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It's possible this place has really gotten its act together; we had quite good sliders there the other night (don't like the bacon ones though.)

Times must be touch; they're cutting back on the amount of grated carrots, cucumbers and cilantro they put on the sandwiches. I think I got 5 strips of grated carrot on the Veal Meatball Sandwich .. none of th emeatballs were sliced in half ... it looked like the guy just threw the stuff on the bread, flipped over the top half of the sandwich, stuck it in a styrofoam box and handed it to me. I was pleased with the taste of the meatballs but the sandwich I got was nothing like the one pictured above!

Nick-I though that the care and ingredients rivaled Kenny's, though I would agree that the onions may need work at Mark. Also agree on the condiments but thought they were interesting. Also have to factor in the convenience factor-Mark is always accessible, Kenny's very limited with the addition of being able to use my cell phone at the Mark without having things thrown at me.
On a separate topic, are you willing to defend the laudatory comments on this site for Bill's Bar & Burger? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/663834
---Guttergourmet

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

Spelling is always suspect, particularly in matters of transliteration. Translations from one language to another is tough enough, but attempts to translate a Chinese character—along with its myriad phonetic implications—to our phonetic alphabet, well, the best is always a good guess, or the version that enjoys sufficient agreement among experts. Nevertheless, thank you for taking the time to make the correction.

Now, saying this the real question is whether your going to visit Lan Sheng and order a portion, or half portion of hua jiao.

Hello Nick,

I see the comments are quite lengthy for defending/justifying the Mark brand, which I mind you I have never tried. My intention is to leave Mark behind all of us and move this topic of discussion back to the motherland of slider/slider hamburger concoctions.

After driving to my favorite wine super store Joe Canals in Woodbridge, NJ and picking up a bottle of Argentinian Malbec, I figured what best to satisfy my craving for meat by visiting the newly opened White Diamond in Rahway, NJ. (Please note, I am an omnivore but I rarely consume beef product which is not grass fed and I do not eat meat on a daily basis)

Anyway, I just finished eating the slider/burger concoction and I was thoroughly impressed with the burger and the accuracy of your post. Also, I keep using the term slider/burger concoction because the owner stated to me that she would not classify this product as a slider. She proceeded to say "Well, if anything, it is a combination of a slider and a hamburger". Taking into an account the size and cooking method. With this said, the beef is fresh. Unfortunately, I did receive some cartilage or fat pieces which were not fully ground. One can look at this as good or bad. I tend to think it is good and it backs your statement that the beef is fresh ground chuck.

Keep in mind I purchased the small version (which I thought were just right). However, I am surprised you did not mention the different sizes of burgers offered. There is a large burger which you can purchase on a poppy seed roll.

All in all a good experience which brought back memories and satiated my craving for a good old NJ hamburger.

Nice job shilling @nyburg1

@NYC Food Guy Always good to hear from you and I appreciate the time you took to raise some important issues.

I don't ever consider that my word is the last one irrespective of whether the place has been open for 2 weeks or 20 years. It is just the opinion of one person. You are right that 2 weeks is probably not enough time for a place to nail down everything but, for better or worse, that is the world wide web that we live in. NY Mag just reviewed Bill's Bar & Burger in their first week of business. Also since we are talking about a single dish here at AHT I think that reviewing a place sooner than one might if one was doing a full restaurant review is permissible.

I find the notion that just because Mark is the only place selling sliders in the neighborhood that that somehow makes it OK that they are not so good curious. There are plenty of other burger spots open at 1AM in the EV - Veselka, Blue 9, PDT/Grif Dogs to name just a few - that offer better burgers, although admittedly not sliders. Believe me, you won't find someone more passionate about sliders than myself, I have spent an awful lot of column space on covering them lately, but I would rather eat a decent regular burger than a poor slider. For the record I think Shopsins sliders are far superior, they may not be available at 1AM but they are far closer to White Manna. As for the onions I think that divergence of recipe is fine, but not when it interferes with the desired effect (in this case cooking the onion all the way through) it is pointless.

We both agree that the place is not White Manna and also that it is OK for it not to be so. There is much room for improvements at Mark, I hope my criticism helps. Nothing would please me more than having world class sliders in my neighborhood.

Nick, those are some beautiful pics! Great job!

As a self-respecting Texan I will never step foot in that place. Sorry, just can't do it especially with other places as easily accessable (but admittedly more expensive). The chicken looked dry - I would have liked a description of the actual meat because I can bet it's dry as a bone. THAT is what separates the real from the fake in fried chicken.

I have to agree with everyone else and say good on you for reviewing somewhere as overlooked (whether I think that is a blessing or not) as Dallas BBQ.

Ha, I can't believe you did a review of BBQ. Pretty awesome of you guys. I've eaten at a bunch of them and I'm of the opinion that the food isn't particularly tasty, but I think the biggest draw for a lot of people is the "bowl-drinks," as my friends and I call them.
I'm not sure, but wasn't the now closed 8th street location NOT a true Dallas BBQ? I think I heard several times that they were an imitation, and I remember the name being just "BBQ" and not "Dallas BBQ." However, if it WAS a Dallas, then if they were still open they'd have to bring down the cleanliness score here---I once had a roach crawl onto my table. I work in restaurants, and I'm aware that keeping pests out of NYC establishments is a daunting task, but that was unacceptable.

Yes, the 8th Street/University Place site was a destination for us in high school (c. 1986) - it was cheap and fun. I recall the W.72nd street one being slightly nicer than the others. Never had a problem with the food - I think the last time I sampled it was after a friend and I did a "Race for the Cure," and we went to the one on 73rd and 3rd; we were starving. The onion loaf was always great, but prepare to lock yourself away for several hours afterwards.

Chain food is not slow food. Even if it does say BBQ.
http://www.wildriverreview.com/wrratlarge/?tag=warren-bobrow