Tag Archives: cheeseburgers

Burgers, Nolita/Soho, West Village

Hamburger America

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First, watch this episode of Around the Hood HERE:

I finally got over to Hamburger America to try out George Motz’s take on the historic Oklahoma style onion smash burger.

He keeps it really simple: A meatball goes onto the flat top, it gets seasoned, and then it gets smushed into a flat burger patty with thin sliced onions. The two become one, and they’re topped with a slice of yellow American cheese – one per patty. A swirl of mustard and a few slices of pickle is all that garnishes this bite of American nostalgia – which gets sandwiched inside a soft, pillowy, butter-toasted potato bun.

There’s less crispy texture here than with other smash burgers, due to the steaming onion aspect, but the simple, unconfused flavors make me want to keep coming back for more. It’s a great burger! Simple and delicious.

And the shoestring fries are perfectly crisped and seasoned as well.

Make sure you try a slice of pie and an egg cream, too. There’s nothing better while sitting at a diner counter.

HAMBURGER AMERICA
51 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012

Burgers, Queens

Petey’s Burger

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I stopped in this joint with some guys from the NYC Zooz Club after a ride, and stuffed a double cheeseburger down my throat.

It was really good! I didn’t get a photo of their shoestring fries, but they were excellent. All in, with a drink, $17. Excellent deal!

PETEY’S BURGER
46-46 Vernon Blvd.
Queens, NY 11101

Burgers, Diner, East Village

Paul’s Da Burger Joint

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This St. Marks staple serves up a thick-ass burger for under $10.

Although both a bit under-seasoned, the burger and fries combo for under $14 is a steal, especially if you go on your birthday like I did, and save an extra $5.

PAUL’S DA BURGER JOINT
131 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Burgers, Midtown West

Lovely’s Old Fashioned

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This new Hell’s Kitchen burger joint is a great throwback to the old fashioned counter style diner joints, like Mikey’s in the Lower East Side (RIP).

This place is absolutely fantastic. Check out my Ride & Review HERE first.

The fries could have used another minute in the deep fryer, but the onion rings were absolutely perfect.

This simple and delicious burger should be at the top of your list of places to try, ASAP!

I loved those steamed onions, and the babka was nice too. I can’t wait to go back!

LOVELY’S OLD FASHIONED
642 9th Ave
New York, NY 10036

Burgers, Fusion, Other, Queens, Restaurant Reviews

Carla

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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

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

King’s Cafe

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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, Midtown West, Press Reviews

Handcraft Burgers & Brew

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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!

The chicken sandwich was great as well. Great spice to it.

As a tribute to Rutt’s Hut over in NJ, they also offer this ripper hot dog. It really hit the spot with a crispy snap.

And to top it off, the fries and tots were both golden and crunchy.

I highly recommend this place. The food is better than most other joints out there slinging smash patties now.

HANDCRAFT BURGERS & BREW
110 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

Burgers, Nolita/Soho, Press Reviews

Bronson’s Burgers

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There’s a new burger joint in Nolita and it’s pretty great!

They’re serving Golden Packing beef burgers with cheddar, pickles and caramelized onions on a delicious house baked bun.

The chicken sandwiches are made from fried thighs, so they’re extra tender and juicy!

Great crisp on them too. They also have excellent fries and onion rings.

As well as some interesting “cheeseburger hash browns.”

Don’t skip on their shakes and homemade lemonades too. We had both basil and blueberry mint. They were incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day.

BRONSON’S BURGERS
250 Mulberry St,
New York NY 10012

Burgers, Midtown East, Press Reviews

Empire Burger House

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Opening up a new restaurant during this madness takes balls. The folks from Empire Steakhouse are evidently chock full of balls. Not only have they just launched Empire Burger House, a really friggin great restaurant that delivers steakhouse quality beef burgers in smaller, more affordable sizes, but they’re really upped the game in terms of comfort and class in their outdoor dining space. I saw with some friends for a full steakhouse dinner on a very cold night, and I was wearing just a long sleeved shirt. Awesome!

Anyway I tried their single, double and spicy chicken sandwich. I was really impressed. The double was by far my favorite of the three – just the right ratio of meat to bun and toppings. And the special sauce on the burgers is incredible. It’s almost like zingy ranch of some kind, or an Alabama white sauce.

Call this place right now for delivery, or go sit outside in their warm outdoor dining space.

EMPIRE BURGER HOUSE
147 E 50th St Second Floor
New York, NY 10022

Burgers, Midtown West, Press Reviews

Kings of Kobe

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NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

Kings of Kobe is a newly crowned burger and hot dog monarchy that rocks some royally special menu items.

They use high quality Schweid & Sons American Wagyu in all of their burger offerings, and their Snake River American Wagyu beef hot dogs are topped with things to make them international in scope, in addition to domestic.

For example, the Vietnamese sandwich inspired “Banh Mine” dog is topped with marinated cucumbers and carrots, cilantro and sriracha aioli to harness that banh mi flavor profile.

In fact, the hot dog products here are the best I’ve had in the city. They’re thick, delicious and satisfying.

The Notorious P.I.B.
Waffle Hot Dog

In scanning the menu, my eyeballs instantly went to the King’s Standard burger: roasted tomato, white cheddar, pickles and cherry pepper aioli.

This baby was bursting with flavor. The roasted tomato is such an awesome substitute for ketchup. The patty was cooked perfectly. It had a nice crisp char on the outside. It was think enough to remain pink through the center, without being too thick that it becomes unwieldy to eat. My only gripe is that I wished there was one more slice of cheese on this baby, to satisfy my love for cheese-laden “roadside” style burgers.

We also tried The Queen Rules, which is topped with prosciutto, pepper jack cheese, frisee and sweet chili jam.

The sweet chili jam was similar to a relish. I generally dislike relish, but this one was tasty. I liked this burger a lot but I still prefer the King’s Standard over this one.

The battered fries are super crispy and nicely seasoned.

And of course, we tried a chocolate shake.

The full spread:

The menu is really interesting, and the prices are extremely fair for these high quality offerings. My buddy Rev told me about this place and hooked up a comped press visit for me and my wife. I am eternally grateful. My burger delivery options just went bonkers.

KINGS OF KOBE
790 9th Ave
New York, NY 10019