Midtown Lunch

*** Since this piece was written, breakfast Has Been Discontinued at Goodburger***

As you know, I don’t really write about breakfast in Midtown, mostly because I don’t eat breakfast in Midtown.  Lunch is more my thing.  But occasionally something will come along that just demands to be written about.  Like this, which I noticed on Goodburger’s Breakfast menu:

Whaaaa???  Are you kidding me.  Seriously.  I mean… No you didn’t! Oh, and in case you were wondering, those *are* harsh browns underneath the burger.  Greatest breakfast sandwich of all time?  I’m trembling just thinking about it. 

The real thing, in all its glory, after the jump… Read more »

With so many quality burger places open in Midtown these days, each place needs it’s own special thing to differentiate themselves from the others.  The way I see it, Burger Joint has the sweet location, Five Guys is for free toppings and freshly cut fries, Pop Burger is the choice if you want sliders, and while the newly opened City Burger is still working out their kinks, it’s clear they’re working off the notion that you wouldn’t mind having some chicken wings or mozarella sticks with your burger.

Goodburger, on the other hand, has never done enough to get me back there on a regular basis.  There is no doubt it is a tasty hamburger, made from quality beef, but it’s always been expensive (the value meals are over $10), and the patty is just not that big.  With all the other options (and my willingness to travel more than a few blocks away from my office) I just didn’t really have a reason to go… until now.

At the beginning of March, Goodburger introduced the “Crabby Patty” to their menu, a deep fried Maryland crab cake sandwich for $7.99.  It’s not on the menu screen, and sometimes they forget to put out the little stand that advertises it, so make sure you ask for it specifically.  I stopped by last week to check it out, and was pretty pleased with the results.  Read more »

How much are you willing to pay for a hamburger and fries?  Assuming that we’re talking about a take out place (not a sit down restaurant), and the portion is decent (not humongous), but it’s made from good meat (not McDonalds).  If you are not willing to pay more than $8, stop reading now.  Don’t waste your time.  The place I’m writing about today will just infuriate you.

I was planning on going for Chinese food on Monday as my post-Thanksgiving day lunch (you’ve gotta do something to get that taste of turkey out of your mouth) but decided to stopat the newest Good Burger location on Lexington & 54th, to see what was going on.  The line was about 5 people long (and about 10 people were waiting for their food) and I had a realization…  There will never be fewer people in this place at peak lunchtime.  That’s right.  Monday, 5 days after the opening was my best shot at not having to wait forever for a burger and fries… so I decided to forgo my Chinese food and check out the newest Midtown burger place.

WARNING:  What you are about to read was not written by a burger connoisseur.  That’s right.  I said it when I wrote about Burger Joint & Prime Burger, and I’ll say it again.  I like a burger just as much as the next guy, but I don’t know if I can determine the nuances between a burger made from USDA Prime or other fancy meats.  I don’t eat McDonald’s or Burger King, but I love In N Out Burger.  I love the Burger Joint, and I’ve always wanted to go to the Shake Shack.  I’ve always thought the prices at those two places were high, but mentally I wonder if I don’t mind paying the price because one is outside in a park, and the other is tucked away in a hidden part of a fancy hotel lobby.

Goodburger doesn’t have either of these things… it’s just another fast food place in Midtown- that happens to use quality ingredients (thereby justifying the price to some).  The one thing they do have (that I complained about Prime Burger & Burger Joint NOT having) is a combo meal.  Who doesn’t love a combo meal?  It’s a price break for ordering a group of items together.  How could you not like that???  At Goodburger, the hamburger, fries and soda combo is $9.95.  So basically, they are admitting that when you combine their three basic items, it will cost you more than $10.  That’s crazy!  The price of the combo sent me into a math coma, hurriedly trying to add up different combinations of items in my mind… trying to beat the “combo system”.  Desperately trying to see if I should get the combo, or just resign myself to paying $10+ for my “fast food” burger lunch.

That being said- despite my wishing it was cheaper, I resigned myself to paying the money and decided to go for the Hamburger and Fries ala carte at a price of just over $9.00.  Pictures and the +/- after the jump…

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