So it looks like Eliana, the $1 hot dog lady on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th, has survived the onslaught. You might remember that she was part of the crew of carts that got kicked out of that spot by the cops awhile back for parking on a sidewalk that was supposedly too narrow to be a legal vending spot for carts. She even had her cart confiscated, despite the fact that later measurements clearly showed that the sidewalk was the proper width. The other two carts (which included the 3rd El Rey del Sabor cart) decided to cut their losses and set up on the NE corner of 43rd and 6th. Eliana tried that for a bit but, after working the opposite corner for many years without issue, she was eager to return. Thankfully the Street Vendor Project (which hosts the Vendy Awards every year) stepped in and not only helped her get her cart back but also helped deflect any other obstacles to her returning to her original corner.

It looks like she’s there for good again (on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th), and last week I decided to swing by and actually try one of these $1 hot dogs.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a hot dog I didn’t like. Sure, grilled is preferred to boiled, and I’m a big fan of the hot dog/sausage topped with crazy ingredients. But it’s hard to screw up a regular old hot dog in my book. It’s just a mysteriously delicious food (emphasis on the mysterious), and Eliana’s $1 hot dog cart is no exception. You have your choice between “sausage” or “hot dog”, and I went with sausage- because it just looked like a plumper, redder hot dog. I’m a big fan of the grilled onions, so I went with those plus ketchup (but she has sauerkraut and mustard if your prefer either of those.) Bun was typical, and the thing just tasted like a boiled hot dog. The grilled onions were way to watery (too much tomato sauce, and not enough onions) but the thing cost $1 so no real complaints. Truthfully, what do you expect for $1? It’s obviously not going to be a high quality dog, or a high quality bun for that price. The only important thing is survival, and I can say I came out of the hot dog experience unscathed. These $1 hot dogs are completely safe to eat, and easily the cheapest lunch in Midtown. (Or snack, if you so choose to think of them that way.)

I’m sure there are better hot dogs to be had in Midtown (and feel free to suggest some in the comments) but none as cheap as a $1, and I doubt they’re served as somebody as friendly as Eliana.

Eliana’s $1 Hot Dogs, NE Corner of 43rd and 6th.

I fully admit that my Midtown Lunch pricing rules have always been a little vague. Under $10 is the rule, but does that mean with or without tax? Does it have to include a drink? And how much food do you have to get for your $10? The answer to all those questions is… uh… maybe? The truth is, it’s all about feel. You could easily spend over $10 at many of the places that are written about on this site, and there are places I refuse to write about that have items under $10. Sometimes it just comes down to instinct.

My original instinct about HB Burger, the newish Heartland Brewery owned burger spot on 43rd btw. B’way+6th, was thumbs down. Even though their burgers are well under $10 (in fact, they boast that everything on their menu is less than $9), it is a sit down restaurant where a burger *and* fries will cost you well over $10. I will occasionally write about sit down restaurants on ML, but the bar is much higher for those places, and the ideal Midtown Lunch spot is a place where take out is the norm or they have a free seating area for once you get your food at a counter. Heartland Brewery (and by transitive property HB Burger) is not one of those places. In fact, it’s the kind of place this blog was created to combat: the slightly-overpriced-for-what-you-get, tourist magnet, that might also appeal to the type of Midtown worker who doesn’t want to walk the extra few blocks for something more interesting.

But in the end taste and price can go along way to help me ignore a bunch of tourists, so when HB Burger decided to offer that $9.95 Midtown Lunch special for one this week only- I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. It’s only fair.

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. You’re still in a Heartland Brewery/Midtown kind of mid-priced sit down restaurant. The waiters don’t have pieces of flare, but it’s still the same general idea. It doesn’t bother some people, clearly, but if it bothers you then be aware that HB Burger is cut from that kind of cloth. (It’s part of the reason why it’s not really a Midtown Lunch.) The owners will make the distinction between themselves and the other big touristy places in Midtown… and to a typical eater, they are completely right. HB Burger is probably the best possible version of one of these places. It’s warm, inviting, not nearly as cheesy as it could be, and most importantly- their menu is probably as cheap as you can get for this kind of sit down food within a mile of Times Square. But to a Midtown Luncher, all these places seem the same.

