Burger Conquest

Bizzy – Let’s Check Out That Burger Tent At Idle Hands Bar, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/17/2011 by Rev

That Burger Tent at Idle Hands Bar / Billy Hurricane’s
http://thatburgertent.com/
http://idlehandsbar.com
25 Avenue B, Downstairs
New York, NY 10009

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 16

THE CONQUEST
My Mom (and also Sesame Street) taught me that sharing is caring (as opposed to G.I. Joe, who taught me that knowing is half the battle) and that’s the reason I started Burger Conquest. I just looking for a good excuse to share Burgers and good times with my friends. With time, my “friend” base has grown and it seems I’m getting the opportunity to share the Glorious Pursuit of Delicious Burgers with more and more and more people. Through my passion and excitement for social networking, I’ve been able to connect to other Burger lovers, foodies and social media junkies like myself through various channels and networks, the most recent of which is Bizzy.

Bizzy describes themselves as “a personalized local business recommendation engine that helps you find the best places to eat, shop, and play based on the spots you already know and love.” While on the surface they may not seem all that different than some of their competition, Bizzy does one thing REALLY well and that’s why I’m a fan. Bizzy hyper accelerates the networking aspect of social networking by making the entire platform center around personal recommendations. Once you create an account you can then enter in all your favorite local business into their site. By doing so, you will be connected to other users who also favored those businesses.

As you favor more and more, your connections become more and more intense, pairing you up with like minded consumers. Think of it like Match.com for foodies and shoppers looking to find trustworthy recommenders. The first time I logged into Bizzy, I had intended on posting up 10-15 favorites and watching what would happen. The network is so addictive that I ended up posting 50 of my favorite local businesses! That’s how I met Bizzy’s New York Community manager, Lea AKA “MacCheesy,” and how we ended up sharing Burgers at The Breslin with Rachel, the Fabulous Foodie.

What better way to share my quest to eat 31 Burgers in 31 days for National Hamburger Month than with a Bizzy MeetUp at Idle Hands and Billy Hurricane’s on a Monday night when we have free Mini-Burgers from That Burger Tent. Lea posted up the information, invited out a bunch of Bizzy users and the next thing you know, we were all sharing delicious Mini-Burgers at Idle Hands and Billy Hurricane’s. God bless the interwebs.

THE BURGER
Dan from That Burger Tent switches up what he offers Monday’s at our bar and this week I had “That Burger” which comes with Onions, Jalapenos & American Cheese. Dan’s delicious Burgers never disappoint, especially with his proprietary blend from LaFrieda Meats and this was no exception. I will go on record though that I prefer “The Blues” with Onions, Jalapenos & Blue Cheese. For a full review on That Burger Tent, read this post.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

For more photos and to see who attended, check out the Idle Hands Bar Facebook page.

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
386 Burgers

May 16, 2011 – 8:37 pm

How to use Bizzy to get suggestions, tips and make connections
1. Open the Bizzy app
2. Sign In
3. Tap the category you are looking for
4. If the venue you’re located at does not come in, type it into the search field.
5. Tap the venue once it appears.
11. Tap “Check Out”
6. Rate the business on a positive “Love it,” neutral “Meh,” or negative “No Thx” scale
7. Share a tip and a photo as well as share your Check-in on Twitter or Facebook.
8. Tap “Check Out Here”
9. You’ll be taken back to the venue page where you can connect to the business directly or see what other Bizzy users thought of the venue.

Posted in Bar, Best Burger in New York, Event, Gourmet Burgers, Hamburgers, National Hamburger Month | Tagged billy hurricane's, bizzy, burger, check-out, cheese, ciancio, conquest, french, fries, great, hamburger, Idle Hands, meetup, new york, ny, nyc, pat lafrieda, rev, review, social media, that burger tent, the, the rev meter for social community | 1 Comment

The 38th Annual 9th Avenue Food Festival – Brickyard & Gossip, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/15/2011 by Rev

38th Annual – 9th Avenue International Festival
http://ninthavenuefoodfestival.com/
9th Avenue from 42nd St – 57th St
Hell’s Kitchen
New York, NY

Brickyard
http://brickyardnyc.com
785 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10019

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 14

THE CONQUEST
Every 3rd weekend of May, 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, is shut down to vehicle traffic and for a mile and a half of food and drinks. It beckons the start of summer as the first real outdoor weekend event of the year. American, Moroccan, Greek, Spanish, Cuban, Japanese, Thai, Italian, German, Argentina and all kinds of other international cuisines are present. It is a veritable cornucopia of self-indulgent gluttony. It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year and a privilege of being a New Yorker. Strap on your feedbags and get ready for some food porn.

