Tag Archives: hot dog

American, Burgers, Midtown West, Restaurant Reviews

Legasea Bar & Grill

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Connected to the Moxy hotel near Penn Station is a pretty cool bar and grill that serves up a great burger, named after my friend Dave from Golden Packing, their meat supplier. Check out my Ride & Review video HERE (second stop in the video):

You may think this doesn’t look too great. I thought so too. The cheese isn’t melted and the tomato is too thick. But it is DAMN GOOD! It’s made from ground prime NY strip steak. It’s more like a steakhouse burger than a standard bar burger. Go give it a shot! But skip the “wagyu” pigs in a blanket. They were dry!

LEGASEA BAR & GRILL
485 7th Ave
New York, NY 10018

East Village, Korean, Restaurant Reviews

Two Hands

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Two Hands is one of the deep-fried Korean style corndog joints that popped up all over the city in the last couple of years. This was the first time I ever tried one of them. I didn’t like it. Too sweet and too doughy, despite the beef dog inside being good quality.

TWO HANDS
147 Avenue A
SSTO
New York, NY 10009

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, Lower East Side/Chinatown

Mighties

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Mighties is a new burger joint that just opened in the Market Line food hall at Essex and Delancey. Their regular burger is two 5oz patties with American cheese, LTOP and special sauce. Notice how thin the toppings are sliced… Expert level.

This thing is pretty damn great, and with Ends Meat beef in the mix, you know you’re getting meat from a small farm operation with fresh hanging beef that went directly from the farm to the butchers in Brooklyn after being split in half.

They also have some amazing hot dogs on the menu:

And on Fridays they offer a dry aged burger that will blow you away.

This is a 7oz beast that really brings the funk.

I think this might be my new favorite burger in town for this fast-casual style.

Want something secret/special that’s off the menu? Ask Nash or Fabian for the chopped cheese fries. Killer!

I’m psyched that this is in my hood now. I’ll be here pretty often!

MIGHTIES
115 Delancey St
New York, NY 10002

Burgers, Diner, Other

The White Spot

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This old school stool seating diner has been around for a long time in the UVA area. My wife and I were in town for a wedding, so I had to try this place. We tried the Double Gus Burger, which is two thin patties, with American cheese and an egg. I’m generally not a huge fan of egg on a burger, but this one really hit home.

Great onions rings and fried hot dog too.

We finished off with a slice of lemon pie too. This joint was exactly what I wanted it to be. Cheap, delicious grub.

THE WHITE SPOT
1407 University Ave
Charlottesville, VA 22903

American, Burgers, California, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, NY Strip, Restaurant Reviews

The Saratoga

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This nicely appointed San Francisco eatery serves up some pretty fun grub.

We tried a bunch of stuff, so let me get right down to business.

Toga Tots

These brick-like tots were stacked, Jenga style. They had an awesomely crisp outside and a soft, mashed potato-esque inside. Topped with cheddar, chorizo and cilantro. Perfect.

Seven Spice Chicken Slider

These were pretty good. I really liked the Alabama white sauce and dill pickles.

Cubano Frank

This wonderful mashup between a Cuban sandwich and a hot dog was my favorite dish of the meal. Slow roasted pork, swiss cheese and spiced relish.

The Saratoga Burger

This baby was served with taleggio cheese and slaw on an onion bun. Pretty good! But after coming off of a Causwell’s burger high, we weren’t blown away.

Dry-Aged Flannery Beef NY Steak

For years I’ve heard great things about Flannery Beef. I had high hopes. This was really tough. I think they served us a hanger steak too – not a NY strip (I even asked and they confirmed NY strip). No way. I know beef texture and this was more like hanger and not remotely like striploin. The sauce was good but the beef was difficult to eat. 4/10.

Tomato Braised Tuscan Kale

Not my cup of tea here. Probably should have ordered the mushrooms or spring peas instead. This tasted like heartburn in each bite.

Ho Hos

These were fun! Definitely tasted just like a classic ho ho, but much better and elevated. Winner.

Chartreuse

The staff was awesome here. The owner saw that we were all taking pics for Instagram so he gave us a round of yellow and green chartreuse on the house. We barely touched them, however, since none of us particularly liked either of them. Bitter, and tasted like cough medicine. I realize this spirit is an acquired taste though, and I respect that this joint has one of the largest collections of chartreuse available in the world. Pretty cool. Just not my taste.

Their cocktails, however, are delicious. Here’s a shot of the Vieux Carre, which was delicious:

THE SARATOGA
1000 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

American, Restaurant Reviews, Tribeca

Hank’s Juicy Beef

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After our Chicago trip, I realized there was a place downtown that serves Chicago style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. That place is called Hank’s Juicy Beef.

Here’s the run down:

The hot dog is great. A fine representation of the Chicago dog.

Nice and plump too.

