PrintMr. Cutlets on the Perfect Hamburger
Josh "Mr. Cutlets" Ozersky, editor of New York magazine's Grub Street and author of upcoming book The Hamburger: A History, says you can find the perfect burger at Veselka, in New York City's East Village:
VESELKA
Address: 144 Second Avenue, New York NY 10003
Phone: 212-228-9682
Website: veselka.com
Link: Mr. Cutlets's Perfect Hamburger [Chow]
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6 Comments:
Nice video and great looking burger. I had to laugh as Josh recoiled at being offered ketchup and mustard. Excuse me, anyone that embraces American cheese (myself included) should not scoff at ketchup and mustard the way this guy did. I'm a ketchup and mayo guy on most of my burgers, but I love mustard too. If you don't like it fine, but let's not get too "high-brow." There are a lot of burgers that are enhanced by such condiments.
tjmile1 at 7:25PM on 03/24/08
totally agree bud...I'm actually a ketchup with a slight touch of mustard guy myself.
davey at 7:43PM on 03/24/08
Okay, I'm going to get reamed for this, but I have to share...
You guys talk about ketchup, mayo, mustard...
When I was a young, hungry and broke (in other words, attending NYU,) it was difficult to be able to afford quality anything, much less a burger. Whenever we heard someone was going out on a date, we would bribe him or her to order extra food and to bring back doggie bags so that we could share (which brings back loving memories of convincing people to go to the Great American Pancake House so they could bring back HUBCAP sized pancakes for the whole dorm to share.)
Since doggies bags didn't stretch to the whole dorm floor very well, a few of us were introduced to a special burger only found at Blimpie's.
Yep, Blimpie's. And I love me a Meridian Burger Shack burger, a Shake Shack burger, etc., but this burger holds a special place in my heart.
It was their sole hot 'wich. A 16oz microwaved slab of what appeared to be greasy Salisbury Steak, 12" hero bread cut in half, 6 slices of Cheddar Cheese (melted at the end) ... but the best part was it's toppings. The "perfect" mix was
Salad oil
Red Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Shredded lettuce
THIN sliced onions
I've tried to make the magic happen at home, but I've never been able to get the same taste. If you get a chance and are in good enough health to want to experiment, give it a shot. Maybe then someone can figure out how to distill the best part of this mess into something I can use with better burgers?
Turkishjade at 9:03PM on 03/24/08
That is a mighty delicious burger! You would never guess to order that at a place like Veselka, but there it is... a very delicious bacon cheeseburger. Are they good at doing medium rare now? Because the patty is thinner, they seem to veer towards medium+ since they try to get that char on the outside.
foodinmouth at 11:23AM on 03/25/08
To me a good burger is...
American cheese (NO cheddar)
Mayo
Heintz only ketchup
Bacon (if crisp)
Toasted Bun
Meat should be cooked med - well (the only meat that I eat beyond rarest possible)
PS - Hey Turkishjade, I dont want to hear "NYU" and "Poor" in the same sentence, unless you are an Adjunct prof!
phauxtoe at 9:44PM on 03/25/08
You know what, I was here just yesterday , and per the recommendation of my gf, had a burger.
It was fantastic. Definitely worth a trip over.
Prairie at 6:38PM on 04/15/08