1114 8th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (at 12th Street; map); 718-832-7961 Cooking Method: Grilled Short Order: A flavorful, juicy pub burger that's worth checking out in the neighborhood. Want Fries with That? The burger comes with crispy skinny fries. I wish I could've eaten more of them. Prices: Eight-ounce burger, $10.99; toppings +$1
I'm always a little wary when a friend who isn't on my list of "Trusted Food Lovers" recommends a burger to me. What if we have different burger preferences? What if I don't like the burger? What if I hate the burger? I'd have to demote the friend to the list of "People Not To Get Food Recs From, Ever," avoid the friend in fear of having to negatively answer the question, "SO, WHAT'D YOU THINK OF THAT BURGER?" and our friendship would be forever tarnished over a mere patty of meat in a bun.
Thankfully, that's not what happened when I ate at Johnny Mack's with a new friend. "It's just down the street from my apartment," he said. I wondered if it was preference-by-proximity more so than tastiness, but considering this was his first burger recommendation and I needed to start somewhere to determine whether he was food-trustworthy, I went for it. Autopsy shot after the jump.
The burgers are made of thick eight-ounce patties and come with lettuce, sliced raw onions, pickles, and tomato. I ordered mine medium rare with American cheese. The pink meat juice drippings that soaked into the bottom half of the bun made it look promising.
And burger success, I had. The patty was slightly charred on the outside, pink and juicy on the inside with a pleasingly coarse texture, and had an adequate amount of salt in it. Oh, glorious salt. I hate it when there isn't enough salt in my burger and meat that would otherwise taste great with that extra kick of sodium chloride falls flat.
My only objection to this burger was the top bun: it was friggin' fat and, while not at all stale, not cushy enough for me to ignore its heft and height. For my last few bites I removed the top bun to get a better ratio of bread-to-meat. Sometimes open face burger is the way to go. On the plus side, the bun was lightly grilled.
My friend went for the "pile loads of stuff on a burger" route: roasted red pepper, jalapeno, jack cheese, and sautéed onions. There was much accidental smearing of burger detritus on exposed skin, but it was worth the mess.
Overall, you wouldn't go out of your way for this burger, but it's a good choice if you're in Park Slope. I'd eat it again. (And yes, the friend is now on my "Trusted Food Lovers" list.)
If I was on that corner, I'd have a burger at 12th Street Bar. The rest of the food there has gone downhill in my opinion, but the burger is both gut busting and delicious.
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3 Comments:
I lived fifty feet from this place for six years. It was always a favorite for bar food although I have to admit I never had a burger there.
bobbob at 10:48AM on 08/18/09
wow, that's close to me. i gotta take a look but that top bun looks HUGE...
foodinmouth at 11:20AM on 08/18/09
If I was on that corner, I'd have a burger at 12th Street Bar. The rest of the food there has gone downhill in my opinion, but the burger is both gut busting and delicious.
jbrach at 11:27AM on 08/18/09