Lucky's Famous Burgers in Chelsea

Posted by Robyn Lee, November 2, 2009 at 11:00 AM

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

The Serious Eats office is on a somewhat food desolate stretch of Eight Avenue a couple of blocks south of Madison Square Garden. But if I'm willing to walk 15 minutes, I can reach many tasty food destinations—like Koreatown, Chelsea Market, or Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.

And that's pretty much what I thought of after eating at Lucky's Famous Burgers, which opened about a month ago and is three avenues away from Madison Square Park. It wasn't bad, but if I want a fast food-style burger, I'd rather spend the extra ten minutes or so walking to Shake Shack than eat at Lucky's for the same price. Take a look at the burger after the jump.

Lucky's Famous Cheddar is made of a six-ounce patty topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles on a soft Martin's Potato Roll with a smear of ketchup and mustard on the bottom bun.

The burger comes very neatly wrapped in paper-lined foil and is automatically cooked to medium. Although not dry, it wasn't juicy either. The toppings tasted fresh and crisp, and they balanced well with the meat and bun, but the meat didn't have much flavor on its own. (Adam and Nick have reviewed the previous incarnation of Lucky's in the East Village where the burgers had a smoky flavor, but the burgers no longer have that smokiness.)

A side order of crinkle-cut fries was far too much for one person, but I ate most of the bag anyways since it fulfilled my craving for crispy, fatty, and salty carbs.

The black and white shake, a vanilla shake topped with chocolate syrup, was also far too much for one person—I only got through about a third of it. It's suck-your-face-inside-out thick, if that's the way you like your shakes (better than too runny, in my opinion, since it can at least melt to a more drinkable texture), and the flavor was fine, not too sweet.

I wouldn't say there was anything bad about the burger; it just didn't stand out as special, especially for the price. It's hard to look at Lucky's when I have Shake Shack so close by. A comparable burger, fries, and shake from Shake Shack costs $12.75, while at Lucky's the cheeseburger, fries, and shake cost $14, or $13 as a combo. Shake Shack's portions may be a little smaller, but the food tastes better. Lucky has a more diverse menu though, in case you want bacon cheeseburgers, turkey burgers, salads, chicken sandwiches, onion rings, or sweet potato fries. There also serve miniature versions of their beef burgers, which sound like a nice option if you want a snack to share with someone.

The red-and-yellow restaurant is clean and comfortable, and the employees are notably friendly. It's certainly a better choice than a regular fast food restaurant—it's comparable to other In-N-Out-esque burger joints in New York City like Petey's Burger and Blue 9 Burger. I'd look at Lucky's differently if it weren't near a Shake Shack—if this were near my apartment in Bed-Stuy, I'm probably go there to sate a burger craving.

Post a Comment Favorite this!  (0)

Tags: AHT reviews, Chelsea, Lucky's Famous Burgers, NYC, reviews