Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Burger Series 4: Stand

It was great to see you all over burgers and beers at the Waterfront Ale House!

The next Burger Series will be at Stand on Thursday, September 13.

24 East 12th Street (btwn 5th Ave & University)
New York, NY 10003
212.488.5900

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

a bun in the oven

is sometimes just a bun in the oven. why, did you think we were talking about something else???

Hamburger Helpers
By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite

You never overhandle your meat. You wouldn’t be caught dead using anything but salt and pepper to season your patties. And you may even have sweet-talked your butcher into custom grinding a blend of chuck, sirloin, and hanger steak to your specifications. In short, you are an unrepentant burger nerd. But how are you in the buns department? Just in time for a Labor Day cookout, we’ve put some of the city’s best through a rigorous examination, toasting them to a golden brown and weighing them down with drippy bacon cheeseburgers. Because this was a test of strength as much as taste, we didn’t hold the pickles, lettuce, or tomatoes.

(Photo: Davies + Starr)

1. Blue Ribbon Bakery Market
It’s doubtful that co-owner Bruce Bromberg practiced burger-bun-making during his apprenticeship days at Paris’s legendary Poilâne, but nevertheless, he’s perfected the art on Bedford Street by cleverly crossing the squishy supermarket style with a wider, flatter, more durable fancy-bakery version. The result is a bun that’s slightly sweet, with a rich, challahlike flavor that doesn’t get in the way of the burger, and yet is capable of standing up to a reasonable amount of condiments ($3 for a four-bun bag). 14 Bedford St., nr. Downing St.; 212-647-0408

2. Arnold Select
The Ur-bun. Like the individually wrapped slice of American cheese, it’s a humble team player that knows its calling is to play a supporting but essential role, becoming one with the burger and, for that matter, the greater burger universe ($2.59 for an eight-bun bag). At Gristede’s locations citywide.

3. Amy’s Bread
In spite of its hard crust (maybe it was past its prime when we bought it), it has a light and airy crumb that improves with toasting. It’s a good choice for a bigger burger with unadvisable add-ons like avocado, say, or all the fixings, if that’s your thing (80 cents each). At Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., nr. 15th St.; 212-462-4338

4. Eli’s Manhattan
You want to like this bun. It’s big and puffy and fragrant and almost too good-looking to eat. As far as burger compatibility goes, however, it’s too bready, although you could try scooping out the middle the way dieting bagel lovers do ($6 for a six-bun bag). 1411 Third Ave., at 80th St.; 212-717-8100

5. Orwasher’s Bakery
This fashionably small bun takes an unfashionable stand against the soft-and-squishy school. Sadly, it’s too tough and chewy and not recommended unless you like that in a burger bun (80 cents each). 308 E. 78th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-288-6569

From the August 27, 2007 issue of New York

Friday, August 24, 2007

Waterfront Ale House: Eh, so what?

What we love: the wide selection of beers, ales, scotch and tequila, mini corndogs, gruff friendly service

What we could live without: mediocre burgers, hot sauce that can't live up to its hype

Burger scale: C

Price range: $$ out of $$$$

Payment method: all major credit cards, cash

This month's entry will be short, because we can sum up our burger dining experience at the Waterfront Ale House in one word: Underwhelming.

(And, we'll keep writing because we've vowed to write about our burger chasing experiences in NYC.)

Located in the east side neighborhood of Kips Bay, the Waterfront Ale House lives up to its motto of lousy food. We liked the place for its friendly neighborhood feel and its selection of ales, microbrews and scotches. The burgers, however, were...

z
z
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(Sorry, we must have dozed off trying to remember if we had a burger last night because we can't recall what it tasted like.)

Burgers at Waterfront Ale House

We remember the brioche buns; they were moderately delicious. We remember the waffle friends too. They waffled between soggy and tasteless. But, the burgers...

Our memory is hazy, but we think our medium to rare burger might have been dry. (A four letter word to any red meat lover, and a darn waste of good meat.)

The mini-corndog appetizers ended up being stealing the show, but moderately delicious brioche buns and weeny weiners just aren't enough to redeem mediocre burgers. Not even at the Waterfront Ale House. (Unless it came with free scotch and beer, which it didn't.)

Monday, August 13, 2007

Burger Series 3: Waterfront Ale House

Thanks for coming out to PJ Clarke's on July 19! For those of you unable to make it last month, we hope to see you this month.

We meet at the Waterfront Ale House on Thursday, August 23 at 7:30pm. The restaurant claims to have the best hot sauce in New York.

540 Second Ave (at 30th St)
New York, NY
212.696.4104