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Adam - just posted this on Brooklynian - wanted you to know that I have christened the cheeseburger with diced raw onions and pickles the Kubano in your honor ;-)
http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=453899#453899

I'm stoked too - it'll be the closest passable burger to my apartment. Went by last night and they were doing "live" training - it smelled great!

I'm with @mh330 here - would love to see a response

Thanks for the food porn and the Shack revisit - The picture of the Shack Guy holding the burger in such a come-hither way reminds me of both a hooker and a drug dealer - both analogies work for Shack burgers considering all you have to go through to get some ;-)

Based entirely on the weight of your re-review on Thursday, I made my first visit today for lunch. Let me spoil this right up front my saying I loved everything about my experience today except the burger.

I arrived at about 12:15 PM and was warmly welcomed by two young women at the host stand. I told them I'd sit at the bar. There were only about 5 or 6 other people in the restaurant at this time. I again was warmly greeted at the bar by the young gut tending bar and placed my order - a classic burger w/cheddar, small fries and a small root beer ($14.00 before tip).

The physical space at Stand BTW is wonderful - modern, clean, cool and comfortable. It's really an appealing minimalist design.

The burger, ordered medium rare arrived cooked perfectly medium. It was on a brioche bun just a tad smaller than the burger circumference - stacked on top of the burger were hopefully-not-killer tomatoes, raw onions and a unnecessarily high pile of shredded lettuce. Under the burger were crinkle-cut dills and a small squirt of their ketchup & mustard. Like you I did not like the red peppercorn sauce that was served on the side. I did, however, add a squirt of "Japanese mayonnaise" to the burger half way through. That condiment was a nice surprise - it's sweet and went well with everything else.

The burger was one of the most beautiful, well-charred, and juicy I have ever seen. The problem was not only was it cooked medium it was absolutely tasteless - I mean absolutely - no hint of salt, pepper, or, gawd-forbid, fat. If this was the 80/20 % lean to fat version, they need to return to the 70/30 version. This was the most tasteless burger I have ever eaten and makes me appreciate the Shake Burger even more, which is a salt lick compared to Stand's version.

The fries, on the other hand, were perfection, golden brown and crispy on the outside, soft and hot on the inside. Some of the best I've had.

If the burger I had today is representative then they should rename Stand Bland.

Ed - I like your alpha-rating system for one simple reason - NYC is "starred" out - just completely starred out - TONY, NYM, NYT, RG, etc ad naseum. If you had chosen to go with stars I think you would have created dis-interest from the outset.

I also think that the alpha-system allows you to go into more areas of the eating/dining experience...
Food A
Bun C
Burger A
Seating D
Decor B
Service A
etc, etc

Good luck - I look forward to your reviews - have always loved to read your take.

Wow, another man who really doesn't like women - how unusual - so Spitzer/Paterson like.

Bar Boulud, and all the other permutations, here, there, and everywhere, is a case study in branding - once a brand is defined for it's inventiveness, high quality, and superb products nothing short of that will ever suffice.

Maybe Monsieur Boulud would be better advised to reject the Trump-like egotism of self-named projects, and just build great, profitable restaurants that do not bear his initials or name - thus staving off the ready-made criticism that high expectation breeds.

I haven't tried them at Gramercy, but I'm salivating as I write this...meatballs at Frankies 457 Spuntino are "to die for."

Ed - we're all pulling for you! You have more will power than I could ever muster in your circumstance!

BTW - Love your birthday celebration style. It's my wife's birthday this weekend and we're heading to Le Bernardin for lunch tomorrow, Rose Water for dinner Sat night, Stone Park for brunch on Sunday and Jean-Georges for lunch on Monday.

Thanks for being my food muse!

No question about it, Moim, in Park Slope, has to be Brooklyn's best in 2007. A welcome new taste sensation to PS's restaurant scene.

reservations!