NOTE: This location has closed, and the name "Lucky Burger" was purchased by new owners who have sinced revamped the menu and opened in Midtown.
NEW YORK CITY
Always keen on restaurants whose menus include nothing but burgers—Burger Joint, Blue 9, and Corner Bistro come to mind—I was thrilled to run across Lucky Burger on a recent Saturday in New York City's East Village while on my from purchasing a bicycle. (Pizza and hamburgers have started to take their toll on my waistline.) I vowed to return at a later date, unburdened by two-wheel conveyance.
At work the following Monday, I mentioned Lucky Burger to A Hamburger Today senior editor Honey P., who had heard good things about the place. "It's said that these guys strive to make the best burger and are very concerned about freshness." That sounded good, but I just couldn't make the time to hit the place up, and so for the rest of the week I dreamed about what goodness might lie ahead.
But when a friend and I finally made it to Lucky Burger, we couldn't have been more disappointed. Though a hand-lettered sign on the door read, "The best burger in town. No question. No doubt," they were anything but. First, there was an odd barbecue flavor to the burgers. At first, I thought it was only present in the special "Lucky Sauce." A taste of the concoction by itself confirmed this, but, breaking off a piece of the actual patty to taste alone, I noticed it there, too. Having grown up in Kansas City, I've got nothing but love for the BBQ, but I don't want it on my burger. And with the flavor infused in the meat at LB, there's no avoiding it.
Moreover, my friend and I found our patties dry and tough. Perhaps this was a function of not specifying our preferred doneness when ordering. Then again, shouldn't a place specializing in burgers ask you how you want them done? In trying Lucky Burger again, I'll be sure to make my request at order time. Still, it will do nothing to alleviate the strange barbecue flavor in this burger.
Breaking my own rule about not ordering fries when taste-testing burgers (that aforementioned expanding waistline prohibits it), my friend and I split an order of the golden crisp delectable potato product (left). They were very good, of the thick-cut, crinkly variety. Meaty yet light, and perfectly salted. Unfortunately, they don't begin to make up for the hamburgers here. After all, the place is not called Lucky Fries. With such a long build-up and so quick a let-down, I felt truly unlucky.
LUCKY BURGER Location: 91 Avenue A, New York City NY 10009 Phone: 212-358-1079 Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. Payment: Cash only Short Order: Strange barbecue flavor in both special sauce and meat and dryness of patty left A Hamburger Today feeling anything but lucky. Menu: Click here for offerings
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At work the following Monday, I mentioned Lucky Burger to A Hamburger Today senior editor Honey P., who had heard good things about the place. "It's said that these guys strive to make the best burger and are very concerned about freshness." That sounded good, but I just couldn't make the time to hit the place up, and so for the rest of the week I dreamed about what goodness might lie ahead.
But when a friend and I finally made it to Lucky Burger, we couldn't have been more disappointed. Though a hand-lettered sign on the door read, "The best burger in town. No question. No doubt," they were anything but. First, there was an odd barbecue flavor to the burgers. At first, I thought it was only present in the special "Lucky Sauce." A taste of the concoction by itself confirmed this, but, breaking off a piece of the actual patty to taste alone, I noticed it there, too. Having grown up in Kansas City, I've got nothing but love for the BBQ, but I don't want it on my burger. And with the flavor infused in the meat at LB, there's no avoiding it.
Breaking my own rule about not ordering fries when taste-testing burgers (that aforementioned expanding waistline prohibits it), my friend and I split an order of the golden crisp delectable potato product (left). They were very good, of the thick-cut, crinkly variety. Meaty yet light, and perfectly salted. Unfortunately, they don't begin to make up for the hamburgers here. After all, the place is not called Lucky Fries. With such a long build-up and so quick a let-down, I felt truly unlucky.
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