Whitman's

October 27, 2010 - SBE XII

Location: Corner of 9th and 1st Ave, East Village

SBE Score: 79

We loved the atmosphere, but were disappointed with the backyard burger.


Thank goodness for SBE. It was the perfect Wednesday pick-me-up. We were initially very impressed with Whitman's, which may have contributed to our ultimate disappointment. Maybe Whitman's was having an off night, but we didn't love any dish. Actually, none were spectacular.

On the appetizers - The fried pickles were too sweet and the dressing on the iceberg salad tasted like bottled Caesar.

On the burgers - Brian and Kate ordered 'Juicy Lucys,' and Luke and Leila ordered Upstate Burgers. All hungry, we were dreaming for juicy and flavorful. They weren't cooked to order (medium rare became medium well) and, all over, they were equivalent to summer, backyard burgers, because the patty was less flavorful and seasoned than you expect from an NYC restaurant.



Above: Fried Kale, Iceberg wedge, Fried Pickles

The Results...

Iceberg wedge: 4 [2-6]
Fried pickles: 3.5 [2-5]
Fried kale: 5.75 [1-8] .... I'm calling out Leila - she scored it a 1

Burger Patty: 4.5 [3-6]
Burger Experience: 6.25 [6-7]
Fries: 5 [4-6]





Above: Fries, the Organic Upstate Burger, the 'Juicy Lucy' burger

Below: the inside of the Juicy Lucy (see that pimento cheese?)



Pros

• Awesome service (Really. They were really friendly and attentive)
• Great atmosphere downstairs - the lighting and the acoustics works really well - great as a date place or dinner with friends
• No pretension

Cons

• Cash only. They can get away with it because it's not super expensive, but it's NYC, and almost 2011. Guess we can't complain too much, considering we did like the 'no pretension' thing.

Final thought. We scored Whitman's a 79 because we were disappointed with the burger. However, we all liked Whitman's, and unlike Rare, we would all come back. It's a cool place, so check it out.

Total Bill: $100 (tip included)

There's nothing actually on the website (yet?), but for good measure... http://whitmansnyc.com/

Smith & Mills

October 6, 2010 - SBE XI

Location: 71 N. Moore (Corner of Greenwich)

SBE Score: 89

"I could see how to the untrained eye, these people could be mistaken as hipsters; however, it’s way classier" - Luke

There’s no name on the outside of the building, but you’ll see a glowing red 71 above the door in the window. The kitchen opens at 8:00pm, which we didn’t know, so we were lucky to seamlessly arrive around 7:40, get a table, order a drink, and order.

Unlike SBE X, Smith & Mills only offers one burger: Brioche Bun, Cheddar, Caramelized Onion, Pickled Beets, House Made $15

Burger Patty: 7.5 [7 – 8]

Burger Experience: 8.6 [8 – 9]

Chips: 7.3 [6.5 – 8]

Meatballs (appetizers): 7.9 [7 – 8.5]

Artichokes (appetizers): 8.8 [8 – 9]

Bread and Ricotta (appetizers): 7.5 [5 – 9] …Brian gave the 5, which is weird, because if I remember correctly Brian didn’t stop to breath

Above: Bread and Ricotta, Meatballs, and Artichokes

Below: Same burger...three different shots!!

Overall, we thought very highly of this place at the time, and gave Smith & Mills great reviews. This might have been influenced by the stylish but understated crowd. Other external factors may have been the crisp fall weather – the perfect temperature according to Leila, Luke, and Brian.

Cons:

Seating – low couches and somewhat uncomfortable chairs

Mediocre wait staff, but not over attentive so it’s cool

Burger was slightly too salty (we then went on a long tangent about the perfect equilibrium)

Total Bill = $160 plus tip

http://www.smithandmills.com/

Rare

September 17, 2010 - SBE X

Location: 303 Lexington, corner of 37th Street

SBE Score: 72

Leila was waivering about Rare, but a long email chain later, on top of a long week, we arrived in Murray Hill, ish? To get to the rooftop bar, you go through the side entrance on 37th street, and up. It was kinda cool, the service was ok, the drinks were EXPENSIVE. $9 for a bud light? really? After about an hour of catching up, we went to the restaurant and were able to get a table immediately.

The menu is overwhelming and we anticipated that we make feel that 'overfull' feeling, similar to Five Napkin Burger. We tried to stay somewhat true and consistent, so we avoided the organic lean beef, the steak 'burger,' and the bison burger. The orders....


Kate: Artisanal Burger $11 - Cheeseburger of the day - Medium Rare (Today's was Teriyaki sauce burger with a fried onion ring, lettuce, tomato, peppers, and what tasted like fried pineapple) [side note: learn how to pronounce artisanal]

Luke: Classic $9 - Medium Rare, plus cheddar cheese and caramelized onions

Brian and Leila shared a Classic with American Cheese, and an M and M $15 (flambeyed in whiskey, with caramelized shallots, cheddar cheese, and bacon)



Above: Luke's Classic, Leila's Class
Below: Kate's Artisanal, Brian's M and M



Burger Patty:

• M and M: 7.5 [7-8] anndddd M and M wins for patty!!!
  
