Photographs by Robyn Lee

There is no shortage of fancy-pants burgers in New York City, ranging from ridiculously overpriced Kobe burgers to burgers filled with foie gras, short ribs, and even fatback. But how does someone distinguish his or her fancy-pants burger from the pack of great burger wanna-bes?

Marc Meyer, chef and co-owner of Hundred Acres (and the co-owner of Cookshop and Five Points), had an additional burden. He felt compelled to come up with a burger that would stand out among all the other fancy-pants burgers in the city and also be different from his excellent Cookshop and Five Points burgers.

He found a farm in Virginia, Deblyn, part of the EcoFriendly Foods co-op, that raises a limited number of animals on grass and finishes them on grain. The co-op then ages the meat for 4 to 8 weeks and sells quarters to Meyer. He coarsely grinds neck and shoulder meat and puts six ounces of it on a Tom Cat bakery brioche-like bun. Meyer then takes a slice of sublime Goot Essa cheddar, adds some Vidalia onion mayo, and a side order of skin-on fries. Does he succeed in fashioning a distinctive fancy-pants burger?

You bet. Order it sans cheese with the mayo on the side and you end up with yet another "best fancy-pants burger in New York City" candidate. The meat is so juicy and filled with fabulous funky, minerally dry-aged flavor, I promise you won't be bothered by its $18 price tag (well, you still might be bothered, but you shouldn't be). This is a burger that explodes with delicious burger-centric goodness.

In order to maximize your Hundred Acres burger-eating pleasure and experience, I would ask your server to leave off the Goot Essa cheddar. Cheddar cheese this good should not be melted on a burger—it should go on a cheese plate with a delicious condiment. On the Hundred Acres burger it ends up competing with and overwhelming the meat.

Only you can decide if any burger is worth $18. I believe that the Hundred Acres burger is. It really doesn't taste like any other burger in New York City.