This is a beautifully observed appreciation of my favorite burger. It's so strange that Veselka should be that good. It's not LaFrieda meat, it's not cooked on a flattop...it's not this and it's not that, but all it is is perfect. It's like when you meet the girl you're meant to be with, and she looks nothing like you ever would have expected.
Beware the gaze of the Gorgon!
What a great idea. I guess that's why I called it "Hamburger Alley" and did a walking tour for the Institute of Culinary Education last year. Great minds think alike! -- Mr. Cutlets
Steingarten knows nothing of hamburgers! Kuban is right: the bun is all. The Broome St. burger, composed of the very best LaFrieda beef and piled high with bacon, is a tragedy: if not for that revolting pita, it would be one of the best burgers in town.
"If there's one person who should be blogging about hamburgers, Motz is it?" I protest! There's room at the top for at least two other men I can think of! Adam Kuban first and foremost -- and how can we forget Mr. Cutlets, the majarajah of meat, and author of the forthcoming The Hamburger: A History? (Even though George's book will be more fun.)
You call that a pizza tour? What, did they lose to map to midwood?
Absurd.
Two stars is absolutely preposterous. Peter Luger, its sentimental value aside, isn't even in the top rank of steakhouses in New York. I respect Ed's opinion on New York food this side idolatry, but there can be no defense of a place that takes random commodity meat, cooks it badly, and sells it for a small fortune in cash. My take on this is hinted at here:
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2007/09/food_writers_continue_to_be_co.html
Cross-streets, Ed! We need cross-streets! I suspect that absolute will be somewhere in the Levine Zone, though, in the upper UWS. I hear people talk about a place on the Utopia parkway too. But I'm curious as to density -- that seems to me to be the number one thing that has been lost with time. Even small and crusty bagels are insufficiently dense these days.
Meanwhile, who has the 2nd best bialy? (Kossar's is obviously number one.)
Josh
Specifically, $1 men should all head to Sun Say Kai, on Walker and Baxter streets, for either the 60-cent char sui bao (roast pork bun) or the 85 cent dai bao (big bun), the latter having two meats and an egg in it. Boo-yeah!
Of course, as long as I live and breathe, my favorite snack for under $1 remains the classic 1-ounce White Castle.
And who could forget......
the pork bun at momofuku?
the banh mi at Voi Vong Corp?
Katz's pastrami sandwich?
The veal parm at Corona Heights Pork Store, R.I.P.
the lamb with prune hyssop sandwich at Savoy
the burnt end sandwich at RUB?
the fried steak sandwich at the place on Dean st. and Fourth Ave?
the cuban sandwich at El Rey de Cubanos in Harlem?
or, my current favorite,
The roast pork, broccoli rabe, and sharp provalone sub at Tony Luke's?
@Summerfield I don't care what they're called I wish I had a pile right now too!
Tried the burger last night and was a big fan. The burger does indeed fit the bun perfectly. Ordered the cheeseburger sans fries and instead opted for a raspberry blintz and a potato pancake. Thought the burger was cooked really well (perfectly, not well done) and the sides came out great too. I can see myself heading back sometime soon. Thanks for the review!
It would be even cooler if Jimmy Buffett had gone into masonry and never been given a record deal.
Wouldn't it be cooler if Jimmy Buffett had a buffet restaurant? Buffett's Buffet.
@mrgreenfur: thats like saying "a piece of meat on a plate? how is this the "best steak"?"
Has anyone ever tried a cheeseburger at one of Jimmy Buffett's restaurants? Pretty mediocre for a guy who practically built a chain restaurant empire on the perfect cheeseburger.
bobbob, you get pierogis at a Polish restaurant. At a Ukrainian one, you get pirohi, and I wish I had a pile of either right now. I'd better get the stand mixer out.
This burger looks boring. Just squares of American cheese and meat? How boring. How is this the 'best burger'? Absurd.
@gshaefer -- Haha... I totally understand your reaction.
When I first got here to SE, I too was a little shocked at just how rare some of these guys like their burgers, but the bloody redness is not as scary to me anymore, after seeing so many pics of similarly cooked meat patties.
I admit, it's not my cup of tea. Even when eating at a regular sit-down restaurant (where you order meat cooked however you like, unlike most fast food) I tend to go with 'medium'. It's still pretty juicy, but more cooked all the way thru, which is how I prefer it, and how I grew up eating family burgers cooked on the grill.
Burger was ordered, and delivered perfectly rare.
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