The Blarney Stone Burger

Nothing gets New Yorkers going like a good Hamburger post.  You could argue about the best burger forever, and there would never be consensus.  It all comes down to what is most important to you?  Size?  Value?  Quality of meat?  Toppings?  Fries?  Location?  I don’t know what is most important to me.  I’d like to think it’s value, but the Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien is no deal, yet because of the quality of the meat, and the cool “hidden” location, I seem to ignore the price. Prime Burger is one of the older places in Midtown, makes there burger with quality meat, and has a great atmosphere, yet but because you have to order from a menu, and the burger comes totally plain I didn’t like it as much because the value wasn’t there.  When the Prime Burger post went up in September, a lot of people commented on it, pointing me towards “The Blarney Stone”, a place where atmosphere and value come together in a gigantic burger, where the quality may not be good enough for some- but was good enough for me! 

It’s fun to revisit comments and suggestions after trying a place for yourself, and in retrospect they were all right on.  Here are a few of them:

Comment from Alex

I have a suggestion for burgers. Try the burgers at Blarney Stone on 3rd Ave near 45th st. The burgers here are just as good as any joint out there.

This was the first comment… and at the time, I sort of ignored it because it sounded like an Irish Pub, where you had to sit at a table and order from a menu (not really a Midtown Lunch kind of thing).  The Blarney Stone is an Irish Pub, and there are tables- but there are no waiters.  You order from a counter, and then take your food to one of the tables in the back.

Comment from Christopher

Another Blarney fan! FOUR DOLLARS and you get this big, beautiful, burger. Plus, if you throw in the extra .50 for cheese, they don’t skimp, and they never overcook a medium rare request, which is very important.

Two very important details in this comment (aside from the $4 price tag).  First, my burger was cooked a noticeably perfect Medium rare.  Second, they give you a ridiculous amount of cheese.  It’s only 50 cents, and they really don’t skimp.  I don’t know if you can tell from the pic, but the thick white layer above the burger is actually cheese.  I can’t be sure, but I feel pretty confident in saying there could possibly be an unheard of, 2 to 1 meat to cheese ratio. 

The +/-, more comments, and the 2/3 meat, 1/3 cheese burger pic, after the jump…

 

Comment from Lisa (Homesick Texan)

Even though it tastes good and is relatively inexpensive, Blarney Stone is too much burger for me. I think a cheeseburger and fries from Good Burger is the perfect burger meal.

A negative to some, is a positive for others… I’m sort of surprised, considering that Lisa is from Texas (the buffet capitol of the world), but she happens to be right.  The burger is gigantic, and with the fries it was even too much for me to eat.  But if value is your thing, the Blarney Stone can’t be beat.  Sure there are kids starving all over the world, and it’s bad to waste- but if bigger is better, than the Blarney Stone is the best.

There is a hot plate station that includes sausages, meatloaf, corned beef and other delicious comfort food- but my hunch is that the real star is the burger.  (One commenter did disagree, pointing out how much they like the Meatloaf).  I went on Martin Luther King Day, so the crowd was pretty small- but I’ve heard from others that the place can get super busy, so don’t be surprised if there is no seating- although I read somewhere else that you shouldn’t be fooled by the gigantic crowd in the front ordering, there is always room in the back to sit.

Some things that I didn’t learn from the comments… they have half sour pickles for 25 cents a piece, you can get a small fountain soda for $1, and the buns are really big- so if you like your bun to burger ratio to heavily favor the meat, you might not be into the Blarney Stone Burger.  Finally, for an extra $2.00 you get a “deluxe burger” w/ lettuce, tomato, onions and a pretty hefty portion of thick cut french fries (that looked and tasted like real, fresh cut potatoes).  The fries are definitely overkill, but at least you know you’re not leaving hungry. 

THE +

  • The burger is gigantic
  • The price is right.  $4 for a gigantic burger.  $4.50 for a gigantic burger with more cheese than one person should eat at a single sitting, $6.50 for the same gigantic burger with too much cheese, topped with tomatoes, lettuce and onions and served with gigantic french fries.
  • If you are looking for a medium rare burger, they do it up real nice
  • Great Irish Bar without having to order from a waiter or waitress, and pay sit down restaurant prices.
  • Liquid lunch anyone???  (Not me of course… I would never do that.  And if I did, I wouldn’t be silly enough to write about it here, where my bosses could read it.  Seriously, I would never drink at lunch.  Seriously.)