If you want to read my review from the 36th Annual and also the 37th Annual 9th Avenue International Food Festival, you’ll see there are a lot of repeats, but it’s kind of like celebrating past times an old friend. But those are the moments that keep us connected. As May is National Hamburger Month, “9th Ave Fest” (as it’s nicknamed) it seemed like the perfect place to hunt one down.

THE BURGER
The Brickyard Gastropub is a staple of 9th Ave Fest. It’s central location, great selection of craft beer, wide open store front and friendly staff make it a great pit stop or meeting spot for the event. This year however, the Brickyard kicked it up a notch by adding not only an outdoor beer garden but also (drum roll please!)… Kobe Sliders! Thankfully the line was short and the Burgers were coming off the grill as they were ordered. Nothing like a tasty grab and go at 9th Ave Fest! For fans of the Brickyard, they only offer Burgers on their lunch menu and no where on it, will you find any Kobe. All the more reason to grab one or two or seventeen of them at the Fest. The little sliders, which are technically mini-burgers, NOT sliders (to learn more about the difference, read this post on East Coast Gambler) were about a 2 bite size and really juicy. They Kobe Beef was sweeter than regular Beef and topped with a small slice of Cheddar Cheese. It was held in a tiny little Bun turning my signature “Left Hand Grab” into more of a “Left Hand Pinch.”

These Kobe mini-Burgers were so good, that I may clean up and head out into the rain with the sole purpose of getting one more before they are gone!

7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

OTHER DIGESTIONS

Mozzarepas – The STAR of the 9th Avenue International Food Festival – 9 out of 10

Pulled Pork Sandwich from Come N’ Get It BBQ – 5 out of 10

Grilled Corn On the Cob with Butter, Parmesan Cheese, Spices, Lemon, Salt & Pepper – 9 out of 10 (my fave item at the fest!!)

Onion Bloom with Dipping Sauce – 8 out of 10

Spicy & Vodka Sauce Meatballs from Merilu Pizza Al Metro – 7 out of 10

“Carne A La Llanera” (Smoked Flank Steak) & Fried Red Skin Potato from Mateo’s Grill – 8 out of 10

Cheese and Potato Pierogies with Sour Cream and Horseradish from Millie’s – 8 out of 10

Cheese Empanadas– 3 out of 10

BAR CRAWL
Part of the fun of doing the fest is also hanging out and having drinks in all of the great bars on 9th Ave, especially the ones with outdoor set ups for the event. Here is a partial list of some of our faves (including The Brickyard above.)

The Snug
http://thesnugbarnyc.com
751 9th Ave

Right in the middle of the festival, always has outdoor seating and cheap draft beers.

The Gaf West
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gaf/38945018512
401 West 48th St

A true locals fave and a great place to hang especially after the food vendors shut down. Owners Pete & Pat make this a really great bar to hang out in and meet up with people.

Molloy’s Irish Pub
http://molloyspub.com
737 9th Avenue

Hell’s Kitchen was built on the back’s of Irish Immigrants and no bar crawl in the “HK” is complete without stopping into one of the best Irish Pub’s in the hood.

Valhalla
http://www.beermenus.com/valhalla
815 9th Avenue

With an entire wall of beer taps, this is a craft beer lover’s dream. Be sure to try some of their Landjäger (cured German beer Sausage) with German Senf (Mustard.)

Where NOT to stand at the 9th Ave Fest:

Who to avoid (unless you believe Judgment Day is going to happen on May 21, 2011)

What my friends do when I am taking pictures of food:

No idea why, but I couldn’t stop watching this puppet show:

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
384 Burgers

May 14, 2011 -4:19 PM

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 15

Gossip Bar & Restaurant
http://www.gossipbarnyc.com
733 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10019-7535

THE CONQUEST
The Festival is 2 days long and try as you may, with a 5 hour time frame, there is just no way you can eat ALL of the the tasty vittles offered at the 9th Avenue International Food Festival. A return trip for the 2nd day is mandatory if you’re a true Navigeater. After a decent night’s sleep and a shower, I was ready to head back in for more eats!

THE BURGER
As I noted above, there’s a whole bunch of Irish Bars in Hell’s Kitchen and Gossip is perhaps one of the biggest. The place has a front bar, back restaurant and a 2nd floor bar that can be rented out for private events. It’s a center point for the festival and a very popular location for neighborhood reunions.

As I walked down 9th Avenue looking for a Burger, I happened across their street side outdoor bar when my nose caught whiff of a backyard BBQ. I pulled over to see 3 large backyard grills and a sign that read “Black Angus Burgers $3.” Sounded good to me! I was amazed to get a perfectly cooked medium rare burger at 9th Avenue Fest. Best burger I’ve had here. Although there was way too much bread, the Burger itself had a great backyard BBQ char-broil taste.

