Archive for '56th btw. 6+7th'

Miss Softee’s Favorite Street Meat

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If there’s one things I love about eating street meat in Midtown is that everybody has their own favorite spot for chicken and lamb over rice. Sure, some of the halal carts have become more famous- and Street Meat Palooza has crowned two different winners. But most people have their favorite spot (usually close to their work) where the guy knows your order, and makes it just the way you like it. And while it may not win any awards, it doesn’t make it any less worthy of being patronized.

So yesterday when Miss Softee (yes, that Miss Softee!) offered to take me to her favorite street meat cart, I immediately took her up on the offer.

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Another Dean & Deluca Opens… With Burgers?!?!

A New Deal & Deluca

Dean & Deluca seems to be opening more of more of these new lunchtime take out spots. At the end of last year they opened the branch on 48th btw. 5+6th (right around the corner from another Dean & Deluca location) and now another has opened on 55th 56th btw. 6+7th. But this one is kind of different… they’re serving burgers! Kind of exciting, and they looked pretty good being grilled behind the counter. Unfortunately, they are all over $10 so I think I’ll just stick with the Burger Joint or Five Guys. But there is a menu of under $10 sandwiches and hot panini that look kind of appealing- and completely different than anything they have the other Midtown locations.

For those D&D fans who work in the southern part of Midtown, there is a big Dean & Deluca that will be opening on the ground floor of the New York Times Building (on 8th Ave. and 41st Street) but no word on when that will be happening.

Burger Joint Is on GQ’s Top 5: The Burger Joint in the Parker Meridien (on 56th btw. 6+7th) qualifies as one of Alan Richman's Top 5 Burgers in New York City.  No surprise there- but the strange thing is how he recommends eating it: "Order a plain, unadorned burger, put nothing whatsoever on it, and eat. You’ll be stunned that something this straightforward can be this good... No burger in New York is in need of ketchup less than this one."

Burger Joint is Latest Victim of Rising Food Costs

It seems like every day I’m posting one of these.  First it was the buffets, and then Del Frisco’s raised the price of their steak tips deal.  Now, the incredibly popular Burger Joint, “hidden” in the lobby of the Parker Meridien Hotel on 56th btw. 6+7th, has raised their prices.  That’s right- the hamburger that you voted “Best Burger” in the 2008 Midtown Lunch Readers’ Poll, now costs $7 (up from $6).  The cheeseburger gets a $1 price hike as well (to $7.50) and the grilled cheese, french fries, brownie, milkshake, bottled water and a beer now cost you 50 cents more.  While soda and lemonade get a token 25 cent increase.  Apparently the whole pickle is the only item immune to the recession.

I’m sure it won’t effect the line of tourists you currently find packing the place everyday, but with Five Guys now open a few blocks away, and Goodburger continuing their expansion, this price hike could have an effect on their lunchtime business.

With the price of food all over the city going up, and a Burger Joint hamburger and fries now going for $10.50, are these places no longer Midtown Lunches, or is it time we adjusted the $10 cap for inflation?

What the good ‘ole days looked like, after the jump… Read more »

Carnegie John’s… the Best Cart Burger in Midtown

Well, the line at Carnegie John’s has finally died down enough for me to try it.  NY Mag wreaked havoc on the Midtown cart scene last month when they released their street cart issue.  It spotlighted some Midtown Lunch favorites (The Jamaican Dutchy, Hallo Berlin, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen & Kwik Meal), but also opened my eyes to a cart I had never heard of.  The legend that is Carnegie John’s.

Carnegie John's Menu, Midtown NYCThe cart is named for its location, right next to Carnegie Hall, where John serves up Hamburgers, Chicken, Gyro, Steak & Shish Kebab, all cooked to order.  Which partially explains the line.  Ever since the NY Mag issue came out, the line at this cart has been out of control- and if you want a burger, you’ve got to go on the early side.  He usually runs out by 1:30.

What I got, food cart porn and a +/- after the jump… Read more »

The Burger Joint @ Le Parker Meridien

If you have ever been on a NYC food message board, then you know that nothing gets the troops riled up more then a post about “The Best” Hamburger in New York City.  One thread, started two months ago, just got its 100th reply.  People really are crazy…  I’m not really a hamburger connoisseur- but I do enjoy a burger now and again.  I haven’t eaten at a McDonalds, Burger King, or Wendy’s in years- but living in L.A. for two years, I couldn’t stay away from In ‘n Out… so I’m not anti-burger or anything, I just think the whole NYC “best burger” argument seems pretty silly.

First off, what kind of burger are you talking about?  Thick or thin? Cheap or Expensive?  If you ask me what my favorite burger place is, I would probably say In ‘n Out?  But it’s only the best when you compare it to other thin burgers… which are mostly found at fast food places.  Most people probably like thick burgers better then the thin patties… but there aren’t too many cheap, fast food places that serve the thick restaurant style burgers.  Then you have the expensive burgers… which are in a class unto themselves.  You know the ones… served at fancy restaurants, made with Kobe beef and stuffed with foie gras that cost a hundred billion dollars.  That doesn’t really appeal to me.  It’s a hamburger.  If I go to a fancy restaurant, I want a real meal.  Not a burger.  I don’t care what animal’s liver you’ve stuffed it with, and how much you massaged the cow before you ground it up… I’m not paying over $20 for a hamburger and fries.  Why stop at foie gras and truffles?  You start stuffing burgers with fried chicken or Chinese food, then you give me a call…

So in my opinion to talk about “the best” or compare burger places across genres is really useless.  If two places are right across the street from each other, and serve the same kind of burger at the same price- compare away.  In ‘n Out is better then McDonald’s.  But to compare Blue 9 Burger in the East Village to the burger at Spotted Pig is futile.  (BTW, if you are a fan of In n Out, and are ever in the East Village check out Blue 9.  It’s the closest thing to a good double double you’ll find in NYC.)

Lucky for us, when it comes to eating a hamburger, for lunch in Midtown, it doesn’t matter what you like- the choice for best burger is pretty clear and easy.  The Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien Hotel.  While I’m sure the name conjures images of some fancy burger served at an overpriced hotel restaurant with white tablecloths- here’s the best part.  It’s a dive, and it’s hidden smack dab in the middle of one of the nicest hotel lobbies in Midtown.

Pictures, the +/- and more after the jump… Read more »