A Hamburger Today
Big Disappointments Abound at Big Daddy's Diner in Gramercy
Big Daddy's Diner
239 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10003; map); 212-477-1500; bigdaddysnyc.com
Cooking Method: Grilled
Short Order: A potentially decent burger hamstrung by poor assembly and poorer bun choice.
Want Fries with That? It depends if you want cold tater tots or not.
Price: Cheeseburger, $12
If you're going to refer to your hamburger and cheeseburger as "All American Burger 101" and "102" respectively, as the menu at Big Daddy's Diner does, they ought to be pretty classically constructed examples of America's favorite sandwich. Further, if you're going to serve a burger that is an obvious homage to the Big Mac (to the point of being called the "Big Mac Daddy" and containing an all-beef patty, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions), it should be served on the sesame seed bun listed on your menu. Although my waiter couldn't really see the difference between the promised bun and the sad brioche that the burger was served on, he may as well have served me beef stroganoff or a falafel. The last point may seem trivial, but as legions of Big Mac addicts will attest, there is no substitute for the sesame seed bun.
And a brioche is a poor substitute for both that and a plain old regular white bun. Now, brioche is all well and good if you are at a French bistro getting a burger with blue cheese or a fried egg—à cheval style—while everyone else sucks down escargot and steamed mussels. It at least makes contextual sense, considering that the brioche is a French bread. But to slap a burger on a brioche and to call it "All American" makes no sense at all, contextual or otherwise. Its like those people with "Buy American" stickers on their foreign cars. The hamburger bun was invented in America—it is an implicit ingredient in any burger that claims to be as elemental as "All American 101."
Not only was the brioche contextually inappropriate, it was also just plain bad. Its shiny dome revealed a cloying sweetness, and to add insult to injury it was stale. It crumbled and fell apart in my hand, lacking the airy lightness and buttery texture that a fresh brioche has. "It was delivered today" was the tepid defense from the waiter. "Really? On a Sunday?" I asked myself. Somehow I doubt that they took a bread delivery on a weekend, but if they did they should complain to their baker because the bun was fit for stuffing or bird food, not a hamburger.
It's too bad that the bun was subpar, as the beef was pretty good—nicely grilled with pronounced hatch marks and that familiar bitter-sweet acridity from the flame grilling process. It was delivered rare and was moderately juicy. It was also predictably under-seasoned with a fresh but rather dull flavor. The cheese, a generous portion of American, could have used a bit more heat; perhaps the rare order didn't allow for the cheese to melt fully.
The lettuce, tomato, and onion were beyond reproach. They seemed far fresher than the stale bun, and added a necessary diversion from it. But the sandwich was sloppily assembled and the tater tots were as tepid as the waiters defense of the bun.
There is a good burger lurking under the ineptitude and poor bun choice at Big Daddy's Diner, Perhaps if the bread were fresher it would have been a more tolerable burger, but to truly elevate it to the status of "All American" it really needs a proper American hamburger bun.