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@sticky wicket: I thought about adding cheese...but it's too late by this point. Fail. Pretend this is the poll for "What are your favorite toppings that aren't cheese or condiments?"

I've had ham on a burger once before. Ham and bacon on top of the patty. It's not bad at all. Adds a good saltiness, but you need to expect it, or I can see it being very off-putting.

It has to be French Doux de Montagne cheese. It says so here Pork cheeseburger with avocado :-)

glad to see HB in there...i was afriad i was the only one who dug their burger. they get mucho points for using the potato roll too!

Funny you should mention Rockwell's, jess8328.

Within the past week, I've eaten at both Rockwell's and Lucky's (though at the Hell's Kitchen location).

The meals came to the same price (10 and change) for a burger, fries and soda combo.

Lucky's was good, comparable to Shake Shack and much less crowded, but I didn't appreciate them not asking if I wanted lettuce or tomato (I didn't), and the shop itself was kinda dingy. I appreciated getting a lot more fries than I would have at Shake Shack. I also (thanks to my poor budgeting at a street fair) was a little short on change and they told me not to worry about it. That was nice. I'd eat there if I was with a friend, but the next time I go for a burger, I'll go to the Shack, they're a dollar eighty nine cheaper and closer to a big concentration of cute puppies.

Rockwells offers "boring" burgers (their words, not mine) and "mix-in" burgers. Their fries are delightful. The mix-in burgers (up to four mixins, including bacon, cheese or veggies, and your choice of sauce) are cheaper and therefore a better deal than the boring burgers but to those who prefer to have cheese ON rather than IN their burgers it can be a little disconcerting. Mine TASTED like it had bleu cheese, onion and bacon in it but maybe it was just flavoring. It was tasty and the place was cute, but again, I'd rather go to The Shack. Unless it's raining.

This was one of the places we ate while we were in NY this spring. We weren't impressed. It was Ok, but won't go there when we return to NY. Will probably try 5 Napkin down the street.

Glad you got to try it Robyn. I have tried Lucky's twice since emailing you.

A week after they opened I ordered delivery. I asked for medium rare, but received a well done hockey puck that had as much cow flavor as a piece of leather (I assume.)

Not to judge unfairly on a possible service hickup in their first week, I went back on Friday and ordered takeout. Obviously, takeout and delivery are not the best for burgers but I love just a few blocks away. This time I wasn't screwing leaving anything to chance - I ordered it rare. This probably was on the rare side of med-rare. It was pretty tasty, but yeah it was no Shake Shack. Good fresh-tasting pickles and onions, good condiments like the special sauce and the chipotle mayo. All in all, pretty decent.

As you pointed out, I'd be better of going to Shake Shack or trying Bills (still need to try it, will ask for extra juicy), IF I have the time. Thing is, the Shack isn't right between my subway and my apartment, so I will probably pick this up again sometime just because of the convenience factor.

The shake was pretty standard, but huge. Even diners usually give you a $5-6 shake in a 16 ounce cup. This was a full 20 ounce thick shake.

I liked the fries a lot. Better than the Shack. Same fresh-cut crinkle cut fries, but Lucky's had a much more real potato flavor to me.

$13? Ouch!!!!

Sorry Nick-gotta disagree with you. I think Mark is comparable to Kenny's.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/661856
As mentioned in the link, my crew at Alwayshungryny.com also liked Mark.
-------Guttergourmet

Nick and NYCFoodguy,

Just a heads up about another slider possibility in the area. I was at Dempsy's bar the other night and got some amazing good sliders there. Maybe they blew me away since I wasn't expecting much but they were a perfect size, juicy and cooked probably the best medium rare I have ever had on a slider. Just another option nearby in the East Village.

Nick,

Good to hear back from you and point well taken. I just WANT to like Mark because its the closest I'll get to sliders late night. There's room to improve and I appreciate the fact that you support that, just would have liked to have seen that kind of forgiveness in the actual review. Seems like you're holding a place that hasn't claimed to recreate perfection to some pretty high standards (i.e., White Manna).

Veselka burger has fallen off big time and its especially worse every time I've had it after 1AM (never cooked to order and inconsistent bun offerings) and Blue 9 is meh. Too bad Back Forty's not open at 1AM although that would be a bit sacreligious eating a burger than high quality after a drunken night. I've had Crif and it's also just OK. What did you like about it? What's your top late night burger in the EV as of now? Either way, I digress.

I haven't had Shopsin's sliders yet (talk about sacrelig) but the ones I see on Beef Aficionado are what you call "charred" onions, just like Mark, and nothing like the deliciously succulent ones at White Manna.

I'm going to have to agree with you that maybe a blend as fine as the one at Mark may be better utilized in the form of a full-size burger, where the flavor and texture of the porterhouse ends and short rib can truly be appreciated.

It's also tough to compare the immediacy of the attention given to Bill's Burger, a place with a year's worth of R&D behind it from a millionaire restaurateur, to Mark, a place from a couple of guys who are giving a talented Bobby Flay-trained line cook a chance to work some magic in a sliver of a spot on St. Mark's.

I'll be giving Mark a 2nd and probably third chance, if not for the sliders, than for the crispy russet fries with some of that fiery jalapeno sauce alone. The sliders weren't bad, they just weren't the best. As NYers and Web Surfers, it's what we've come to expect.

I tried going a couple of weeks ago and after getting lost and eventually finding, it was bloody closed. On a Tuesday night! Have to try again.

As far as I am concerned, Mark has the only sliders worth eating in the the east village. As someone who has been waiting for/ craving a spot like this, it could not have come at a better time. I usually don't post comments on these sites, but I have to come to the defense of my new favorite little slider-spot.