New York Post Slams City's Beloved Burgers; New York Times Disses Cheeseburger Spring Rolls

Posted by Adam Kuban, September 24, 2008 at 1:30 PM

Today in the New York Post, Steve Cuozzo raves up Five Napkin Burger, but more interesting is his "overrated" list:

• Corner Bistro: "... not a dish you couldn't make yourself at home with supermarket meat." Right you are, Mr. Cuozzo!
• Burger Joint: "... like a football scrimmage at busy times and the beef can be full of the hard, stringy sinew ..." Haven't experienced the sinew, but I haven't been in a while. Maybe it's gone downhill?
• Shake Shack: "Gullible tourists line up for 90 minutes in Madison Square Park for a 4-ounce, Los Angeles-style patty unredeemed by a hint of brisket and cooked only one way, medium ... " Wrong you are, sir. The Shack is awesome. And most tourists have more sense than to line up in a 90-minute line for burgers. Those are all New Yorkers, unfortunately
• DB Bistro Moderne: "... loved the sirloin/braised short ribs/truffle burger that was introduced five years ago - until I found myself eating everything (bun, potatoes, etc.) except the burger itself ..." I'll give you that. These things are a bit much. I'd also say that people have pretty much ceased talking about the DB Bistro Burger and that it's a fairly irrelevant choice for an overrated list

My overrated list (not that you asked)? Paul's Burger Joint, Peter Luger's lunchtime burger, Royale.

New York Times' Frank Bruni Sorta Slams Cheeseburger Spring Rolls at Delicatessen

And in other negatory news, the cheeseburger spring rolls we mentioned yesterday that are on the menu of Delicatessen get the smackdown from the Times restaurant critic:

... the brilliance of them, isn’t how they taste, which is sort of vacuously oily, crunchy and beefy, truth be told. It’s the name, the idea, the tidy wedding of classic diner staple and trendy Asian canapé.

They promise comfort with a bit of spin and a dash of international sophistication, comfort with a cheeky tweak. And in doing so they crystallize the appeal of this seriously mediocre but ingeniously conceived restaurant, a delicatessen that’s not really a delicatessen ...

Without having had them, I have no reason to doubt Mr. Bruni's take. They sound like a gimmicky item you'd try once and never come back to once your curiosity had been sated. Delicatessen: 54 Prince Street, New York NY 10012 (b/n Lafayette and Mulberry; map); 212-226-0211; delicatessennyc.com

I would also say that this kind of "spin and dash of international sophistication" is nothing new. Though they're not making cheeseburger spring rolls, the folks at New China Tung, on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, have been frying up pizza rolls and cheesesteak rolls for years now. New China Tung: 140 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217 (near Douglass Street; map); 718-638-5682

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Tags: Burger Joint, burger snacks, cheeseburger spring rolls, Corner Bistro, DB Bistro Moderne, Five Napkin Burger, fusion burgers, New York Post, Shake Shack