Posted by Carey Jones, October 2, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photographs: Carey Jones]
Clinton Street Baking Co.
4 Clinton Street, New York NY 10002 (map); 646-602-6263 Cooking Method: Grilled Short Order: A super-sloppy burger (in a good way) made sloppier by the addition of caramelized onions and fully melted cheese. Want Fries with That? The burger comes with excellent fresh-fried, paper-thin chips. Price: Burger from the menu, $14; burger and a beer, Mon-Thu, 6-8pm, $12
My meals at Clinton Street Baking Co. had, until recently, been strictly of the brunch variety. And when I suck it up and wait two hours for my first meal of the day, I'm going for the pancakes or the buttermilk biscuit sandwich. But when I stopped by for dinner recently—almost unable to recognize the room half-empty—I noticed the $12 burger-and-beer special, offered Monday through Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Though the beer selection wasn't particularly extensive, I was quite pleased with my German Bitburger (fitting, no?), surprisingly bitter for such a blonde wheat beer. A worthy counterpart for the burger to follow.
The autopsy shot--after the jump.
I have no problem with rare burgers, when I order them. Sometimes I don't have a problem with rare burgers when I don't order them. But this was a few shades closer to cow than the medium-rare I ordered. The gentlemen at the table next to me seemed to have the same reaction. "Dude," one said, lifting the top bun from his burger. "Mine's, like, beef tartare."
But the burger could take it. The salty, juicy beef was so fresh-tasting I wouldn't want it cooked much longer. With smoky caramelized onions, stewed almost to the point of dissolution, fully melted cheese, and burger drippings galore, this was a delightful, sloppy mess. The brioche bun didn't taste too much like one—sesame-studded, it wasn't sweet at all—and was just the right size to soak up all the juices without dissolving completely. My one complaint? Hardly any char. But with such a flavorful burger, it was hard to mind.
I was really excited to try this burger (there has been a bit of press about it recently) and I thought it was ok, not mind blowing. My friend ordered hers medium, and mine medium-rare, and we both got pretty darn rare.
NONONONO!!! This is the first time I've ever disagreed so seriously with a review. This was a horrendous burger. It had zero flavor (I can't believe you described it as salty), and a too-sweet brioche bun. Mine was cooked to the requested temperature (medium, with a good dose of pink left behind) but it was way too big a pile of flavorless meat. Look, I dig this place for brunch just as much as the next soulless hipster, but this burger was a waste of my jaw muscles. At best, CSBC's cooking is inconsistent - maybe you got the salty chef to make yours, but if that's the case, I got the tasteless chef to make mine. That's reason enough to pass on this joint's burger. Really, really, really, really bad.
Thanks for commenting! Your comment has been accepted and will appear in a moment.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it pleasant. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
Print
4 Comments:
Good lord, that is raw -- $12?
jkdrummer at 11:18AM on 10/02/09
I was really excited to try this burger (there has been a bit of press about it recently) and I thought it was ok, not mind blowing. My friend ordered hers medium, and mine medium-rare, and we both got pretty darn rare.
Maggie Hoffman at 1:26PM on 10/02/09
NONONONO!!! This is the first time I've ever disagreed so seriously with a review. This was a horrendous burger. It had zero flavor (I can't believe you described it as salty), and a too-sweet brioche bun. Mine was cooked to the requested temperature (medium, with a good dose of pink left behind) but it was way too big a pile of flavorless meat. Look, I dig this place for brunch just as much as the next soulless hipster, but this burger was a waste of my jaw muscles. At best, CSBC's cooking is inconsistent - maybe you got the salty chef to make yours, but if that's the case, I got the tasteless chef to make mine. That's reason enough to pass on this joint's burger. Really, really, really, really bad.
aoppen at 1:48PM on 10/02/09
I wish my burgers always looked that good. Black and blue forever!
Tony jaguar at 4:54PM on 10/02/09