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The list of the city's best burgers is pretty well known -- mostly because the restaurants that make them are hamburger specialists. But there are non-hamburger restaurants that make superb ones too; you just don' t hear about them when boors like myself make up the usual top ten lists. You won't go wrong at any of these places, trust me.
This revamped landmark diner looks modern but has an old soul, having here for over 50 years. Go for the pierogi but stay for the amazing hamburger.
Sometimes I feel ambivalent about McSorley's. It's the ultimate old-time New York bar, the subject of an essay which is itself a classic, and the framed pictures on the wall make the place essentially a museum you can drink (very good) beer in. On the other hand, it's too well-lit, too self-aware, and its frat-boy crowd is always threatening to turn it into an outright bro hole. The fine hamburger and corned beef hash always settle the issue for me, though: McSorley's is a treasure.
A great neighborhood bar serving one of the city's best burgers, the Broome Street Bar remains in many ways SoHo's best-kept secret.
An otherwise unremarkable West Village tavern, Tavern on Jane does have one secret: it serves a better hamburger than the overrated meat-lumps across the street at the Corner Bistro. Trust me.
An otherwise unremarkable West Village tavern, Tavern on Jane does have one secret: it serves a better hamburger than the overrated meat-lumps across the street at the Corner Bistro. Trust me.
The "steer meat" burgers here preceded the great burger boom, and they're not in a secret hotel location or anything, but they are fabulous: big and brown and served on huge toasted buns of pillowy softness.
Everyone has fond memories of this West Village hole in the wall, as famous for its great drinks as for its memorable burgers (with tater tots).
Joey Campanaro's little gem of a restaurant is still one of the preeminent examples of a great New York neighborhood restaurant. The room is supremely cozy and romantic and the food simple but flawless. The burger, served only at lunch, is one of the city's very best.
Talented, ballsy, and not afraid to experiment, the young eponymous chef is making as big a contribution to his generation's dining scene as his famous father did twenty years ago.
Fatty Cue has an important place in barbecue history: it represents the first concerted effort to combine traditional American smoking techniques with Asian (in this case southeast Asian) flavors. The results are mixed, but at their best they can be astounding, and are never less than surprising. Fatty Cue is the kind of restaurant New York is best at -- a wild experiment that has enough good eaters to support it.
As a steakhouse, you could probably do a lot better -- but if you are after a great hamburger and a martini after a show, I endorse this one heartily.
If you can get past its confusing name and its weird location on the far west side, this very find tapas bar serves great sangria and a truly monumental sheep cheese burger.