I’m going on record in saying that Gossip has the best Burger I have ever had at the 9th Avenue International Food Festival!

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

Kicking off Day #2 by anointing the festival with my Grilled Corn On the Cob Scepter, covered in Butter, Parmesan Cheese, Spices, Lemon, Salt & Pepper – 9 out of 10 (my fave item at the fest!!)

BBQ Meatballs from the Ember Room – 6 out of 10

Bavarian Meatballs and Spätzle from Hallo Berlin – 8 out of 10

Lemonade – 7 out of 10

Frozen Mozzarepas for home – ask me once we cook them up!

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
385 Burgers

May 15, 2011 – 4:51 pm

Posted in Burgers, Event, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged 9th avenue fest, 9th avenue festival, 9th Avenue International Festival, brickyard, burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, ember room, french, fries, gossip, great, hallo berlin, hamburger, hell's kitchen, new york, ninth ave, ny, nyc, rev, review, the, the rev meter for social community | 1 Comment

Elevation Burger – Signpost Deals, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/14/2011 by Rev

Elevation Burger
http://www.elevationburger.com
103 W 14th St
New York, NY 10011

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 13

THE CONQUEST
Ever since chain restaurant Elevation Burger arrived here in NYC, it’s been on my to-eat list. Reviews of their environmentally friendly restaurants with sustainably prepared Burgers have been nothing but positive. Their motto of “ingredients matter,” is reflected in their use of “100% USDA-certified organic, 100% grass-fed, 100% free-range beef burgers freshly ground on-premises.” As well, their French Fries are hand-cut in the store and cooked in Olive Oil. It’s a very aggressive and modern approach to an age old business.

NYC’s Elevation Burger is only a couple of blocks from my office and I keep putting off a visit. But then something happened that put it on my calendar. I got the following in an email from Signpost;

How do you pass up 2 Burgers for $5???!?! Well if you’re me, you don’t. In fact, you email Signpost directly and invite their NYC representatives, Geoff and Laura (who also happens to be know in the foodie community as 89th And Broke), out to enjoy their deal with you as part of your National Hamburger Month celebration.

For those not familiar with Signpost, it’s a Google Venture invested deal-of-the-day site. Subscribers receive emails with geo-target deals for business’s local to their area. It’s certainly not a new concept and there is definitely a bajillion competitors out there but Signpost help’s business focus on times of day /week and or products that need more focus. For example, perhaps a restaurant is slow on Tuesday afternoons. Signpost will help put together a deal program that helps to drive business to solve that need.

Thankfully for my Burger-of-the-day for National Hamburger Month, the Signpost deal with Elevation Burger had no restrictions!

THE BURGER
The focused Elevation Burger menu has gives you choice of a Beef or Veggie Patty and a number of interesting toppings including their signature Elevation Sauce. I ordered an Elevation Burger with Lettuce, Real Cheddar Cheese, Elevation Sauce, Caramelized Onions & Hot Pepper Relish. Often times grass-fed Beef doesn’t have all the flavors of grain-fed Beef giving it a distinctly different taste. Well let me tell you, whatever kind of grass they are feeding the Elevation Burger cows has some kind of magic quality that gives their freshly ground Beef a great and natural Beef flavor one comes to expect from a Hamburger. The Burger was cooked to a fast-food style well-done and I’ll be damned if it didn’t taste like an In-N-Out Burger but with some really awesome Hot Pepper Relish on top. I’d suggest trying one Burger with the Relish and one without as the flavor is really intense and certainly overpowers the rest of the flavors of the Burger.

Kudos to Elevation for carrying Coke Zero on tap. That always gets a bonus point with me.

If you’re looking for a healthier and delicious fast-food, on-the-go style Burger, you’ll be happy with the Burgers at Elevation Burger.

7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
383 Burgers

May 13, 2011 – 1:23 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

Elevation Burger at 103 W. 14th St scores a 4 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?

Elevation Burger as a national chain is actually very social media conscious and great at engaging their community. To be fair, it’s always hard to grade one location of a chain on the social community meter because it’s a massive undertaking. Elevation however, actually does a pretty good job in empowering their individual locations to use social media, especially twitter to connect with their community. For some reason, they have yet to apply the method to NYC. However, there is one thing that the 14th Street location is really, really good at using…Foursquare. They may not have many check-ins but Take a look at this and you’ll know why I don’t need to explain.

And yes, the Cookies are pretty tasty!

