PrintZaitzeff: The Best Damn Burger I've Had in a Long Time
Zaitzeff
Location Visited: 72 Nassau Street, New York NY 10038; map); 212-571-7272; zaitzeffnyc.com. Additional location at 18 Avenue B, New York NY 10009 (Alphabet City)
The Short Order: Everything points to a dry, disappointing burger here—grass-fed sirloin, nonstandard bun, cooked on a griddle under a weight—but the meat is surprisingly, amazingly juicy and hella flavorful. I am still dreaming of this burger
Want Fries with That? Fresh, hand-cut regular and sweet potato fries have potential but are greasy; skip them, especially at these prices
Price: Sirloin QP, $8.25; HP, $13.50. Kobe QP, $9; HP, $15.25. Fries, $4.25
Further Reading From: Hamburger America, NYC Food Guy, Yelp
Wow. That's all I can say. I finally got my ass to Zaitzeff down in the Financial District. That's a great burger, I'll tell you what.
In a Nutshell
Portuguese Roll: This burger's bread looks sorta like a big English muffin, but it's fluffy, not spongy and chewy. And it looks beautiful all toasted like they do here.
Two Kinds of Beef, Two Sizes: You can either get a "Kobe burger" (actually made with American Wagyu beef) or a sirloin burger. Each version comes in quarter-pound and half-pound sizes.
All-Natural Philosophy: Apparently, founder Zach Zaitzeff saw an underserved niche in the Wall Street eats market—meals made with all-natural, sustainorganical goody-goody ingredients. The sirloin is sourced from D'Artagnan and the Kobe comes from Morgan Ranch. Even the ketchup is the Heinz Organic variety.
Griddled Patties: The burgers are made on a tiny flat-top griddle in an impossibly small kitchen area. The cook does up your burgers while keeping an eye on batches of fresh, hand-cut fries simmering in cast-iron pans nearby.
Pricey: As of publication, a quarter-pound sirloin burger runs $8.25 for burger only; half-pound sirloin is $13.50. "Kobe" burger, quarter-pound, $9; half-pound, $15.25. Wall Streeters can afford this, even in a crap economy, I'm sure.
Juicy as Hell
Now when I hear or read that a place is going out of its way to do the all-natural sustainorganica thing—especially when they're using grass-fed beef—I start to worry that the actual prep, flavor, juiciness, and balance of the burger is going to take a back seat to fuzzy-headed ideals. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for those ideals, but I'm also for burgers tasting good.
This is not an issue at Zaitzeff. The burgers here rock. They're incredibly juicy and have a great beefy flavor that's just slightly sweet, no doubt from all those grass dinners the cows ate before getting whacked. And the fact that they grind the beef in-house probably doesn't hurt things, either.
I had no idea where the meat was from as I was eating the burger and yet I was amazed at the juiciness of the meat. Moreso when my lunch companion, George "Hamburger America" Motz, asked and was told it was from D'Artagnan and was grass-fed—because grass-fed beef is generally leaner than grain-fed. Even the fact that the regular burger is made from sirloin (itself a leaner cut) is mind-boggling in the face of the juice level here.
The Standard Package, Options, Upgrades, and Tips
As this was my first time at Zaitzeff, I stuck with the smaller quarter-pound burger ($8.25) while George ordered a half-pounder ($13.50). We both went with the sirloin. George told me that the more expensive "Kobe" burger ($9 for QP; $15.25 for HP) wasn't worth it and that he really couldn't tell the difference between the meats in burger form.
The standard quarter-pound sirloin burger with an upgrade of cheese.
Unless otherwise directed, the staff will prep your burger with a healthy-looking leaf of bibb lettuce, a thick slice of tomato, and grilled onions. Pony up some extra cash and you can add cheese (Vermont white cheddar only), bacon, avocado, or, strangely enough, sausage. Cheese and avocado, $1 extra; bacon, sausage, $2 extra.
George Motz knew the drill and ordered his half-pound burger with grilled onions only.
As George notes on his blog, don't ask for mustard unless you like Dijon ("... every burger spot in NYC believes they have to serve high-end mustard with their high-end burgers ..."). But honestly, you don't need condiments for this burger. Its flavor and juiciness are enough to carry the day. I removed the unwanted lettuce and tomato and went to town only with the grilled onions.
You Want Fries with That?
