April 13, 2007
Camera in the Kitchen: brgr
From the restaurant's hip design and web 2.0-esque name, brgr gives the impression that it churns out especially tasty burgers. Why else would they go through the trouble of creating a cool space for their vowel-less star creation and be able to charge $8 or more per bun-hugged patty if the food weren't awesome?
While the beef burger wasn't bad, it failed to reach the expected level of awesomeness that would propel us into burger heaven. Even if our burger had come out medium-rare as we had asked instead of what looked more like medium-well, it probably still would've been slightly disappointing. The patty thankfully didn't suffer from dryness, as it was moist enough -- we were mainly bothered by the uniformly mushy texture. Sure, we like soft, rare, bloody burgers that make us feel like we're chomping straight into a cow, but those kinds of burgers have juicy, flavorful softness. This burger had non-juicy mushiness, if that makes any sense. Perhaps due to a taste bud malfunction, we couldn't taste much flavor from the patty or the toppings and sauces. Or maybe we were preoccupied by the texture.
Still, we ate the whole burger because it was tasty enough. And it did cost about $9.
On another visit we went with the veggie burger since we knew the beef burger was not to our liking. Surprisingly, we really liked it...at least compared to its bovine counterpart. Admittedly, we've never eaten a veggie burger before and thus have nothing to compare brgr's burger to, but the freshly ground vegetables seemed to have more flavor than the beef and made us feel like we weren't doing a huge disservice to our organs by eating it. The texture was very soft, almost like mashed potato, which may or may not be a turn off. We think that deep frying the patty would result in a better veggie burger oozing with delicious fatty crispiness, the downside being that the burger's healthfulness would drop a few notches.
But a price (namely the depletion of nutrients from one's body) has to be paid for bliss-inducing deliciousness. brgr's milkshakes are among the best we've ever forcefully sucked through a straw to the point of reaching brain freeze. Those are the best kind. A friend told us that each deceptively petite cup of blended dairy joy contains four scoops of ice cream. We chose not to think about the recipe of our shake as we happily splurped it down past the point when our belly should have exploded because we refused to let even one drop go to waste.
brgr is located at 287 7th Ave (between 26th Street and 27th Street ). 212-488-7500
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mmm, burgers.
I live right around the corner from brgr and have never been more disappointed. They tout the quality of their beef but won't cook it medium rare. On top of this, the variety of choices is weak. How hard is it to put BBQ sauce, or different cheeses, or something completely new on a patty. In addition, the prices are outrageous especially for not that much food($20 for burger, fries, and shake). If you have to stop, grab a shake. And if you want a burger in the area, go to New York Burger Co. It's a walk, but worth every inch to avoid a restaurant so sad they couldn't use vowels.
This is crap compared to NY burger co. or Shake shack. I would rather spend 7 bucks at NY burger co than Brgr's ridiculous 9 dollars for a mediocre burger. I love NY Burger co. cause it's a restaurant style burger in ten minutes instead of the 40 minutes to an hour of shake shack and it's priced alright. I also love the serendipity III burger. on a unrelated note, Is it outrageous that a Beard Papa creampuff is now 2.25 up from 1.50? That is crazy!!!
Their burgers look to be 90% bun, lettuce, and tomato and 10% meat. That's pretty lame, especially considering the price.
I liked the burger I had here but, jeez, it is way overpriced. They'd have to cut the price by at least a third to even consider going back.
I heard they're owned by McDonald's...
I had the nastiest chocolate milkshake. Tasted like medicine. Was sad afterwards.
I'll gladly pay $8 on Tuesday for a hambrgr today...
Medium rare? Come on Gothamist - thats flirting with disaster in this city where eateries are rat junglegyms by night. Hopefully they used a meat thermometer.
you're all a bunch of pussies, i eat my burgers rare. to add another to the list of good bruger spots, burgen heaven on 41st and 5th is pretty tasty.
Wes M: I've never tried New York Burger Co, thanks for the rec!
Burger Lord: I went to Shake Shack today (went a bunch of times last year but not this year yet) and...yes, it is overly tasty. And not expensive.
Sleep: I think it's more like 30% meat, but it depends how much you squish it.
Joe: I feel the same way, but it's been crowded both times that I've eaten there (and other times I've walked by). Maybe people have a lot of money to burn?
Tate: That sucks. The mango shake is good, at least.
Well Done: Maybe I'm just lucky, but I haven't gotten food poisoning from eating undercooked burgers, or from the overall dirtiness of NYC that enters every one of my pores. Hoorah! I'm more afraid of getting in a car accident (hasn't happened yet, but I guess it's inevitable) than of tasty, deliiicious burgers.
sp: Mmm, rare is good. Until it makes me sick. Thanks for the rec!
You've never eaten a veggie burger? Where have you been for the last decade?
newsyspice: Eating meat?
I've had "raw" vegetarian burgers before, but those are different from regular veggie burgers. And, like a regular veggie burger, they're not bad but I wouldn't eat them unless I were on a restricted diet. Right now I'm an "omnivore".
I was disappointed by this place, too, especially since there is the most glorious burger smell permeating the air within 2 blocks of the place. My wine was poured very stingily, and the burger was dry and tasted pretty bland. All in all, it just made me long for a Shake Shack burger. Oh yes, and it is overpriced.
manhattan places like this are all hype.
really, "where's the beef!?"
GOODBURGER HAS THE BEST TASTING BEEF BURGER !
Medium rare? Come on Gothamist - thats flirting with disaster in this city where eateries are rat junglegyms by night. Hopefully they used a meat thermometer.
Actually, my two crippling instances of food poisoning have been caused by vegetarian fare (despite my love for rare and raw beef).
I don't know why but that made me guffaw the first time I read it.
Even stranger: same reaction the second time.
K, I'm definitely jumping on the bandwagon, but....
Best burger award goes to: goodburger (both locations)
BUT, NY Burger Co. is a close runner up! And I can't say I've ever seen it crowded!
I used to consider myself a Burger Joint fan, but just went there and the shabby digs have a new coat of paint that only celebrities are allowed to "autograph", and my burger tasted mostly of "char" instead of meatiness.
I can't believe you've NEVER eaten a veggie burger????
Not even a Gardenburger??? or a Boca patty???
And you're the food reporter???
question mark question mark exclamation point
I can't believe you've NEVER eaten a veggie burger????
Not even a Gardenburger??? or a Boca patty???
And you're the food reporter???
question mark question mark exclamation point
Bob: I'm trying to understand how eating a veggie burger became a benchmark for food-ness. And I haven't figured it out.
I'm afraid frozen meat substitutes didn't play a major role in my kitchen, nor did I feel the need to order them often at restaurants. [shrug]
every shake I have had there has been delish, so far that's the black & white, mango and blueberry-pomegranate, right around the corner from work so it's tooo tempting...but I haven't liked their beef, turkey or veggie burgers
I am not a huge fan of veggie burgers since usually they taste like peas and cardboard. But man oh man, the veggie burger at BRGR was by far the best veggie burger I have ever tasted. And I've tasted a lot of different veggie burgers (I just don't usually like them much). The BRGR veggie burger does look a little gross and it is mushy. But get it with lettuce and tomato and grilled onions and since you're already going the healthy burger route go ahead and get some of the fancy sharp cheddar on there. YUM. Speaking of cheese, maybe they have expanded their menu since Wes went there, but last week they had I think 3 different cheeses you could add. No, my meal was not cheap, but for a veggie burger that good, I'm definitely going back. Gosh, I want one right now, in fact.