But who cares about all that?  What about the actual food? I ordered the Midtown Lunch Special ($9.95 gets you a beef cheeseburger, with choice of fries, onions strings, or tator tots.) And went with the tots. A lot of the toppings at HB Burger will cost you extra, but they have a nice list of free toppings, which includes onion marmalade, chopped raw onions, sautéed onions and BBQ sauce. I love grilled onions (especially when they’re free), so I asked the waiter if I could get grilled onions with the lunch special or if they limited the toppings because of the deal. He said he would find out. He never answered the question, and my burger came out without the grilled onions. He also didn’t ask how I wanted my burger cooked, and it came out the default medium (I would have asked for it medium rare if given the choice.) No big deal overall, just a warning. You are entitled to the free toppings, so if you want them- make sure you get them. And, if you don’t want your burger cooked medium, make sure you tell them how you want it. I blame myself just as much as I blame the server. (Although I did miss my grilled onions!) I’m sure it was just a fluke.

Alright, now that the bad is out of the way- let’s get to the good stuff. I don’t have anywhere near the same burger eating experience as those who have already christened this a delicious burger… so all I can say is, to a burger novice who doesn’t really know what he’s talking about: this is a really tasty burger. I can’t tell you about char, or how long the meat was aged, or whatever. I just know that I took a bite, and it tasted good. Despite being medium, it was totally juicy (they cook it on a griddle, so juicy could mean greasy to some), and was really flavorful. As far as size goes (which is always a concern for me), it was bigger than a Shack Burger or City Burger, but smaller than the monstrosity you would come to expect from a sit down touristy restaurant in suburbs. (They said it was 6.5 ounces.) In the end, for a sit down restaurant it’s a completely fair (if not cheap) price for what you’re getting. By Midtown Lunch standards, it’s slightly more questionable.

Of course once you add the tator tots, the $9.95 price tag is a deal (too bad it’s only for this week.) The HB Burger version of tator tots are more like fried balls of mashed potatoes, than some kind of bite size hash brown creation (does that make sense?) and they are clearly better than your average tot (and most likely made in house). But if I’m going to rate them on a scale beyond “fried mashed potato ball = automatically good”, I have to say my order had no salt, and I couldn’t taste any of the bacon or jalapeno jack the menu promised. (I just tasted mashed potatoes.) Admittedly they did grow on us as the meal went on…

The onion strings and french fries were much better (IMHO), although they were both really well salted- which probably helped a ton. (Yes, I did order extra side orders just to try them. It was “research for work” and it had to be done.) The onion strings were my favorite, and completely made up for the onion rings fiasco at Heartland Brewery. At $3.50 each, they also lay directly on the thin line between being completely worth it and not being Midtown Lunch’ish.

In the end, it’s all about what you are looking for. When I get a burger craving, I don’t know if HB Burger is going to replace Five Guys, or Carnegie Johns, or even Goodburger and City Burger. But it’s not really meant to (and that’s why it really isn’t a Midtown Lunch.) But, if you compare it to the other sit down restaurants in Midtown, with similar food and decor, it’s not hard to declare that HB Burger is easily the best burger you’re going to find, both on taste and price.

THE +

• It’s a damn tasty burger
• The $9.95 Midtown Lunch special is a great deal (but it’s only good Noon to 5pm until July 17th)
• The onion strings, french fries, and tator tots are all crowd pleasers
• Every once in awhile you want to have a sit down lunch (possibly accompanied by a beer), and this is one of your better options

THE -

• HB Burger is still just a Heartland Brewery spinoff… and these were the kind of places Midtown Lunch was created to fight against!
• The price… if you compare it to other Midtown Lunches it’s just slightly above where it should be.  i.e. it’s impossible to get out of there for under $10

HB Burger, 127 W. 43rd Street (btw. B’way+6th), 212-575-5848

HB Burger, 127 W 43rd St. (btw. B’way+6th), 212-575-5848