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The Best New Burgers In NYC
By
Melissa Kravitz
Published Oct 27, 2016
Modified Oct 27, 2016
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By
Melissa Kravitz
Published Oct 27, 2016
Modified Oct 27, 2016
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Building a great burger is about so much more than smashing a beef patty between a bun. The meat (or veggie) blend, grill temperature, special sauce, cheese and toppings of a great burger have all become an art form in our burger-obsessed city. Peak burger may have hit in 2016, with what felt like every new restaurant adding its mandatory riff on the ground beef sandwich to menus. Welcome to New York, Class of 2016 Burgers, our fries have been waiting for you. Here are our favorite new burgers in town; as always, add yours in the comments.
(Melissa Kravitz / Gothamist)
LE BIG MATT AT EMMY SQUARED ($22): Leave it to Williamsburg’s coolest new square-slice slinging pizza spot to serve up the best burger in the neighborhood. Le Big Matt sandwiches two Fleisher's pasture-raised beef patties with American cheese, pickles, fresh mizuna (i.e. the only green vegetable you need to feel less guilty about indulging) and a generous squirt of Sammy Sauce, on a fresh Tom Cat pretzel bun. As you eat, hold the burger over the heap of waffle fries to let the aioli-like Sammy Sauce (Secret ingredient: Tamarind) drench them in an extra level of flavor. This masterful burger is so good it makes that question about giving up food or sex forever seem nearly impossible.
Emmy Squared is located at 364 Grand Street between Havemeyer Street and Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-360-4535, pizzalovesemily.com).
(Melissa Kravitz / Gothamist)
BACON CHEESE BURGER AT SEABIRD ($15): Sure, the seafood is tempting at this nautically themed restaurant, but let your eyes and heart veer towards the burger on the menu for true beefy bliss. Brisket, chuck and short rib are blended together to create a carnivore’s dream patty, which is topped with hickory bacon and aged cheddar. Shredded lettuce lightens up the burger, but, drenched in house-made, truffle-infused barbecue sauce, the greens hardly feel like eating a salad. And that’s a good thing. Shoestring fries on the side (and maybe an order of crab lasagna mac and cheese, because you’re worth it) ensure this meal is a total indulgence.
Seabird is located at 361 6th Avenue at Washington Place in Greenwich Village (212-414-9500, seabirdny.com).
(Melissa Kravitz / Gothamist)
DOUBLE BURGER WITH CHEESE AT HARD TIMES SUNDAES ($9.50): The beloved food truck went brick-and-mortar this spring with a stand in UrbanSpace Vanderbilt that seems to always have a steady flow of checkered-shirt finance bros eager to bite into a triple burger (or perhaps better yet, a breakfast burger). While a triple stacked patty grilled together with cheese is tempting, stick to the non-stomach churning double, topped with excellent gooey American cheese and caramelized onions in the “Animal Style” tradition. A soft potato roll swiped with mayo gives the heavy stack a nice pillow to rest on briefly, before it’s rapidly stuffed in your mouth.
Hard Times Sundaes is located at Urbanspace Vanderbilt, 230 Park Avenue in Midtown East (646-747-0810, hardtimessundaes.com).
(Melissa Kravitz / Gothamist)
COVINA BURGER AT COVINA ($21): A California-style restaurant would be incomplete without a rendition of the beloved In-N-Out burger West Coast transplants seem to always bring up in the Shake Shack line. With this one, it’s all about the simplicity—California cool, if you will. A Wagyu and chuck beef patty is topped with gorgeously melty American cheese, thin slices of dashi pickles, even daintier slices of red onion and salmon-hued special sauce that calls back to the other coast’s fast food version. Thin shoestring fries reminiscent of the type that come in a fast food box are a nice touch to the plate. Bonus: You can order a cocktail instead of a shake, if you choose.
Covina is located at 127 East 27th Street between Park Avenue South and Lexington Avenue in Flatiron (212-204-0225, covinanyc.com).
(Melissa Kravitz / Gothamist)
DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER AT HAIL MARY ($16): This cozy, atavistic diner serves chef-ed up comfort classics to cheer you up on even the worst of the G train’s days. Beyond the deep-fried burrata and fried green tomatoes, you’ll find the no-frills double cheeseburger, made with the daily house blend of meat and served on a homemade bun. Lettuce, tomato and Hail Mary sauce lighten up the hefty beef sandwich, which will inevitably be shoveled into your mouth with a fork and knife, it’s that enormous. Save room for triple-layered cake with homemade sprinkles, if you dare.
Hail Mary is located at 68 Greenpoint Avenue between West and Franklin Streets in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (347-422-0645, hailmarybk.com).
IMPOSSIBLE BURGER AT MOMOFUKU NISHI ($12) In addition to noodles that mash-up Italian and Asian flavors, David Chang’s newest New York restaurant is serving a dish that’s impossibly meat-free: The Impossible Burger. Made from a science-heavy combination of vegetable proteins and blood-like vegan hemoglobin, this vegan patty is living its greatest lab-created life, smashed between a potato bun with lettuce, tomato and a slice of American cheese. Vegan buns are also available and the thin fries that come with the burger are a must.
Momofuku Nishi is located at 323 8th Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets in Chelsea (646-518-1919, nishi.momofuku.com).
via Yelp
GUCCI MANE AT FLATTOPPS ($12): Is it brunch? Is it dinner? Does it even matter? Smashed between two powdered-sugar coated pieces of French toast and glued together with gooey gruyere, raspberry jam, and sticky Captain Crunch-coated slices of bacon is a juicy burger patty trying oh-so-hard to disguise itself as brunch. Spring for a $12 Kool Aid and vodka slushie, a basket of curly fries with Chinese-takeout style orange sauce and prepare to say goodbye to your arteries as you indulge in this sweet, beefy creation that’s so wrong it’s so overwhelmingly right.
Flattopps is located at 33-06 Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, Queens (718-267-0400, flattopps.com).
Melissa Kravitz moved to New York City in 2009 and has been writing about food ever since. Her work can be seen on Thrillist, Mashable, Elite Daily, First We Feast and more. She eats mostly noodles and is working on a novel.
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Melissa Kravitz
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