Smashburger: A Smashing Good Time

Smashburger

Smashburger was one of our favorite burger joints when we lived in Boulder, CO and we miss it dearly. That's why we are excited that this chain is expanding into NYC in a major way. Their first location is in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and now they have one in Midtown West with many more to come. Tonight we were in Fort Greene for the special RadioLoveFest taping of Ask Me Another at BAM and stopped in for a couple of burgers before the show.

Some lovely minutes at Minetta Tavern

Minetta Tavern: Roasted Bone Barrow

The Mr came home from being out of town all week, so a celebratory dinner was in order. He was in the mood for a burger, so we decided to head out to Minetta Tavern, home of the Black Label Burger. This is one of the few remaining burgers that shows up time and time again on "Best Burgers of New York City" that he has left to try. 

Center Stage: Shake Shack (Theatre District)

We here at Newbie Foodies are huge fans of Shake Shack and go to the original location at Madison Square Park on a fairly regular basis (especially The Mr). We have now visited the relatively newer Theatre District location several times now and feel like we can definitely weigh in. Every time we've come it has been later in the evening after a show and there has never been much of a line. We've also only had to wait a minute or two for a table, so not too shabby on those fronts.

What've we eaten? Well of course we've had the burgers and cheese fries and found them to absolutely measure. In fact, since all of our visits have been this winter, the food has been better considering we didn't have to eat them in the freezing cold or wait until we got home until stuffing them in our mouths.

Taking Peter Luger's down a Peg

Peter Luger's Steakhouse

Since we've moved to this great city, we've heard tell of a great Steakhouse called Peter Luger's- supposedly the best steak in the five boroughs and with a burger to rival any. Unfortunately, the burger is only available on the weekday lunch menu, making it a little tricky to make it out there since we have day jobs and all. Finally, we took advantage of the Martin Luther King, Jr half day to make the pilgrimage out to South Williamsburg on the M Train.

Over the Falls for Burger & Barrel

We've heard soooo much about the famous truffle burger at Burger & Barrel that we made a beeline there to try it out shortly after moving to NYC. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were told that it is only a seasonal dish. So when we heard that truffle season is back, you better believe we found ourselves back in SoHo lickety split.

To whet our burger appetite we got an order of the Kobe Sliders. Delicious. Of course, if you are going to have "Burger" in your establishment's name, you better to do that thing very well. So far, our expectations have been met.

Kobe Sliders

Back for the RUBurger

RUB Burger

Frito Pie

OK, so remember a few weeks ago when I said I wasn't sure if we'd go back to Rub BBQ? Well, we did. This time for their special burger that they only make on Monday nights. This burger gets a lot of attention so we were pretty excited.

PJ Clarke's: A NY Classic

The Burger

Turkey Club

We initially heard of PJ Clarke's being referenced in Mad Men, but I've also head they have a pretty good burger. So when we found ourselves hungry after a play on the Upper West Side we decided to finally scope it out. The food was solid, the wait staff was attentive, and the beers were nice and cold. It was a great place to bring folks from out of town since it's one of NYC's classics.

LA Edition: Umami Burger

Truffle Burger

The Mr is the resident burger expert of Newbie Foodies and I am usually quite satisfied with just a bite of his burger. When I do treat myself to a burger, it's usually of the veggie or turkey variety, and I'm usually all about the lettuce, tomato, ketchup and pickles. The Umami Burgers are just bun, meat, and cheese, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it that much.

Holy Cow! This is one of the best burgers I have ever tasted! Although I really wanted to order the "Umami Burger" as I tend to get dishes named after the dining establishment, I simply could not resist the "Truffle Burger". I also really appreciated the size of the burger- it's a little bit bigger than a slider, so it left me full without being overly stuffed.

We also got an order of Truffle Fries to split, but those are not pictured since we couldn't hold back long enough to snap a photo (don't judge until you are faced with the same situation). For the second time in my trip, I found myself experiencing a mix of emotions as I was elated by the amazing dish in front of me, yet was saddened that The Mr wasn't here to experience it. Oh well, this only further cements my resolve to come back soon with him!

LA Edition: In-N-Out Burger

Welcome to a very Los Angeles edition of Newbie Foodies.

Our plane landed in LAX, we hopped into our rental car, checked in to our hotel, and then made our way to the closest In-N-Out Burger. The first thing we were struck by is how cheap it is! No $15 hamburgers here! We had enough inside info to order our burgers "Animal Style", but made the mistake of not going Animal Style for the fries as well. We really regretted this, since the fries were pretty bland. However, all in all, we were more than satisfied with our late night 'snack'.

It's Our Lucky's Day

Seeing Red at Luckys

A while back we bought some coupons on Fab.com for Lucky's Famous Burgers value meals for $.50 each. That's right- two value meals with a normal value of $20 for $1! Now that's what I call a deal! We finally cashed these in at the Chelsea location and got Turkey and Veggie burger meals with fries and soda this afternoon on our way out to run errands.

We enjoyed our meal and it was a great alternative to your typical fast food chain options, but I don't see us returning unless we get another great coupon deal. There are just way too many burger options to explore in this city for the next time we get struck by a burger craving.

