Midtown Lunch

Midtown workers shouldn’t have all the fun, so to even the score, I’ve brought on Daniel Krieger as an official Downtown Lunch Correspondent to write up some of the tasty stuff you can get in the lower half of Manhattan. He’s a great photographer (ensuring good food porn), but more importantly he is a lover of cheap, unique and delicious eats (or as I like to call it- Midtown Lunch’ish food.)

BurgerBurger is located at 77 Pearl street, amid a row of quick lunch spots for the downtown worker bees. At first glance I thought it might be a bit expensive for Midtown Lunch because I was staring at the special of the day, the Aussie, served every Tuesday. There’s a different special 7 days a week, which includes fries (or salad), and a soda. At 11.99 it’s a bit steep but if you’re just looking for a cheeseburger and fries we’re only talking $8.50.

Despite the price, I had to try the Aussie because I’ve never had one before. Between a gently toasted brioche bun they stack and squeeze a mound of toppings on each other. First there’s a 6oz angus patty topped with lettuce, tomato, a thick slab of roasted beet, and a fried egg for good measure, all slathered in a special sauce.

The thing looks like a fat man trying to get dressed in the morning.

It was a difficult task handling the burger, and I needed a few bites to get into it. Overall it was an excellent specimen but I wish I had just gotten a cheeseburger. I don’t normally like too many meshuganeh toppings on my burger and the slab of beet was too thick and competed with the texture and flavor of the actual burger. The egg was a nice touch but not really necessary.

Other interesting specials include the spicy lamb burger with grilled red onion and cucumber/yogurt sauce (on Wednesday) but the next time I go back will be on a Thursday when (make sure you’re sitting down for this) they have the “Ultimate Stuffed burger”, which is 6 oz of angus stuffed with chopped bacon pieces, bbq sauce, and a blend of cheddar and pepper jack cheese. It’s also served with sweet potato fries.

Obama Burger is on the way…

Several low carb platters and a few chicken sandwich options round out the menu. *daydreams about bacon stuffed burger*.. what??

You can sit at the counter and watch the nervous wall street suits scutter by outside, but as it gets busier in the warm months, it’s probably better to order it as takeout.

Burger Burger (“So good we named it twice”), 77 Pearl Street (nr. Coenties Alley),     212-269-9100

Photos and post by Daniel Krieger