Address: 30 Water Street, New York NY 10004 (b/n Broad Street and Coenties Slip; map) Phone: 212-425-1000 Website:burgershoppenyc.com The Skinny: The space is beautiful—all 1930s retro charm on the burger-parlor ground floor with a cozy, well-worn bar on the second floor, but, on first taste, the fare doesn't live up to the fineries. Want Fries with That? No. And don't bother with the onion rings, either.
The Burger Shoppe opened in the Financial District earlier this month to not a small amount of anticipation. With little in the way of spectacular eats around Wall Street, hopes were high that this newcomer would be, as Eater put it, the FiDi version of the Shake Shack. And shortly after opening, the reports started to stream in.
NYC Nosh says: "... the food does offer a kind of nostalgic, caloric satisfaction."
The Feisty Foodie says: "My first burger was incredibly juicy, so juicy in fact that it ran down my hand, into my sleeve (augh, I'm a slob!) and exploded on my face. Sure, it sounds funny, but I was a bit annoyed, I wouldn't have minded a juicy burger provided the juices stayed inside a bit more. It was extremely tasty though. My second burger, quite the opposite, was dry, and the lack of or minimal application of sauce was very apparent...."
A Hamburger Today says: Yawn.
At the Burger Shoppe, small hamburgers are the thing. They're smaller than what you're used to, but neither are they quite slider size, as you might expect from this lovely looking White Castle-esque space.
If you're hungry enough, the wait staff will advise you, you should order two. You will only finish one and a half, however, as once the hunger's off, there's not much reason to continue. There was little flavor to these burgers other than the char of the grill, though points for cooking both my burgers and my companion's burgers to the requested doneness.
The best things my companion and I tasted were the onion rings, and that's not saying much. While the intent is there—real, whole slices of onion—the batter was disappointingly bland and too thick. NYC Nosh noted this problem when it visited, prompting a commenter there to respond a few days later that the rings had been fixed. That fix must have been temporary.
The fries were also bland, and the malted milkshake might as well have been a milkshake, as there was no discernible malt flavor at all.
I sometimes wonder if the cooks at any given restaurant actually taste the Food they make.
In this case, it is a beautiful burger, so at least they look at it.
I've been three times and had a different experience each time. They need an experienced manager to develop routines and set standards. It's all very "loose". Incredible potential, charming decor, and the upstairs bar is a treasure.
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If you're hungry enough, the wait staff will advise you, you should order two. You will only finish one and a half, however, as once the hunger's off, there's not much reason to continue. There was little flavor to these burgers other than the char of the grill, though points for cooking both my burgers and my companion's burgers to the requested doneness.
2 Comments:
I sometimes wonder if the cooks at any given restaurant actually taste the Food they make.
In this case, it is a beautiful burger, so at least they look at it.
phauxtoe at 8:47AM on 04/01/08
I've been three times and had a different experience each time. They need an experienced manager to develop routines and set standards. It's all very "loose". Incredible potential, charming decor, and the upstairs bar is a treasure.
Trucster at 1:26PM on 04/09/08