Category Archives: Burgers

Burgers, Fusion, Other, Queens, Restaurant Reviews

Carla

July 17, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I stopped in here with some of the guys from the Zooz electric bike club (for $150 off your bike, use code JOHNNYPRIME at www.zoozbikes.com).

We sat outside, but then it started pouring, so we went inside. The place was nice enough to let us put our bikes into their covered outdoor seating area to stay dry.

Anyway, I tried their burger. I wasn’t crazy about the pickled cabbage on it, but the rest was great. The waffle fries were perfectly crispy with a good spice seasoning on it, like Old Bay/cajun. The egg is unnecessary, but it didn’t make it sloppy or anything. Good crispy bacon, which I broke up a little bit for neater coverage.

I would definitely eat here again if I was in the area. The service was excellent, and the menu was unique. In particular, I’d like to try their pho and banh mi sandwich.

CARLA
2503 40th Ave
Queens, NY 11101

Burgers, East Village, Fusion, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Spanish

Emilia by Nai

June 26, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

Once again my friend Ruben absolutely nails it with his third restaurant, Emilia. Check out this quick video of some of the dishes we tried:

I can’t wait to go back and try more stuff. He is still in the process of perfecting the burger (he’s working on the bun), so I’ll definitely try that again.

Favorite items so far: artichoke with soy cured egg and crispy sunchokes, red snapper, and monkfish liver mousse.

EMILIA BY NAI
174 1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009

Burgers, Chicago, Diner, Restaurant Reviews

Billy Goat Tavern

June 1, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The famous Olympia Diner scene from SNL, come to life!

I have to say, I expected this burger to suck, seeing as though this place is definitely somewhat of a tourist trap, and the meat to bun ratio seemed way off. That’s why I went with the triple. Boy was I wrong in my assumptions. The burger was great!

I will make it a mission to come here on every visit to Chicago. Next time I’ll try the Polish sausage and the hotdog.

BILLY GOAT TAVERN
Lower 430 North Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

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

Haswell Green’s

May 27, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

having gone to Haswell Green’s several times for cocktails over the years, I finally made it over there to try the food. I have to say: the burger matches the quality of the cocktails: AWESOME!

It’s a double smash patty burger on a potato bun with pickles, cheese and special sauce. Very simple, but really well executed. Go give it a shot. I actually think this might be my favorite burger in that part of town. Better than Black Tap, all the steakhouses nearby, and any other bar or fast food joint slinging burgers for theater patrons.

The boneless wings pork+veal meatballs are decent as well.

But make sure you try some of their cocktails. Really nicely crafted.

HASWELL’S GREEN
240 W 52nd St
New York, NY 10019

Burgers, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Pub Food, Restaurant Reviews

Black Crescent

April 26, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The tiny burger at Black Crescent may be overpriced at $13, but it is damn delicious. Great char, lovely beefy chuck flavor, and plenty of cheese coverage.

It’s definitely more of a slider sized burger (it’s sitting on a small ketchup cup in the pic above), but whatever. As long as it’s good.

Pro tip: order the waffle fries for $10: it’s basically enough for three people.

BLACK CRESCENT
76 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002

American, Burgers, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews

King’s Cafe

April 26, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

In my quest to try all the burgers in the lower east side, I came across another addition to the smash burger craze that’s sweeping the area: King’s Cafe.

The burger was beautiful, and well assembled. Cheddar, aioli, double patties, caramelized onions… Everything was great about it, except for the overwhelming flavor of onion water. It was as if the onions had been sitting in the bottom of a sink, just stewing there. I’m not really sure how else to put it!

Great seasoned fries, awesome bun, great ratios all over the place. Just that onion water… Odd.

KING’S CAFE
79 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, Lower East Side/Chinatown

The Burgary

April 21, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

The Burgary’s Lower Eastsider has potential to be one of my new favorites in the area. It’s got a 6oz dry aged patty, topped with crispy pastrami that acts like bacon and brings it into the “lower east side”/Jewish deli flavor profile, along with a killer horseradish mustard sauce. Gruyere, pickles, everything brioche. Very unique! It’s light on tomato and lettuce, which is good. In the negative column, it could use fewer raw onions and the patty was a little dense/over worked. Great batter style fries to go along with it though. I didn’t try the tots. Next time. This burger is definitely a winner in my book.

UPDATE 07-15-2023

Their lamb burger is absolutely incredible as well!!!

It’s topped with cucumbers, red onions, a feta yogurt type sauce, and harissa. Lights out! It may look like too much, but it worked!

We also enjoyed the Stool Pigeon fried chicken sandwich. Perfectly crisp.

Fried pickles, calamari and wings were all great for starters.

On the side, tots never disappoint. The onion rings are nice too.

This s’mores shake is BONKERS too.

Don’t forget to check out the speakeasy called Garfunkel’s upstairs. It’s so cool! You can see a little bit of it in my Ride & Review video on YouTube HERE.

THE BURGARY
67 Clinton St
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, East Village, Italian

Gemma

March 27, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

I finally got to try some of the food at Gemma in the Bowery Hotel. Started with a delicious orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe pesto and sweet Italian sausage.

Next up: beautiful burger with broiled cheddar on top.

My favorite dish was the Cornish hen. So flavorful!

And a really nicely cooked center cut New York strip steak.

We finished off with some pistachio cream cannoli.

Really great meal!

GEMMA
335 Bowery
New York, NY 10003

American, Burgers, East Village, Restaurant Reviews

Great Jones Distilling

March 6, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

After trying their bourbon a few times and really enjoying it, I finally got over to Great Jones Distillery for some food and drinks.

My wife and I tried a flight of their spirits as well as their fancy burger.

The burger is topped with a bacon and bourbon jam, blue or cheddar cheese (we chose blue based on the waitress’ recommendation) and potato chips.

It was cooked perfectly, and the fries were good. However, we wish we picked cheddar since the blue sort of overpowered that bacon and bourbon jam. But otherwise it was good.

I’m a fan of their bourbon too, so we picked up a bottle on the way out. I’m looking forward to going back for a tour and a steak.

GREAT JONES DISTILLING CO
686 Broadway
New York, NY 10012

Burgers, East Village

Bastard Burger at Bronx Brewery

March 6, 2022 Johnny Prime Leave a comment

My wife and I just tried Bastard Burger over at the new Bronx Brewery location in the east village.

The beer selection is great – a little something for everyone, as opposed to just non-stop shitty IPAs. We tried a cardamom ale, and a saison. Both were tasty.

The burger is quality as well. I’m not a huge fan of the stringy cheddar, but the patty, toppings, bun and sauce were all good.