Posted in Burgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, deal of the day, discount, discounts, elevation, elevation burger, foursquare check-in, french, fries, great, hamburger, new york, ny, nyc, rev, review, signpost, social community, the, the rev meter for social community | Comments Off

The Breslin – Bizzy Check-Out, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/13/2011 by Rev

The Breslin Bar & Dining Room
http://thebreslin.com
16 W 29th St
New York, NY 10001-4502

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 12

THE CONQUEST
I’m 12 days in on my quest to eat 31 Burgers in 31 days for National Hamburger Month and loving it. I’m eating great food at great places with great people. Today’s adventure was a mega combo of all 3 of those. Lea from Bizzy and MacCheesy and Rachel, the Fabulous Foodie were joining in on the fun by having the Lamb Burger at famed restaurant, The Breslin.

The Breslin, a Michelin-starred eatery inside New York City’s Ace Hotel, boasts an ever changing and highly regarded artisanal menu. It’s the brain child of culinary wunderkind April Bloomfield who is also the Chef behind the ever popular Burger at the Spotted Pig. The Breslin offers several different menus based on the time of day as well as special events such as their Suckling Pig and Lamb dinners.

When I told Lea and Rachel about the 31 day Burger adventure, they both demanded we do the Breslin’s Lamb Burger as part of it. These two know their food and I learned all about it at our last adventure to the Wall Street Burger Shoppe for the extra-yummy Mac and Cheese Burger. With our orders for Burgers placed, we all opened up the Bizzy app on our iPhones and Checked-Out The Breslin.

THE BURGER
The Breslin’s Chargrilled Lamb Burger comes with Feta, Cumin Mayo, and thrice cooked Chips. The presentation of the Burger is very cool as it comes atop a large, round cutting board and a steak knife. Even though my particular Bun was burnt, it was still delicious and crunchy which provided and interesting juxtaposition to the meat in the mouth feel of the sandwich. In my mind, all Lamb dishes have a similar taste that is reminiscent of Black Pepper and that is exactly what I expected from this. However, that was not the case at all. The ground Lamb is succulent, juicy, savory and tastes more like really high quality, fresh beef than I had though it would. The choice of a thick and creamy Cheese such as Feta allowed 2 really distinct flavors to pair well. A little bit of Red Onion gives an inner crunch and sweetness to the otherwise savory flavor profile. The Chips, which definitely seemed more like French Fries, were some of the best damn fried Taters that have ever had the pleasure of gracing my palette. I only wish I had room to finish them all!!

The Lamb Burger at The Breslin is one of the tastiest, most unique and delicious Burgers in NYC. Any Burger lover worth their weight in beef needs to eat it.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
382 Burgers

May 12, 2011 – 1:55 PM

The Breslin scores a 5 on The Rev Meter.

Posted in Gourmet Burgers, Hamburgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged ace hotel, april bloomfield, bizzy, burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, fab foodie, fabulous foodie, french, fries, great, hamburger, lamb burger, maccheesy, national hamburger month, new york, ny, nyc, rev, review, the, the breslin, the rev meter for social community | 4 Comments

The Counter – 2,800 Miles Makes No Difference, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/12/2011 by Rev

The Counter
http://thecounterburger.com
7 Times Square
New York, NY 10036

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 11

THE CONQUEST
I love it. 2 days in a row, I’m eating at restaurants that came to me via the Burger Conquest Contact Form.

___
My name is Ashley Urdaneta, Marketing Manager for The Counter Times
Square. I am contacting you to let you know about The Counter Times
Square. The Counter is fairly new to the midtown area. It’s the 21st
century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint.

I came across your site and would love for you to have a taste of our
burgers.

Check out our menu online at – http://www.thecounterburger.com/menu/

Let me know the best time for you to come in to try out our delicious
selections.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from
you. I definitely want us to be a part of your burger conquest!
__

Well Ashley, with me and the Burger Conquest, flattery and the promise of Delicious Burgers will get you everything…or at least my mouth in your restaurant. I’m a huge fan of The Counter, however I have never eaten there since their arrival into NYC. The LA based Burger chain, known for their insane amount of possible topping combinations, opened up last year right smack dab in Times Square. I’ve been meaning to pop in and see if the move across the country had any effects on their delicious selections. Ashley’s email became the catalyst for me to stop in.

The Counter has so many toppings available that if you do the math, you’ll find out that there are 312,120 possible Burger combinations to choose from. While I’d love to start a blog dedicated to reviewing each of them, that’s a task I’ll just have to take in stride. But here’s my list thus far:

Marina Del Rey location: 1/3rd LB Beef Burger topped with Horseradish Cheddar, Bermuda Red Onion, Roasted Chiles, Fried Egg, Mixed Baby Greens, Honey Cured Bacon and Roasted Garlic Aioli happy served between the 2 sided love of an English Muffin.