Great Company at NY Burger Co

Bowery Burger with Onion Rings

Turkey Flatiron, no bun

What we like about New York Burger Co is that it's across the street and offers healthy burger options. All of their burgers are available as beef or turkey. They also have chicken sandwiches and a house made black bean burger (a little crumbly though). And as you can see above, if you are being a lame-o and opt out of the bun, they will serve up your burger in a nice little dish with your lettuce & tomato.

Sauce Bar

But what we really like about this place is the condiment bar. Some of our favorites are the Spicy Ketchup, Pesto, and the Curry Mango. These sauces make each bite unique.

They aren't going to win the title of 'Best Burger in NY', but these reasons make them compelling enough for us to come back for more!

Blue Ribbon for The Spotted Pig

I've been hearing about The Spotted Pig for years and I was starting to feel like we had no right to talk about NYC burgers without visiting this establishment. However, like most popular New York restaurants, the wait time kept us at bay. Finally, one evening The Mr was in a burger mood and we weren't starving, so off to the West Village we went to put our name on the list.

Since we had plenty of time to kill, we went around the corner to The Otheroom for a drink. We really loved this bar for its simplicity. They just have beer & wine and comfortable seating with low volume music. It's like a friend's living room where you can enjoy your company and have a nice conversation.

To the magical upstairs land. This is where we spent the
majority of our wait time.

After our beers, we went back to The Spotted Pig to see how the wait was coming along. Oh boy, not good. By the time we were seated, about an hour and a half after putting our name down, we were definitely hungry, and a little cranky. We were shoved into a tiny table in a corner and were thinking "no way is this going to be worth it". Dubiously, we ordered the Deviled Eggs & Chicken Liver Toast to start as they had the most impressive user reviews.

Deviled Eggs

Chicken Liver Toast

The Deviled Eggs were quite good, making them worth the $3 price tag if you've got it in the budget to spare. As for the Chicken Liver Toast, well, we don't eat a lot of liver, chicken or otherwise, but we were glad we gave it a try. It was very rich and we enjoyed it, even as liver noobs.

Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestrings 

Aaaaaaand the verdict on the Burger & Shoestring fries?? Worth it. Yum, Yum, Yum!

Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Basil Pesto

But what really stole the show was the Ricotta Gnudi. The gnudi were the softest, cheesiest, fluffiest dumplings offset by the very rich sauce. Even though this was on the small plates menu, I ordered it as my main and was more than full. It was so good we butted in and suggested it to the couple who was seated next to us and were discussing what they should get.

What really impressed us to was the wait staff. They were very hipster-ish (and I mean that in all the best ways), but instead of a "we're so great, you're lucky to be here attitude" they were extremely nice, attentive, and helpful. They really tipped this place over into the realm of great dining experiences.

Casin' the Burger Joint

Well what have we here?

The Scene

We look better than we taste

I was having one of my rare cravings for cheeseburgers and was able to convince The Mr to try one of Shake Shack's rivals and Burger Joint is without question the name that comes up the most. Despite the fact that several people had described in detail how you go to the Park Meridian and find the velvet curtain with the neon burger sign, we still managed to miss it. I think it was even more inconspicuous than normal since at the time we arrived the line didn't reach past the door yet.

Absolutely love that in the midst of a swanky Manhattan hotel there is a typical middle America greasy burger shack. And the burger did not disappoint, so greasy in fact that it disintegrated the thick wax paper it was wrapped in by the time we were done wolfing them down. Unfortunately, the fries just weren't that great.

While we really enjoyed this little outing, the greasy hole-in-the-wall style isn't our favorite burger category, so for us Shake Shack is still where its at. But if dirty burger joint is your preferred burger type then you definitely need to check it out!

Feeling like a Princess at White Castle

His

Hers

The Mr. had never, ever had White Castle and for him it was love at first taste. He first got to try some in New Jersey and was excited to repeat the experience when we went to my hometown for Christmas.

 Growing up I couldn't stand White Castle. Imagine my surprise being reunited with it 20+ year later...and liking it! I suspect that the culprit is onion, which I hated when I was younger, but have grown to like. It satisfies the fast food craving and if you can limit yourself to just one (Jalapeno Cheeseburger!) you really minimize the damage. Their fries aren't that great, so come for the sliders.

Beer & Burgers with Buds at Bill's Bar & Burger

After working up quite an appetite sailing we decided we wanted a good old fashioned burger to celebrate America's independence. We could also use a nice cold beer after a misadventure with a broken clutch on the boat- yikes. Our friend led the way to this trusty burger joint and it completely hit the spot. Their Veggie Burger had actual chunks of vegetable in it and was definitely not the crappy frozen patty some places try to pawn off on you. The Veggie Fries were basically vegetable tempura and were delicious. The Mr., the burger connoisseur of the family, was very satisfied. He wasn't willing to give it the honor of 'one-of-the-best' burger joints in NYC, but he did deem it 'one of the better ones'.

Attack of the Shake Shack!

Ooooh just look at that gooey cheese

We live near Madison Square Park so couldn't help but notice the lines that would form for this little Shake Shack in the park. It also didn't take us long to learn of its fame, so the time came for us to check it out for ourselves. Oh lordy, some places are famous for a reason and this is one of them. The Shack Stack burger took us to the next level of burger yumminess and then the Shack Attack concrete blew us away. Although as you can see from the picture we made the rookie mistake of trying to drink it with a straw. These suckers are way too thick for that kind of tom-foolery. Check it out, just try to find a time when the line isn't ridiculously long...unless that is you like standing on long lines.