Five Napkin Burger

July 21, 2010 - SBE IX

Location: Corner of 45 Street and 9 Ave, Hells Kitchen

SBE Score: 72

Original 5 Napkin Burger - 10oz fresh ground chuck, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, rosemary aioli, soft white roll $15





The Results:

Burger Patty: 8.4 [7-10]
Burger Experience: 7.9 [6.5-10]
Fries: 8.3 [6-9]
Onion Rings: 4.9 [3-9]
BLT Salad: 5.5 [5-7]

It's summertime in NYC and it's hot. A cactus is the daily symbol on the weather projections and standing on the street requires a cold shower... so off we went through Times Square, the swamp pit of NYC.

Luke and Kate were a beer in at the bar. Great beer selection. Throughout dinner, we ordered Abiti Light, Saratoga, Cider, and Dixie Jazz Amber Light. Leila and Brian are competing in a diet competition, so they shared a burger. SBE recommendation - SHARE A BURGER - otherwise, you will feel sick/not eat your $15 burger. Kate was a huge fan. Everyone else, not so much. Different, but too rich, was the complaint.- Environmental biases pulling both ways - we concluded.





Pros:

• Hells Kitchen (Kate's new hood) - this adds fuel to the conspiracy theories about why Kate is giving this place such high scores...
• Good beer list
• Decor
• Different style of burger

Cons:

• Hells Kitchen
• Luke couldn't manage his tab situation at the bar... we don't get it....
• Luke fears that the large burger would be difficult with wintertime chapped lips... really Luke....?!?
• The aftertaste of the sauce/patty too creamy
  

Approx $100, plus some drinks at the bar