York, NY 10002

The Irish Pub

I’ve walked by this place a bunch of times on the way to work and wondered: what an incredibly generic name!

I checked out their menu online, and I was intrigued by the Diablo Burger – a burger topped with buffalo sauce, jalapeños and sautéed onions.

irish pub plate

irish pub stack

Mine was cooked a little over, but otherwise it was good:

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The bun was fantastic: strong, supple, yet soft and pliable. It even had a nice branded logo on top:

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The cajun fries that came with it were great too. Old Bay seasoning, if I had to guess, and nicely fried to a golden crisp.

Wash that down with a pitcher of brew and you’re all set. No happy hour specials though. Lame.

irish pub beer

THE IRISH PUB
837 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019

Wicked Willy’s

I snagged a groupon for this place that got me two burgers with fries, and two beers for $20. Not a bad snag. Unfortunately the day my buddy and I came here, there was some sort of fire going on underground in the sewers that made the entire block smell like burning diarrhea. Fucking obnoxious. Occasionally the smell would waft into the pirate-themed bar, which really sucked. You can see the scene below. Apparently the fire was raging, with that God-aweful stench, for about four days without response from the fire department. I guess no one thought to call, or no one realized that it was actually a fire as opposed to just a lingering bum smell.

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In any case, the burger I tried was called “Black Beard.” The meat was a blend of chorizo and beef, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and cheddar cheese.

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It was seasoned well, and dressed with a garlic aioli that made the flavors pop. The only down side here was the bun. It was a little crumbly and dry.

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Fries were solid. Crispy, golden, and seasoned properly:

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Decent burger, fun bar, and I kinda liked the pirate theme. They play live music and even have peer pong tables set up, with a massive projector screen in the back room as well. Here’s a photo of some broad who was measuring dicks in the men’s bathroom:

bathroom art wicked willy

WICKED WILLY’S
149 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10012

Smash Burger

This fast casual joint is on 33rd just west of 5th Avenue, and it packs a wallop of flavor for a burger and fry combo of under $9.

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I got the Classic Smash, the 5oz patty (I was on my way to lunch, so I didn’t want to fill up too much). For $1 more you can upgrade to a 7oz patty. Not bad!

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That’s an egg bun you see there. Very supple, strong and soft at the same time. This is a quality burger. The only down was that they put a bit too much mustard and ketchup on the fucker, so it got a little messy. The Smash Sauce alone would have been fine.

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The fries are incredible. They’re shoestring fuckers, but they are slightly thinner than your typical Mickey D’s girth. This makes for a nice crisp texture without going overboard like them shits at Spotted Pig (which are, essentially, Potato Stix).

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SMASH BURGER
10 W 33rd St
New York, NY 10001

Ruby’s

My buddy and I came in here after our first intended place for a burger ended up being closed for the day. It turns out that we were better off at this spot, as this ended up being one of the best burgers I’ve had in NYC to date.

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I ordered the classic cheeseburger, which came in double patty format with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and Ruby’s sauce, which you can see oozing down the side in the above photo. Check the cut shot below:

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The burgers were cooked to a perfect medium, and the bun was a strong yet soft potato style jammy. This shit was so good I almost ordered a second/came in my pants.

My buddy got the Bronte burger, which came on grilled/pressed bread with a sweet chili sauce. Very nice as well, but that burger above was the big winner.

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Worth noting: the fries here are spectacular as well. They are shoestring style, but fried to a  perfect crisp and served with an herb mayo on the side. Awesome. I’ll be back here again for sure.

RUBY’S
219 Mulberry St.
New York, NY 10012

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole restaurants hold a special place in my heart. I met my wife for the first time at the east 80s location when she was working there as a waitress.

The original Jackson Hole location is a pretty cool little joint on the ground floor of a nice brownstone building on 64th Street between 3rd and Lex.

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When you first come down the stairs you are greeted with the cashier, the kitchen, and a few bar stool type seats, like you might see at an old diner.

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Around the corner is the dining room, which seems to have retained all the charm it had upon opening nearly 45 years ago.

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Upon sitting down, you get a nice bowl of half sour pickles. Fucking damn good.

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I ordered an American cheeseburger.

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It stacks up nice with lettuce, tomato and pickle:

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The burgers here are generous 7oz patties, cooked to a nice medium on the flat top griddle. The bread could use some improvement, but otherwise this was a great burger.

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The fries were steak fries style, but they were cooked to a great crispy golden brown. I typically hate steak fries, but these were excellent.

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Wash that delicious shit down with a coffee flavored milk shake, and you’re all set:

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My wife ordered a breakfast plate of two eggs over easy with sausage and toast:

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JACKSON HOLE
232 E. 64th St.
New York, NY 10065

BRGR

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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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

Burger & Lobster

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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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

Manhattan Proper

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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MANHATTAN PROPER
6 Murray St.
New York, NY 10007