Santa Monica Location: Turkey Burger with Grilled Onions, Fried Egg, Spicy Pepperoncinis, Chipotle Aioli and Horseradish Cheese on a Honey Wheat Bun.

Santa Monica location: 1/3rd LB Beef patty ordered medium rare, Horseradish Cheddar, Fried Egg, Applewood Amoked Bacon, Spicy Pepperocinis and Lettuce on a Multigrain Bun with a little Chipotle Aioli on the side for light dipping and taste accents.

THE BURGER
I arrived mid-afternoon, which if you’re looking to not be rushed or jammed in with a busy lunch crowd, is a great time to go. I met up with the very friendly and outgoing Ashley who started telling me about an idea to let neighborhood business create signature Burgers to be served in their offices with The Counter’s Custom Burger Bar delivery set up. This sparked an idea, creating my own corporate Burger at The Counter’s NYC location.

Yeah! Management 11, LLC Burger: 1/3rd LB Beef patty with Horseradish Cheddar, Roasted Green Chiles, Peppeonrcinis, Chili, Fried Egg & Spicy Sour Cream.

It’s sort of an amalgamation of past Burgs I’ve crushed at The Counter with an attempt to be a little spicier and messier. Let me tell, you this, the 2,800 miles between their Marina Del Rey and the NYC locations has had ZERO effect on their ability to serve fresh, great quality Burgers that are delicious and tasty. I’ll give major kudos to any restaurant that can serve a Burger that has not only a perfectly cooked medium-rare patty as well as a perfectly cooked over medium Egg! Holy smokes my friends!! This combo was a real winner and definite multi-napkin eating adventure! The Burger was just as good as it looks.

This combo was so good that may give up on trying out the rest of the possible combinations and stick with the Yeah! Management 11, LLC Burger.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
381 Burgers

May 11, 2011 – 3:31 PM

The Counter scores a 5 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?

Posted in Best Burger in New York, Burgers, Gourmet Burgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, french, fries, great, hamburger, national hamburger month, new york, ny, nyc, rev, review, the, the counter, the rev meter for social community, times square, yeah management | Comments Off

The Clerkenwell – When Burger Mail: Calls, I Come A Runnin’, National Burger Month

Posted on 05/11/2011 by Rev

The Clerkenwell
http://www.clerkenwellny.com
49 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 1o

THE CONQUEST
You’re probably wondering if I am sick of eating Burgers yet on my quest to consume 31 Burgers in 31 days for National Hamburger Month. The simple answer is no and so is the complex answer! While I certainly am missing Tacos, Pizza, Sandwiches, Meatballs and other delectable delights while balancing Burgers with Salads, Granola, Fruits, Veggies and such, the Burgers I am eating are so good. To complain would be disrespectful and lame.

The other question I’m frequently being asked “how are you deciding where to eat?” There’s a number of variables but since I publicly asked restaurants to participate, I am green lighting requests to the top of the list. Such as this super rad email I got via the Burger Conquest Contact Form:

Hello, how are you. My name is Stefan, i am the owner of the Clerkenwell in the LES. I would love for you to come and try our burger, it is a Pat La Frieda blend on a toasted brioche bun which I think is delicious. Our new head chef also came from the Breslin and has cooked many a good burgers. Please let me know, thanks.

Not only a friendly invite from the Clerkenwell but with a Pat LaFrieda Burger and only 4 blocks from my bar, Idle Hands. I’M IN!!! I grabbed fellow Thrillist’er Phil and headed over to this new spot in NYC’s Lower East Side Neighborhood. Phil and I parked up at a high table for 6 (we like to spread out) in the cozy dining room which has an English pub meets NYC lounge feel. Phil’s first comment “oh man! I love the simple menu with lots of great choices. Let’s eat.”

THE HAMBURGER
We started off with a snack-sized order of the Chickpea Crisps. Can’t say for sure how these are made but they take real Chickpeas, cook them to a light crunch and cover them in a really tasty lime and paprika sauce. We shoveled them into our mouths like it was the adult, gastropub version of Kix cereal. Those were backed by the hot, crispy, thick cut Steak Fries. The Fries came well-done, which in my (correct) opinion, is the ONLY way to eat them. When Phil asked if I wanted to share the Currywurst, I told him that I was thinking the same. The dish had a more Italian Sausage and Red sauce like feel than what I would could consider something more traditionally curried. Regardless, it was darn tasty and we ate every damn bite!

