Who knew that the Roberta's folks—justifiably renowned for their pizza, their way with pork, and the tasting menus that are so popular there are currently 400 people on its wait list—served a killer burger that would render me speechless?
After announcing the location a year ago, Shake Shack is finally opening their first Brooklyn location in the Fulton Mall tomorrow, December 20, at 409 Fulton Street (map). There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
Moo Burger's menu is a little overwhelming—the kind in 8-point font that requires at least four whole minutes of silent reading at the table. In addition to sauce options you have 14 burger options, each with six organic meat substitution options. Chicken, bison, elk, turkey, ostrich, lamb, and a seventh non-meat, the veggie. In addition to the aforementioned meats and sauces, you can add toppings like avocado, pulled pork, brisket (meat on meat!), roasted peppers, wild mushrooms, bacon, or a fried egg. And did we get to buns yet? Brioche, sourdough, whole-wheat, or pretzel.
I love Buffalo Wild Wings—enough that I'm considering having my birthday party there. They have a great beer selection for a chain restaurant (I usually go for an Abita or an Arrogant Bastard), solid wings and sauces, and Naked Tenders for when I'm feeling marginally health-conscious; that's enough to make me a happy man. But how are the burgers?
I'd been meaning to check out the burger at Prospect Heights restaurant James ever since I moved to the neighborhood nearly two years ago, but now that I've tried it, I'm kicking myself for failing to stop by earlier. Because these past two years could have been filled with a lot more tasty burgers.
Sometimes I pick a place to review based on recommendations from other people. Other times I pick a place because I happen to be walking by a restaurant bearing a chalkboard sign in front that says, "BURGER WEDNESDAY." And by "other times" I mean last Wednesday when I unintentionally passed Lot 2 off the southern edge of Park Slope. I'd heard good things about Lot 2 before, but this was the first time I had ever walked by it—and on Burger Night, no less. It was meant to be.
Last week, I visited Elevation Burger, an organic burger chain from Falls Church Virginia, The Counter, a high concept design-a-burger chain from California, Go Burger, a brick-and-mortar version of the truck based on a Los Angeles burger joint, and Smashburger, the rapidly expanding Denver-based chain that just opened its first New York location in Brooklyn. At each restaurant, I ordered a few burgers, tried all of their sides and special menu items, as well as a milkshake. How'd they compare to each other, and more importantly, are they going to be key players in the New York burger landscape? Let's take a look at them one at a time and see.
That Burger Tent might be something you either roll your eyes at or go gaga for, depending on your tolerance for trends. Let's count 'em: 1) burgers 2) Pat La Frieda burgers 3) pop-up food vendor 4) located at a hipster flea market. But even the most cynical burger-eater out there would have to give it up for burgermeister Dan Petersen's little burger operation, located just outside Williamsburg's Artists & Fleas on North 7th Street, near East River State Park. These burgers are all that.
Any chain as aggressively all-American as Applebee's is going to have a few burgers on its menu; and sure enough, there's a whole page of the laminated photo menu devoted to them. The Cowboy Burger ($9.99) topped with cheddar, bacon, and crispy onion strings may not make me want to run back to Applebee's, but it's better than anything else I've had on the menu.
Here's a recommendation we just received from Serious Eater (and former SE intern) Jenn Sit about the burger from Radegast Hall & Biergarten in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Thanks, Jen! Send us your recs to burger@seriouseats.com.