THE –

  • Even with the large burger, the bun is really big (some may say too big)
  • There’s so much cheese on top of the burger, it doesn’t melt very well
  • The burgers are flash cooked first, and then put into a metal container, only to be re-grilled to specifications when ordered.  It didn’t seem to effect the taste (and it certainly cuts down on your wait time) but some people might be put off by the half cooked patties sitting next to the grill.
  • It is very close to being too much burger…
  • Can get super packed during peak lunch times

The Blarney Stone, 710 3rd Ave. (btw. 44th & 45th) 212-490-0457

16 Comments

  • They also have huge, crispy and juicy onion rings which can be better than the fries (depending on how fresh they are). To avoid the long lines, if you go after 2 there’s no wait. And if you have several people ordering, you can call in your order ahead of time and pick it up.

  • hehehehe… Lisa, I shouldn’t speak for Zach but I don’t think he can wait until 2 to eat lunch! Based on previous posts…
    but damn that’s a huge burger. Come to think of it, there’s a place around here that charged me about the same and I thoguht it was so cheap, then we (coworkers and I) thought how said it is when $5 for lunch is cheap.. when it’s just a burger.

  • Wow, how does it compare in size (or any other aspect) to Molly’s burgers? I thought those were huge.

  • Had a good burger there last week. Definitely adding this spot to the lunch rotation.

  • Found this place when going for walk yesterday so decided to try today since the food is inexpensive and looked really good. I went today with 2 co-workers and all enjoyed. I had battered fish with rice and beans (Cost $8.00 w/large drink). You have choices of two sides all plates. They also have sandwiches. My co-workers had Pulled Pork and Fried Chicken which they enjoyed. We will be back… and will have a burger, they looked large and juicy for just $4.00

  • the corned beef and pastrami sandwiches are very good here. there’s also another location nxt. to the manhattan mall (33rd off sixth)

  • Have been enjoying the Stone since my old chum DooDoo Hong introduced me to it in 2004. The home-made onion rings, when fresh, are pretty good, and different from other rings. Sometimes they put parmesan cheese in the batter. But if you go after 2, as Texas Lisa suggests, they will be out of O-rings, guaranteed. They also have a good selection of beers on tap, for the liquid lunch crowd.

  • I went to Blarney Stone for the first time today. I guess they upped the price on the cheese to 75 cents but the burger is still the same price. Adding cheese to a sandwich is only 50 cents though. When I pointed it out to my coworker and suggested that you probably get less cheese on the sandwiches, the guy who took our orders at the front heard and said I was right, that the cheese on the burgers is more than you can ask for. He even mentioned “midtown lunch”, saying that he was confused when he saw someone taking pictures of the burger for the site but when told it was a good thing it was cool. Free publicity is what got me to Blarney Stone afterall.

  • VISITED ON AUGUST 20TH

    GREAT BUFFALO CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH BLEU CHEESE AND GREAT ONION RINGS WAS ONLY 7.OO

    FRESH LOOKING FOOD GREAT VALUE

    MY BUDDY GOT THE BACON CHEEDAR BURGER LOADED WITH LEETUCE TOMATO PICKLES AND ONIONS WITH ONION RINGS

    IT LOOKED GREAT AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT

    THIS PLACE PUTS OTHER PUBS TO SHAME

  • Had the Fried Flounder. Big and delicious. Lacked some seasoning but the fish was very clean tasting and the breading was just right. Did kind of get soggy under the tartar sauce.

  • yum

  • Hi my name is Tyler. The love of my life Todd and I ate at your restaurant the other day, and oh my god its delicious! Its almost the best meat I’ve ever had! Thank you so much!

  • Just ate there last week. Burger was great…1/2 pound of tasty meat, cooked perfectly and cost $4 + tax. This has been added to my lunch rotation for a burger fix… i’ll be back.

  • Had a burger there today. Price is now $6 plus $0.75 for cheese. Burger was tasty but I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the onion rings both in quality and quanity. You now have your choice between steak fries or regular fries. New to me is that they now have 3 sliders for $5.

  • I should note that I had the deluxe not the regular burger.

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