The time to celebrate the National Hamburger Month Burger of the day had come. The Clerkenwell offers the “Pat la Frieda Burger” made with Black Angus Beef on a Brioche Bun with Tomato and Mayonnaise. Swiss Cheese & Caramelized Onions are optional add-ons, both of which we in fact, did add-on. The Burger came out piping hot and looking like a thing of beauty. The Bun was as glistening as the pool of juices that surrounded the Burger. I knew instantly from the look and smell of the Clerkenwell’s Burger that we were in for a treat. Let me tell you, the nose knows! I love it when a Chef knows when to hold back as much as when they know to proceed with no rules. The simplicity of bread, meat, cheese and onions was such a perfect combination that honestly adding anything else to this fantastic Burger would’ve been unnecessary. The all natural, savory and juicy Ground Beef is a little on the salty side but by using a salty Cheese like Swiss, Onion and Mayo, clearly a salty profile was what was intended. As a Knight in the Savory tastes Army, I FULLY approve.

The food came out at a nice pace, allowing Phil and I to share in a pleasant conversation while sipping on red wine and Captain Lawrence IPA, respectively. All of it was served with a friendly smile, a thankful appreciation and with a healthy dose of love and care. The entire experience from food to ambiance to service was well worth many a return! If you haven’t been yet, you’re going to want to green light The Clerkenwell to the top of your Burger list too.

9 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
380 Burgers

May 10th, 2011 – 8:36 PM

The Clerkenwell scores a 6 on The Rev Meter.

Posted in Bar, Best Burger in New York, Burgers, Gourmet Burgers, Hamburgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged burger, cheese, ciancio, clerkenwell, conquest, craft beer, french, fries, great, hamburger, lower east side, new york, ny, nyc, pat lafrieda, rev, review, the, the rev meter for social community | 1 Comment

New York Burger Co – Get Saucy With Your Veggie, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/10/2011 by Rev

New York Burger Co
http://www.newyorkburgerco.com/
470 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 9

THE CONQUEST
Quickly, click here and get yourself an awesome Thrillist Reward from the New York Burger Co. For only $15 you get 3 Burgers, 2 sides and 2 drinks!! When I say quickly, I mean it. This reward will no longer be available as of 6 pm EST on May 10th!!

I stopped by the West Side location to say hi to Madeline Poley, the woman behind the franchise. I wanted to check in and see how things were going with the Rewards redemption. You’ll all be pleased to know that Madeline says the Thrillist Rewards subscribers are fantastically handsome, well behaved and all of them would do anything for great Burgers. (Editor’s note: there may be a little bit of artistic glossing in that description) This of course lead to the question of “what can I get you to eat?”

THE BURGER
With still another 22 days left in National Hamburger Month, I decided to switch it up and order the New York Burger Co Vegetarian Blackbean Burger with Mango Salsa, Avocado, Plum Tomatoes & Romaine on Wholegrain Bun. While you could argue the Vegetarian option was healthier, it certainly wasn’t skimpier! This is one hulking Vegetarian Burger experience! While many Veggie Patties end up being crunchy bricks of tasteless bunk, this one is quite the opposite. The spicy Black Beans play up a nicely medley of taste with the creamy Avocado and the sweet Mango Salsa. The Whole Grain Bun was a great touch as well and in fact, if they offered it, I might consider it for any Burger at the NYBC!

Of course no trip to the New York Burger Co is complete without a sampling of their amazing sauces. Of course I am not one to go easy and apparently neither is Madeline since she brought one of each to the table. The array of sauces looked like a paint tray and of course Bob Ross jokes about happy little trees were made. All the more reason to pair each of them with the regular and Sweet Potato Fries as well as the Onion Rings.

As if you didn’t already have a great reason to eat here, whether it’s their great Burgers or amazing sauces, you’ll be happy to know that EVERYTHING on the menu is worth your dining experience.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
379 Burgers

May 9, 2011 – 2:03 PM

The New York Burger Co’s 470 West 23rd St location scores a 2 on The Rev Meter.

Posted in Best Burger in New York, Burgers, Gourmet Burgers, National Hamburger Month, Thrillist Rewards | Tagged burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, french, fries, great, hamburger, humane, madeline poley, national hamburger month, new york, new york burger co, new york burger company, ny, nyc, rev, review, sauces, the, the rev meter for social community, veggie burger | Comments Off

Sandwich Planet – National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/09/2011 by Rev

Sandwich Planet
http://sandwichplanet.net
522 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10018

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 8

THE CONQUEST
Eating 31 Burgers in 31 days to celebrate National Hamburger Month is not only difficult, it’s not the healthiest of choices. So when I am not engaged in my Glorious Pursuit of Delicious Burgers and I am trying my damnedest to do two things; A. eat healthy (lots of salads, yogurt, granola, fruit, veggies, grilled chicken, etc) and B. Exercise. Thankfully I live in NYC where the idea of walking somewhere is pretty normal. On a regular day I might walk 3-5 and all the way up to 8 miles. But more so, I am riding my bicycle…a lot.