The Italian beef sandwich is on par with Portillo’s, which was my favorite of the trip. The giardiniera had both celery and carrots in it, and the sliced peppers were added in for the spicy version.

We added some provolone to it as well. The only down side was the bread. It was a little stale. I guess that’s why you get it dipped, and continue to dip it into the jus cup that they provide.

We also tried their sweet Italian sausage sandwich. This was great as well. Same deal with the bread though.

Curly fries for the finish!

I definitely recommend giving this place a try.

HANK’S JUICY BEEF
84 Chambers St
New York, NY 10007

American, Chicago, Restaurant Reviews

Portillo’s

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Portillo’s is a Chicago mainstay, so it was only natural that it was our very first stop on a trip to Chicago last weekend.

We ordered two Chicago classics, the Chicago style hot dog (poppy seed bun, sport pepper, yellow mustard, relish, pickle, etc), and the Italian beef sandwich (shaved beef with giardiniera).

The dog was pretty much perfect. I would have liked more sport peppers, but hey. No complaints otherwise.

This was my first time having a proper Chicago Italian beef sandwich, and I was blown away. The dip into Italian herb infused gravy is the perfect way to finish this sandwich, and the spicy giardiniera is the perfect way to get pickled flavors into it. I added some shredded mozzarella for good measure. This is different from a Philly cheesesteak for sure, but I like it much better. It’s more about the beef!

We also tried the chocolate cake shake and the frozen custard, both of which were great desserts.

On a second trip, we did the Polish sausage. Excellent.

PORTILLO’S
100 W Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60654

Burgers, Diner, New Orleans, Restaurant Reviews

Clover Grill

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When I first went to New Orleans in 2009, my wife and I walked by this little dive diner joint a bunch of times and kept contemplating going in to try a burger. It looks like just the kind of place where you might find something fantastic. A hidden gem, so to speak.

They even claim to have the best burger in the world.

The menu is actually funny to read. Check it out.

You can actually see the hubcaps they use.

So we had to get it.

But look at the menu description for the hot dog.

So we had to get it.

Well, despite all the excitement, these two items didn’t quite deliver. They were just okay. But I do love the atmosphere here – a very small old style diner, open 24 hours.

Even complete with slices of pie. Here’s the ice box key lime pie, which was actually great.

CLOVER GRILL
900 Bourbon St
New Orleans, LA 70116

American, Burgers, Fusion, Korean, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Non-Steakhouse Steaks, Other Cuts, Press Reviews, Restaurant Reviews

Ms. Yoo

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I was invited into Ms. Yoo to try their burger and help promote it on Instagram. I brought a couple of food photo people with me as well, so we were able to order a bunch of other stuff in addition to the burger.

Ms Yoo is essentially an American joint, but it incorporates lots of Korean flavors and ingredients into each dish that you really walk away thinking you ate a 100% Korean meal. I guess one could call it “fusion,” but it’s not pretentious and douchey like other “fusion” places can  be.

First up was this bowl of nori popcorn to get things started.

The salted seaweed adds a nice natural savory element to the snack.

Next up was the beef carpaccio. This baby was gorgeous, topped with watercress, edible flowers and a cured egg yolk.

Then we tried some mac and cheese made from rice cakes (tteok).

The rice cakes are the perfect texture and vehicle to drive a great, cheesy comfort food like mac abad cheese. This one was made with gruyere and cheddar, and had a panko crust.

This was absolutely delicious, especially since it had copious amounts of bacon in it. That dipping sauce you see there is made with tomatoes and kimchi.

There are two varieties of chicken wing: spicy gochujang and honey soy sesame. The breading was perfectly crisp. While I typically like spicy wings best, the honey soy sesame was my favorite between the two.

We also had some bone marrow, which came with a bacon kimchi onion jam. Yeah – wild!

There’s also a really unique and flavorful hot dog on the menu here, topped with a dynamite grilled jalapeño pepper.

And that’s homemade Korean pork sausage on a pretzel roll with some Yoo sauce to boot (a spicy mayo, I think). Easily one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Oh yeah and the burger! This beauty is 10oz of beefy goodness topped with American cheese, Yoo sauce, and a kimchi bacon onion jam that will make you mouth water for days after tasting it.

I’m really looking forward to going back and eating that burger again, actually. And part of the reason why is because I want this as an encore for dessert:

These are honey-butter chips, and they’re the closest thing that Ms Yoo has on the menu to a dessert at the moment (there will be a dedicated dessert menu in time). These are just fried root veggie chips, like taro, potato and sweet potato, but they’re dressed in a sweet, yet savory and spicy, honey-butter glaze that’ll blow you away. Absolute must try.

UPDATE 6/16/18

Had the delicious pork belly bossam. This is mandatory.

Also tried the flank steak. 7/10 – just needed more seasoning.

MS YOO
163 Allen St
New York, NY 10002