Sunday, January 31, 2010

Stand! (in the place that you are...)

what we love: Fantastic, creative beverage options, fried pickles, and a nice selection of burgers


what we could live without: A bit too much bun, lackluster shoestring fries


burger scale: B


price range: Medium rare. The burger prices are middle of the road at $9-$15. The yummy drinks can really add to your final bill but are worth it.


payment method: paper or plastic


Stand II: the sequel

We thought we were going to Bill's...alas, limited seating and long waits at Bill's drove us crosstown to the wonderfully-accommodating Stand. (Oh Bill, don't you know it's inappropriate to keep the ladies waiting???)

Our mix of veteran and new Burger Series members found much to like at Stand. The cool West-Elmy interior manages to be both a little retro and a little cleanly modern. Nice and unfussy. Stand has a small bar area and once we partook of the beverage menu, we wondered why it isn't bigger! Lemon-basil frappe? Rosemaryade? Fresh blackberry soda? Alcoholic shakes? Umm....burgers? What burgers?

We started with a melange of fried goodies: pickles, onion rings, regular, sweet potato and shoestring fries. The pickles and sweet potato fries were the winners, but the shoestring fries were sadly meh.

Next we moved on the the main event. The mushroom burger was unique with its side of porcini sauce for dipping - a nice touch. Our bacon cheeseburger contingent was satisfied if not enthralled with the entries in the category. We did not venture into the salmon, turkey, chicken, or veggie burger categories, but found the variety noteworthy and intriguing.

Overall we thought the burgers themselves were tasty, nicely sized, and cooked to order...but the average buns didn't really add much to the experience, and in some cases detracted from it. We're coming to believe that bun-and-burger compatibility is nearly as important as meat quality, with lackluster buns bringing down an otherwise delicious overall burger entry. Of course, Atkins folks won't be bothered one bit!

Interestingly, Stand ranked higher across the group at our last visit in 2007, when it was the 4th stop on our now epic Burger odyssey....Perhaps our standards have gotten too high? It's not that Stand really lacks anything you'd want....they have some great unique elements and are a solid entry in the mid-price category. It's just that we wanted the comfy yet trendy Stand to "wow" us a little more than it did.

Our conclusion? If you're a burger in NYC, you have lots of competition...so get your buns in shape!


Summary:

A solid burger joint with terrific beverages that you'd visit often if you lived in the 'hood...or when you can't get seating across town!

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