• Classic: 6.6 [6-7]
  
• Artisanal: 7
  

Burger Experience:

• M and M: 7.1 [6-8.5] anndddd M and M wins for experience!!!
• Classic: 6.6 [6.5-7]
  
• Artisanal: 7.5
  

Fried Potato Things: 5.5 [4-7] ..french & sweet potato fries microwaved? but waffles were good
Fried Pickles: 5 [3-7] ... (I'm not sure why Brian gave these a 7... no one seemed to like them)


Below: wine with dinner, wine with dinner, fried pickles



It's hard to describe what this place is like. Maybe it's having an identity crisis, but it has elements of a steakhouse and elements of a California Pizza Kitchen. We gave it a score of 82, because we couldn't really say it was better or worse than Five Napkin Burger. The two images below are in favor of the CPK comparison. The $15 price tag on a burger is the counter argument. Having said that, we ordered a bottle of red (from Washington State, if anyone's interested) and our total bill ended up being $120, plus tip.

It's a convenient after work location, if you do in fact work in the area, but the fact that we went out to Blind Tiger Ale House afterwards, versus staying and drinking at the bar, says it all.

http://www.rarebarandgrill.com/lexington.php

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

Stand Burger

SBE VIII - June 14, 2010

Location: 24 East 12 Street, Btw 5 Ave and University Place

SBE Score: 84

Brian: Bold Burger $15
Kate: Mushroom Beef Burger $11 (Medium Rare)
Luke: Stand Burger $10 (Medium)
Leila: Stand Burger $10 (Medium Rare)



Above: (left to right) Bold, Mushroom, Stand
Below: (left to right) Fried Pickles, Onion Rings, and Fries



It was our first Monday night SBE. Monday's an off-night to do anything social, but with a fantastic happy hour that goes until 8pm, we had a great time. Seating is basic (no chair backs, just stools) and trendy cafeteria style atmosphere.

The Ratings...

Stand Patty: 8.8 [8-10] Stand Experience: 8.3 [7-10]
Bold Patty: 8 [7-9] Bold Experience: 7.5 [6-9]
Mushroom Patty: 9 Mushroom Experience: 9

Shoe String Fries: 4.75 [2-8]
Reg French Fries: 5.75 [2-8]
Onion Rings: 7.75 [5-10]




Total Bill: Approx $100 (includes a lot of beer)

http://www.standburger.com/

BLK MKT

March 26, 2010 - SBE VII

Location: 110 Avenue A (corner of 7 street)

SBE score: 87


Cheeseburger: $12 (add $2 for bacon)



The results...
Iceberg wedge: 8.75 [8-10]
Escarole, beet and bacon salad: 6.5 [6-8] ....fantastic bacon dressing
Shrimp cocktail: 5 [4-6]
Burger Patty: 8 [7-9]
Burger Experience: 8 [7-9]
Fries: 7 [5-8]...great seasoning - downgraded because they came out cold




shrimp cocktail, iceberg wedge and 'special' salad (above)



2010 here we come, with a bangggg.... well, we'll do better in the second quarter.

Pros: Speakeasy drinks, potato bread burger buns, friendly staff, good flare on old-fashioned.
-Drink details: Captain Lawrence beers, thennnn vodka grapefruits & old fashioneds with Old Overholt Rye - all good news.

Cons: By the end of the burger, the bottom of the bun was not there. Anddd the drinks were expensive. We got killed on alcohol.

Total Bill: $255.48 (alcohol was 2/3 of this... I mean, $12 drinks....)


Good place, great time at dinner. We all needed to unwind.
As it happened, when we initially walked in, we each thought that we were in the wrong place. This place is actually relatively new, and the 'club'/bar that we had thought we were going to actually doesn't open until 10pm. Our waiter, Spenky, said that it gets pretty crowded. But that's for another night

The Spotted Pig

December 19, 2009 - SBE VI Holiday Edition

Location: 314 W 11th Street, New York, NY 10014 (at Greenwich St)

SBE score: 91

Burger (with Roquefort cheese and shoestring french fries) = $17



This was the SBE holiday party. Luke and Kate played Wii bowling today, and Brian and Leila productively went Christmas shopping. Plus, we all had to buy our $5 White Elephant gifts.
By 5:30pm, when we arrived at the Spotted Pig, the snow was coming down hard and sticking.

Throughout dinner, Leila and Brian broke out into song, we exchanged gifts (candy jewelery, head massager, olive picks for martinis, and G.W.B playing cards), and we educated our very cool (apparently unusual for this place) waitress on D.H. Lawrence beer/movie reference.

Overall, this place would be better if you didn't have to come at 5:30 to get seated at 7:00 (a little less hipster, a little more neighborhood bar) and also if the cheese didn't overwhelm the ginormous patty (the cheese was strong and salty). Leila and Kate got points for finishing their burgers, but Brian and Luke did better on the fries.

Total Bill = $182 (priceless memories?)

The results....

• Deviled Eggs: 8 [7-9 range] ... vinegary, but awesome
  
• Devils on Horseback: 8.5 [6-10 range]
• Ricotta Dumplings: 9 [9-10 range]
• Brussels Sprouts: 9.9 [9.5-10 range .... crowd favorites
  

• Burger Patty: 8 [7-9 range]
• Burger Experience: 7.5 [5-9 range]
• Fries: 7 [4-9 range]

Drinks ordered: Mulled Wine, (Captain) D.H. Lawrence, and Radeberger

Above: Deviled eggs and devils on horseback. Below: Ricotta dumplings

New Rules: In the hypothetical situation that a team member wants to bring a non member to dinner, said team member must pick up the entire bill. One guest star, per team member, per year.