Fries are fresh and hand-cut. You can get regular fries, sweet potato fries, or a mixture of both. As of publication, a plate (and it's a large one) of them costs $4.75. We got the mixed plate. The fries are good but a bit greasy. They'd do well from some time among some paper towels or from some other degreasing method. Since I'm not a huge fry guy, I think I'd end up skipping them if this were my go-to lunch spot, especially with the high prices on the burgers themselves.
A wide array of beverages is available, from the prosaic Coke options to goody-goody sodas—and even beer and wine. Classy!
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10 Comments:
Thank you for giving props to Zaitzeff. I've been raving about this place for years. Whenever anyone puts out a "best burger in NYC" list, I always wonder why this place isn't on the list. No one seems to know about it. Anyway, it is worth the trip for anyone in search of good burgers in the city.
wireful at 10:31AM on 06/12/08
@wireful: I'm only sorry I slept on this burger for so long. I've had a couple people tip me to it, but I never wanted to head down to the FiDi for it. (I thought it was out of the way, but it turns out it's a really easy subway ride from my office.) Anyway, I, too, am surprised that you don't hear much about this burger. Even when I did some Googling to see what other people were saying about it, there were only a handful of people chattering about it. I'm guessing it's the location; not really a food destination area, which is why Zaitzeff opened there. And the East Village location hasn't really gotten much buzz -- maybe because it's so far east. I think they'd do well opening a more central location, but who knows.
Adam Kuban at 10:35AM on 06/12/08
I used to work down there, and walked past Zaitzeff a lot, but never went there for lunch, mostly because of the price. I think a really good burger would have been wasted on my dreary workdays (I know it sounds like the burger could have saved them, but I think the day would have dragged the burger down).
benzado at 2:20PM on 06/12/08
@benzado: Yeah. There's something about being able to enjoy a burger on your own terms than having to relegate it to only the stuff of body fuel. I totally know where you're coming from on this count.
Adam Kuban at 3:56PM on 06/12/08
Anyone have a sense of how the East Village location compares to the Wall Street one?
Jonathan Hayes at 10:41AM on 06/16/08
Quote: "Griddled Patties: The burgers are made on a tiny flat-top griddle in an impossibly small kitchen area."
That does it for me right there. I'd never walk in the door of this place. In my opinion (and I've cooked thousands of hamburgers as a restaurant cook and backyard griller) and eaten tens of thousands, it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to cook a halfway decent — much less excellent — hamburger on a "flat-top griddle." Good hamburgers must be charbroiled (or charcoal broiled). A gas char-broiler is alright, but the key is that FLAMES must lick at the hamburger, imparting the characteristic charred exterior and smoky flavor. No flames, no hamburger worth eating. End of story.
JerseyWarren at 10:43AM on 06/16/08
Jersey Warren:
I could not agree with you less. With a name like yours I am surprised that you cannot appreciate the very fine griddle cooked offerings of, for example, White Manna. But beyond that the list of iconic griddle cooked burgers is long and legendary - JG Melon, PG Clarke, In N Out Burger, Apple Pan, Pie N Burger, All American Drive Thru, Shake Shack not to mention half of the burgers in George Motz' Hamburger America book.
Personally I prefer griddle cooked burgers but my vision is not myopic to the point that I can't also appreciate a nice flame grilled one.
Nick Solares at 2:20PM on 06/17/08
I ordered from there this week. The burger was very good. The bun really makes it. I had the sirloin. I sort of question whether they actually serve Kobe beef. The price difference doesn't seem that much.
bobbob at 2:42PM on 06/19/08
Gotta disagree with you guys. Tried it yesterday and the cash spent to enjoyment ratio was not good. First, the good: didn't know the meet was grass fed til i read the review today but the meat did have a nice, distinct flavor. I liked the cheese too, although it was ridiculously expensive for the slice. The portugese bun was also really nice. The mixed fries were not bad either. OK, the bad: way too expensive. I got the quarter pound burger with cheese. 10$, for a burger with seemingly less meat than 2 5 guys patties. The burger itself was not one of the better griddle cooked burgers ever, it was almost mushy on the outside. And I'm not an anti-griddle guy at all (JG Melon is my favorite). Pretty weak, all in all 30 dollars for dinner.
ChiefHDB at 3:33PM on 08/11/08
Oh also, forgot about the restaurant itself. Flies everywhere, rats running around on the street outside.
ChiefHDB at 3:35PM on 08/11/08