Tag Archives: burger

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

Haswell Green’s

May 27, 2022 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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 0 Comments

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.

The “Ziggy” fries are awesome. Crispy and well seasoned. I’d definitely eat here again.

BASTARD BURGER
64 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Burgers, West Village

Best Burger NYC

March 2, 2022 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

Oddly enough, I first tried the fried chicken sandwich here with onion rings, and both were awesome. Spicy honey, slaw, and great pickles.

That made me want to come back to try the burger.

This was incredible! Plus, it’s real handsome:

I highly recommend this burger – so good!

BEST BURGER NYC
53 Little West 12th St
New York, NY 10014

Burgers, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Upper East Side

& Son: The “Steakeasy” in Back of Mel’s Burger Bar

February 2, 2022 Johnny Prime 1 Comment

I recently discovered this steak speakeasy in the back of Mel’s Burger Bar:

This joint is incredible. I love the warm, dim ambiance. Very old school, and reminiscent of Donohue’s.

I’m a little biased since Golden Packing supplies this place with their proteins, but I was absolutely blown away by the burger.

This is a prime 8oz patty made from the ends of striploins; a steak burger, if you will, served up in the style of an elevated and colossal Big Mac. Best burger I’ve had in a long time.

They offer a la carte menu pricing, but the way to go here is with the set menu full dinners. In the set menu, you either get a steak ($49), burger ($33), or chicken ($39), along with a side, a salad and a dessert. Great deal!

When you go, you definitely need to get this carbonara mac and cheese as your side:

The steak they’re offering right now is a grilled sirloin, and soon they will be adding this prime strip steak to the menu (likely for a little bit more money):

It’s a stunner. We sampled it, and it was delicious – an easy 9/10. I’m just pushing for a larger cut. This sample was 12oz. I think 16oz would be better for this place, and maybe aged.

& SON
1450 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10021

Burgers, Midtown West, Press Reviews

Handcraft Burgers & Brew

January 9, 2022 Johnny Prime 0 Comments

A buddy of mine helped open this joint over by Bryant Park, so I had to go check it out. The food here is excellent! Check out how perfect this burger looks:

That’s a handsome fella. And it was as delicious as it looks. Certified Angus Beef smash patties, shredded lettuce, sharp American cheese, and tomato on a brioche bun. The crust on those patties was perfect!