Midtown Lunch

If waiting longer for your food makes you think it tastes better, you’re in luck. If you like to pass the time by checking people out and enjoy a sausage fest, even better. If you can also forget spotty service once a burger hits your tastebuds, get yourself to newly opened Black Iron Burger, now. But more seriously, everyone and their bros seem well aware about this opening. I’m only here to let you know, is it worth the wait?

Okay, so heading to Black Iron at peak lunch hours on a sunny Friday wasn’t the smartest move, but my coworkers were determined to get a burger. This place seemed to have potential since the owners were confident enough to expand beyond the first store in competitive East Village. The Midtown menu keeps the same items and prices, offering some dressed up burgers, as well as build-your-own, all cooked to order, starting just below $10. Some salads, classic sides, and variations on fries round it out. But that’s less than half the menu. Flip to the backside, and you find an extensive beer list, which I suspect was the real reason for the crowd and wait.

The coworkers ordered and customized Masterpieces (Double 4oz Patty, All Natural Beef, Swiss Cheese, Stout Caramelized Grilled Onions, Organic Fried Egg, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and 50 cents over the ML budget). I stayed true to ML by being a cheap ass, going for a 6-oz Classic Build-Your-Own with avocado, grilled onions. All burgers have free lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pickles upon request. We added an order of garlic fries, which ended up being the ONLY part of our order that the kitchen/servers got right. Everything else came out wrong — avocado on the wrong order, bacon left out, etc. Even our drink orders were completely forgotten. Luckily, servers were quick to rectify any plating errors, with their bare hands. Then again, we would have done the same for ourselves. Let’s hope the employees sort out service hiccups in the coming weeks.

But hey, we came for the food, and the Masterpieces looked AMAZING, truly a masterpiece for artery clogging. It definitely hit the spot for my burger-loving coworkers. Unfortunately, my smaller Classic looked a bit dejected in comparison. Didn’t help that my medium rare patty had already cooled to room temp, so I could barely taste it. The housemade spreads (Horseradish Mayo, Black Iron Ai-Oli, anyone?) or special cheeses and cajun spices could have given my burger stand out for another dollar or two. If you like stacking your burger with lots of extras, you’ll feel compelled to part with a few more dollars to get your money and time’s worth at this joint. But if you like your burgers simple, this place will please.

Favorite part of the meal? Garlic fries cooked to a perfect crisp, drenched in some wonderful stink. I’d come here JUST to eat fries, but I am a potato addict. For non-potato lovers, they’ll hold you over while waiting for the burgers to arrive. And remember to always share with coworkers, so no one can be singled out for bad breath all afternoon.

I’ll have to give this place another go since my coworkers were incredibly satisfied with their Masterpiece burgers. Just remember to bring lots of patience with you, or only attempt at off-hours.

The +

• Cooked to order burgers under $10
• More than your run-of-the-mill customization/toppings
• Garlic fries
• Beer list

The –

• Wait time
• Customization adds up quickly
• Servers/kitchen still learning the ropes

Black Iron Burger, 245 W 38th St (btw 7+8th)