Worst Hamburger I’ve Ever Had in Midtown
In case you missed it, on Friday I was grilled over at A Hamburger Today- giving them my thoughts on the almighty hamburger. Here were my picks for best and worst burgers in Midtown:
“Tough to say. Fast food, thin burger: Five Guys (on 55th btw. 5+6th). Fast food, thicker burger: Burger Joint (on 56th btw. 6+7th). Burger from a Cart: Carnegie John’s (on 56th & 7th). As for the more expensive, sit down burgers, I haven’t had very many. But HB Burger (on 43rd btw. B’way+6th) and Beacon (on 56th btw. 5+6th) are both really good. And the worst burger I’ve ever had in Midtown was at this place called Arome Cafe on 32nd between Broadway and 7th Avenue. Somebody twittered @midtownlunch that their burger was “$5.50 and bangin’”. Against my better judgment (Arome Cafe is one of those terrible generic delis that Midtown is famous for, and Midtown Lunch does its best to fight against) I tried the terrible terrible burger. Bad meat (not unlike what I got in my Jr. High Cafeteria), bad flavor, poorly cooked. Couldn’t even finish it. Damn you, Twitter!”
Check out the worst burger I’ve ever had, after the jump…
I guess it’s not the worst burger I’ve ever had… clearly somebody likes it enough to recommend it to me on twitter. And for the price, it’s a great deal ($6.25 for a really large bacon cheeseburger w/ fries). But the meat was overcooked into this strange gray matter, and after eating half of it I gave up (it was that unappealing.) I suppose if it was halfway decent, these generic delis would put the more expensive places like Goodburger and Burger Joint out of business.
Part of me thinks that there must be a decent one of these cheap deli burgers in Midtown, but there’s another part of me that thinks you get what you pay for. Maybe $6 is too little to pay for a giant burger (w/ fries) that also tastes good. On the other hand Carnegie John’s Cart seems to have no problems putting out a really tasty burger for under $5.
Thoughts? Anybody have a great deli burger recommendation? Put it in the comments. (As long as it’s not “bangin’” we should be ok.)
Posted: 11:45 am, August 3rd, 2009 under Burger, Deli.
25 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
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25 Comments
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the make your own salad is pretty good at Cafe Arome, much cheaper than other places in the neighborhood
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How come all these good lunch places on 50s..
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Salad? SALAD??!?! Give me some of what your smoking. ;-)
I say Blarney Stone has a solid cheap burger and fries (or onion rings) deal. But that’s no secret.
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@Mamacita- i know i know, got to try to be healthy during lunch 1 or 2 days a week
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@Mamacita- Blarney Stone! Another good, cheap burger… forgot to mention that one.
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How bad could it be for 6.25? It’s a bacon cheeseburger too. If it didn’t make you puke or poop uncontrollably, then it can’t be the worse ever?
I got to try it sometime. It might be better than paying 7.50 or more for just a burger alone.
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@StreetMeas – I’d be curious to hear what you think… although it’s an unfair proposition from the beginning.
I was told “banging”, and was disappointed.
You were told “worst burger ever”, and might be pleasantly surprised.
Either way, we could be talking about the same mediocre burger. I’m sure a lot of people who work in that area will think it is well worth the $$$
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After watching Food Inc, I am not so quick to trust the “cheap” food.
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It looks like a hamburger I had for school lunch in junior high school.
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I’m not too picky of a burger person unless it tastes ridiculously bad and/or it’s overpriced.
I didn’t really enjoy Burger Joint, likely due to their overhype and price. I didn’t hate it either but it was just a regular burger to me. I think Five Guys is better. I also ended up enjoying Shake Shack at Citi Field – probably due to hunger and the double patties. It was my first time eating Shake Shack (never been to the Original in Mad. Sq, Park and never wanted to buy into their hype.)I def. didn’t like their price of 8.75 for a double but I was starving though – no breakfast before going to the game and was pleasantly surprised by their tastiness. I probably won’t think much about the Arome Cafe burger. Hopefully it isn’t horrible and it’s okay/ average. -
The Shake Shack at Citi is great, but I would def give either the one at Madisom Sq Park or on the Upper West Side a shot. The meat didn’t taste as flavorful to me at Citi, and of course you need to get a Shack Stack; which is 2 cheeseburgers topped with one of their Shroom burgers (a portobello covered with cheese, battered and fried). And to me the potato roll is the clincher. It’s an unreal burger….
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Maybe the worst burger in midtown. Certainly, not evah. In Hungary a cheeseburger is called a Sajtburger (pro: shite-burger, seriously) and is disgusting grey meat, often served with korn kernals, raw cukes, and iron curtain ketchup.
Teachable moment: never trust anyone who used the word bangin’ to describe food.
Non-midtown burger complaint: Ate at Corner Bistro this Saturday, giving it a second chance. Sat at the bar and could see the guy cooking the meat on this grill rack contraption. He would periodically push all the juices out while cooking. No wonder the place’s burgers are so dry.
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“Corn.” Can take the boy out of Bakersfield but..
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Zach, you obviously didn’t use enough mayo
With more mayo, burger might be top 10
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Actually no.
Any Bigmac is worse than that.
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papaya dog in penn station near the k-mart. instead of generic soft drink, it comes with fresh squeezed fruit juice (mango, pinapple. etc) The only thing that makes me cringe about that place, is they really press all the juice out of the burger when they are grilling it up. i wonder if you could ask them to not press the burgers.
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Big Mac is worse? WTF? Big Mac has special sauce. That thing only could be dry as hell.
If anything, a heart-clogging BK Whooper is worse than a Big Mac. (I like Jr. Whoopers though but only because they’re a buck+tax each)
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*Whoppers
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It’s bad people. That burger? i couldn’t even eat half. Ate like, 30% of it. It’s really greasy and makes you think about cafeteria food. Once you’re past the “holy cow my stomach is hungry”, you’ll not force yourself to eat more of it. It’s just not that good.
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Cavonberry’s on 45th between 5th and madison has a great burger. They don’t skimp out on the freshly ground beef and they have pretty tasty fries.
A coworker and i used to walk over from the met life building to go there on a weekly basis and people on our team got jealous every time we had them. Eventually the entire group started ordering them every friday without fail.
I always get them with grilled onions and american (medium). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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I just had a completely decent $6 hamburger and fries at Pranzo on 50th btw 6th and 7th. Burger was big, made fresh, and not too overcooked. Fries were skinny, crispy, and plentiful. I put some fries on top of the burger and enjoyed the whole thing very much.
BUT the best thing about Pranzo, and the only real reason I recommend it, is the FREE bread basket. There are always sesame dinner rolls and fresh cut warm trimmings of flat bread in a basket in front of the pizza/brick-oven sandwhich station. Go in, grab a roll or four while you wait in line. I love bread! And things that are free!
Also, Timmie’s is next door. Iced Capp makes a good desert, just saying.
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best burger in midtown:
bxl cafe on 43rd btwn 6th and broadway. very deep -
Cyzl, I’m sure BXL’s burger is good, I’ve heard good things about that spot and their beers (especially the Belgium beers). But a $12.00 burger is way too steep for me. Anything over $10 needs to inspire such passions in me that I’d want to take on that dirty, meaty goodness in the back seat of my car.
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53rd Gourmet Deli on 53rd between 7th and 8th avenues has a pretty decent burger (for a deli) and have specials like they did today – $5.75 for a cheeseburger delux.
they also have make your own salads and pay by weight that always seem to work in my favor (cost wise)
Cafe Duke has a pretty similar deal that has always been pretty okay.