Alan Richman on NYC's Top Five Burgers

GQ's Alan Richman gives props to his five favorite burgers in the city. As expected, the list contains several of the usual suspects -- Shake Shack ("Not a great burger, but a very good one."); the Burger Joint ("No matter how you take it, your burger will be perfect, a manifestation of caring and know-how."); and Peter Luger ("There’s only one correct way to eat meat this wonderful, and that’s unadorned.") -- but others were deliberately snubbed.

Richman calls out P.J. Clarke’s for "sending out a lost soul of a burger, one that has gone astray;" the Corner Bistro, noting that "it does a fine job at a great price, but the groceries on its shopping list aren’t good enough;" and J.G. Melon, where "the meat isn’t worth dealing with the meatheads who run the place." Rounding out his top five are Big Nick's and Blue Smoke. Do you think he missed any?

>Photo of Blue Smoke Burger from Off the Broiler.

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By Laren Spirer in Food on July 16, 2008 5:19 PM

Comments [rss]

alliegny

Great Jones Cafe is one of my favs. They melt the cheese around the bun, yum!

Potosi

Corner Bistro is a must on the list, however, the best burger in the city - taste, value, size, consistently well made - is at Luke's on 3rd Ave / 79th st. And I hate the UES, yet go up here for the best burger in town.

Ace

Burger Heaven!

fixilator

For value, Blarney Stone on 44th and 3rd Ave. is pretty amazing: a 1/2 pound burger for $4.00! I think there's one around Wall St. with the same deal. Probably others too.

Also, Royale on Ave. C at 10th St. $6 gets you an excellent burger, always perfectly cooked, and $7 gets you a Royale with cheese.

I'm for disqualifying the super pricey contenders. How much is the Luger burger at dinner anyway, 18 bucks? Forget it! It's like $7 cart food. If it costs as much as something you could get in a restaurant, it ain't cart food. It's restaurant food without seating.

I've never been too impressed with Goodburger or Blue9.

I remember there used to be a Roll 'n Roaster on Third Avenue across from the movie theater on 11th. Miss it!

jjankechu

Another vote for Dumont.

...and a Luger's burger for lunch only sets you back $10 or so. It's a hell of a lot better than their prime rib special.

ElwoodDPennypacker

I ate at the Burger Joint for the first time on Sunday. I ate at the Goodburger Home of the Goodburger chain last night.

They are the exact same burger. Absolutely no difference.

The best place is probably still Roll n Roaster in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. The best chain is Fuddruckers. A good burger isn't just the beef. It's the bun. And these two places do buns.

gossipgirl

Mmm, I like the burgers at STAND.

theevilone

67 Burger in Fort Greene, fo' sho.

westvillage99

Best in Manhattan: Florent! oh, woops.

BRGR, but ask for it grilled.

And Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien.

Jerk Store

I disagree with the people saying "you don't go to blue smoke for burgers." I think the bbq there is only so-so, but the burgers are outstanding. If you like the flavor of a Shackburger but think it is too thin or don't like being unable to control the cook time, the BS burger is pretty similar.

I love Big Nick's as a restaurant, and I love their burgers (trying to down a Sumo burger is a fun time once every other year or so), but I don't think it's really one of the best burgers in the city.

Molly's in Gramercy is a place that really should get more mention on these top burger lists. Huge and juicy. I also really like BLT burger, although I understand people seem to have mixed feelings about it.

rachelblue

Jackson Hole?

indieyuppie718

DuMont is the best I've found. BLT? I don't get it, though the Sweet Potato fries are great.

GastroGirls

67 burger in Fort Greene

BLT Burger

Blue 9

www.gastrogirls.com

SikBug

Harry's (downtown)

and I love BRGR's burgers, I think I like them more than the shake shack.

I wish they had a fudruckers in the city, I miss those sometimes.

thefacts

The tofu burger at ZenBurger is yummy.

matt2222

Found HUGE Borat-style body hairs pretty regularly IN the burger meat when I used to order from Big Nick's...but I continued to order, so I guess they're that good. I steared clear for a while after that though.

Love the burger at the Ear Inn...comes with a lot of love. No fries!

gothampunk

I love BLT burger, and we've been enjoying the new Five Guys on lower 7th ave.

brooklynbs

I was very disappointed when I tried the burgers at Rare for the first time earlier this year. I thought the meat was of rather poor quality and that in general the food was average and on the expensive side.

Big Nick's, on the other hand, is great. I'm on the Upper West Side maybe once a year and I happened to stumble into Big Nick's this spring one day when I was playing hooky from work and bopping around Central Park for the day. Great burgers and relatively cheap. Nicest people on earth also. After six hours in Central Park, I returned for dinner and was greeted warmly and treated to a milk shake on the house.

Peter Luger is still my favorite, probably because I'm only a ten-minute walk away and I lived off their burgers one summer. I love Shake Shack, but only on the rare occasion when I find myself not standing in line forever. Corner Bistro was once a favorite, but I think the quality of their burger has gone done over the past several years.