Savoy – Burger Extinction, National Hamburger Month

Savoy
http://backfortynyc.com/savoy.html
70 Prince St
New York, NY 10012

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 27

THE CONQUEST
There is seemingly no end to amount of delicious Burgers in NYC. I’ve been on my Glorious Pursuit of Delicious Burgers since October 2008 and although I’ve been all over the Burger-Earth (Bearth?) eating them, I live in NYC and it is where my Burger Conquest is focused. There is always a new comer bringing some kind of delicious Burger game to the table but there are less and less old school and classic Burgers still holding up the history of this town.

With 20 years of history, the SoHo based Savoy, was one of the first restaurants in New York City to embrace a Greenamarket menu. Their idea was to create a seasonal menu of artisanal foods created from items that are as locally sourced and sustainable, as possible. Savoy is a two story dining room with a fireplace that feels more like a rustic inn than a restaurant in the Big Apple. The build is a 1830’s Federal-style townhouse and is as unassuming as it it also stands out from the fashionable neighborhood. Savoy is owned and operated by respected restaurateur Peter Hoffman who is also know for his Burger based East Village Back Forty and has been a favorite stop on many a foodie’s map.

Sadly though, this NYC eater’s staple, recently announced that on June 18th, it’s doors will be closing. Peter will be opening a new restaurant in it’s place but has yet to reveal it’s concept. With the clock ticking and also only a few days left on my mission to eat 31 Burgers in 31 days to celebrate National Hamburger Month, I put Savoy on my Burger to-do list. I grabbed my fellow Thrillist co-worker and newest Burger bud Phil and we headed over for a Burger Conquest disguised as a work meating. (see what I did there?)

THE BURGER
I love it when a restaurant pays attention to detail especially when sticking to a theme. At Savoy they serve Fentiman’s Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger, made with added botanicals speedwell, juniper extract and fermented ginger. Phil and I were excited as hell to ignite our pallets with its sweet and bubbly goodness. Savoy offers only one Burger, a Grass-Fed Hamburger with only house Ketchup and French Fries.  We both added some Vermont Cheddar and were ready to taste some history.

Normally, I wouldn’t opt for a grass-fed Burger over a grain-fed Burger as the taste just isn’t the same to me. If I am eating a Hamburger, I want a juicy, savory, classic tasting Beef Hamburger. It’s meant to be a decadent moment in my day which becomes a little Eatcation. I’m not trying to be healthy or even healthier when I am on a Burger Conquest so it wouldn’t really even come across as a consideration. I find grass-fed beef to be a little sweeter, a little less salty and juicy and overall, just not exciting. That’s not to say it’s bad, that’s just saying, it’s not what I am looking to eat. But, I can tell you, with only one bite of Savoy’s, this wasn’t your average grass-fed Burger! In fact, had you not told me it was grass-fed, I would’ve never even assumed it to be.

The grass-fed Beef in the Savoy Burger is savory, juicy and has big, Big flavor. The lack of toppings on the sandwich becomes obvious once you taste the delicious Beef. Having said that, the Vermont Cheddar melted down to a soft and almost spreadable consistency that still kept each bite feeling good. The Cheddar is warm around the tongue and very, very savory, adding a sharp element to the Burger. The hand-cut fries are great especially once dipped into the house madeKetchup which tastes more like a smoky-sweet red Sauce.

Savoy has the best grass-fed Burger in NYC and sadly you only have until June 18th to get one. Hopefully the new restaurant they are building in it’s place will be able to recreate it. If not, we’ll all have to start ordering more Beef from their source, Fleisher’s.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
405 Burgers

May 27, 2011 – 2:26 pm

The Rev Meter for Social Community
“The Rev Meter” is a social community meter for assessing how optimized a bar or restaurant is with social networking. By taking what he considers to be the 10 most important social networks and creating a point system, The Rev can accurately asses how well the business is using social networking as a tool. His goal here is to educate and assist great business to better effectively use these tools

Savoy scores an 3 on The Rev Meter.

SCORING:
4 points or less    You’ve missed the 5 basics and are less than optimized
5 points                 You’ve covered the basics, which is better than most but far from optimized.
6 to 9 points        You’re doing better than most and on your way to becoming a well respected social community whiz.
10 points              Congrats on a perfect score! Are you hiring?