Biking in NYC is an amazing experience. There is so much of the city that you will never see if you don’t get out in it and explore and a bike is the best way to do it. Believe it or not, there are a ton of bike lanes and bike friendly neighborhoods. It’s one of my favorite things to do in NYC and it’s the only time of day where my time belongs entirely to me. So with a little music jammin’ in my ears, I hop off and explore the city on two wheels. Just do a search on Twitter for #RevRides2011 and you’ll see all the great stuff I find on my bike.

Here’s today’s ride, a 13 mile, water-to-water ride around the center of the Manhattan Island.

The bridge to Randall’s Island from Manhattan, unfortunately closed

SO. HARD. TO. RESIST! White Castle 103rd and 1st Ave

Some rad graffiti at 104th St and Park Ave.

The Harlem Meer & Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in Central Park

The Peace Fountain next to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine

“Private Passage” by Malcolm Cochran at Pier 96

THE BURGER
Sunday’s are for sitting on the couch, relaxing and ordering in. With a nice meal planned for dinner with the family to celebrate Mother’s Day, my only opportunity for a Burger today was delivery. I would normally go for a Grilled Chicken Sandwich from the Planet but today was all about Burgers and this was my first one of theirs.

I ordered a “HOBIE’S” – Black Pepper Sauce, Blue Cheese, Onion & Bacon Sourdough Bread. Sounded pretty damn good to me. The Bacon was crispy and smoky while the Blue Cheese was savory and rich in flavor. The sweetness of the Onions worked well to balance them out. The Bread to Burger ratio was too much in favor of the former, creating a drier experience than I could’ve hoped for. Unfortunately, the Black Pepper Sauce, which sounded REALLY good was used in too sparingly of a manner. The Ground Beef was thick and I have to say, for a delivery Burger, still cooked medium rare. The magic of Sandwich Planet is the toppings and in this case, I didn’t feel like the Beef did the job of complimenting. Next time, I will be getting the Chicken again which is great.

7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
378 Burgers

May 8, 2011 – 12:24 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.

Sandwich Planet scores a 3 on The Rev Meter for Social Community

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?

Posted in Burgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged bike rides, burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, delivery, french, fries, great, hamburger, hell's kitchen, hobie's, new york, ny, nyc, rev, review, revrides2011, sandwich planet, the, the rev meter for social community | 2 Comments

HB Burger – Bro’s Burger Brunch, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/08/2011 by Rev

HB Burger
http://www.heartlandbrewery.com/HB_Burger.php
127 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 7

THE CONQUEST

I bought my wife Cara a one day mission at Stiletto Spy School for her birthday. While she was off learning deception detection and knife skills with her friend Dawn, I wanted to gather up the fellas for a Bro’s Burger Brunch. While the cats away, the dogs will have a Burgerriffic day. The only thing to decide was where to eat.

Enter Jon Bloostein, Founder & CEO of the Heartland Brewery. Heartland is not only a brewery but it’s also a series of brewpubs located in Manhattan. Brewmaster Kelly Taylor (also from Kelso of Brooklyn) is known for his 6 classic Heartland Brews as well as a interesting and constantly changing array of seasonal beers. The tasty beers are served up with a variety of food including the ever popular HB Burger and it’s corresponding off-shoot restaurant. As I was planning out my 31 Burgers in 31 days for National Hamburger Month, I got the following email from Jon:

Rev—Come on in!
If you haven’t tried it—may I recommend the Prime burger at HB Burger.
50% dry aged prime and 50% beef rib on brioche.

How the hell could I possibly say no?!?! A few moments later an email went out to the Burger Bros from the Wing-Off crew and a Bro’s Burger Brunch was planned.

THE BURGER
I started sippin off on a few pints of the delicious, sessionable Heartland Kolsch, perfect for afternoon drinking. When Doug and Jason from Wing-Off are involved in a meal, it’s a must that Hot Wings be consumed. So we started with those and a couple orders of the amazing Heartland Tots. I’ve reviewed them before, so take a look at my last HB Burger review for more on the Tots. Since then, Heartland has put a lot of dedication into their Burger and by using meat from Pat LaFrieda, they’ve cooked up quite the reputation.

For today’s brunch, I ordered the Prime Burger on a Whole Wheat Bun with American Cheese, Lettuce and Sauteed Onions. I’d like to give Jon and everyone at Heartland a massive pat on the back. It might be easy to overlook the Heartland as a tourist trap and therefore fallen to the toils of bad, mass produced food because of their location near Times Square but allow me to confirm, it is most certainly NOT. The HB Prime Burger is juicy, delicious, perfectly cooked, savory, full of real Steak flavor and all around awesome. With this Burger, they have rightfully earned a bright golden star on the New York Burger Map.

8 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

If you’re a photo foodie like me, head into HB Burger before National Hamburger Month is over to take part in their National Burger Month photo contest. I hope my photo below wins but instead of the $40 gift certificate, I get a quote added here:

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
377 Burgers

May 7, 2011 – 3:41 PM

HB Burger scores a WHOPPING 9 on The Rev Meter for Social Community

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?

Posted in Beer, Best Burger in New York, Burgers, Gourmet Burgers, National Hamburger Month, New York | Tagged burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, french, fries, great, hamburger, HB, HB burger, heartland, heartland brewery, lafrieda, national hamburger month, new york, ny, nyc, prime burger, rev, review, the, the rev meter for social community, times square | 1 Comment

Bento Burger – Thrillist Tells Me Where to Eat Burgers, National Hamburger Month

Posted on 05/07/2011 by Rev

Bento Burger
http://www.facebook.com/bento.burger
101 E. 2nd St
New York, NY 10009

NATIONAL HAMBURGER MONTH
Day 6

THE CONQUEST
We all have trusted sources of information. Could be a friend, a TV show, a news outlet, a Burger Blog (wink wink), etc, etc. People ask me quite often “how do you know about and find out about all of these Burgers?” While I do admit to having a strong Spider-sense like radar system that I like to call my “Burgerdar,” I too have to rely on a few other places to keep the Burgerverse of info a flowin’.

When it comes to the newest and the coolest, I trust Thrillist, and not just because I work there! Trusting them was what got me there. They send out a daily email that highlight the newest and best restaurants, shops, experiences, gadgets and of course, rad Burger joints. You can get on a Thrillist, as of now, in 20 different cities in the US but the biggest one is right here in NYC.

This week Thrillist NYC featured a story about Bento Burger. A brand new spot in the EVILL that has a Strange mix of Asian influenced preparations to traditional American Burgerfare. The places looks like it’s right out of an alley way from the movie Blade Runner and I could easily see this existing in Tokyo. The inside is decorated with a mix of neon lights, graffiti and modern furniture and artwork that all give attitude to the otherwise divy bar hidden underneath the decor.

Bento Burger offers “Houseground burgers, 3 beef, including Kobe, Japanese, Korean, Thai chicken, seafood, and 2 veg. Weekly specials. Housemade buns, regular, sesame, gluten free, and asian rice bun, sides of Japanese pickles, asian mango slaw, and choice of another side and sauce. Fabulous drink menu with house infused liquor and lemonade. Price range for complete bento burger box $10 through $16. Kobi $19.” The fun part, ALL Burgers are served in Bento Boxes! I wish they wouldn’t have quit on the awesome concept before they got to the beer selection. Bud, Corona and Stella could be replaced by Hitachino, Full Sail Samurai and Kirin Lager.

As I was headed into the EVILL for our weekly Friday night Devil’s Night Rock and Roll Happy Hour at Idle Hands Bar, an update from Thrillist on a new Burger was not only timely but also very welcome. My good pal Stabitha agreed to give it a test run with me before we made it over to Idle Hands for some much needed bourbon.

THE BURGER
All the Burgers at Bento Burger come in a Bento Box with Japanese Pickles, Mango Slaw and Bento Chips. You also have a choice of buns between regular, Lettuce Wrap, Gluten Free or what I went with, Asian Rice. Because I like to have the full monte of experience when trying out somewhere new, I ordered the Korean Barbecue Bulgogi Pork Burger with Barbecue Sauce on Rice. Sarah went for the Hambuugu, which is made from a mix of the different meats at Bento. The Pork was pretty good although not as spiced as I was hoping it would be. The patty tasted more like a backyard bbq Burger with spices than Korean Pork. It was good for what it was though and I thought the Wasabi Mayo was most excellent.

7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
376 Burgers

May 6, 2011 – 7:47 PM

The Rev Meter for Social Community
The Rev recently created a meter for assessing how optimized a bar and restaurant is with social networking. He calls it “The Rev Meter.” 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.

Bento Burger scores a 3 on The Rev Meter for Social Community

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?

Posted in Burgers, East Village | Tagged bento burger, burger, cheese, ciancio, conquest, East Village, french, fries, great, hamburger, new york, ny, nyc, rev, review, the, the rev meter for social community, thrillist | Comments Off

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