Midtown Lunch

This just in from Lunch’er Tigerbot:

“Just went to go to city burger (on 39th & Broadway) and found that it was out. Apparently the Schnitzel Glatt Kosher Express is moving in instead… Sad day!”

Called City Burger to confirm and their answering machine says “Closed For Renovations”, but when I called the Abitino’s (City Burger’s owner, on Broadway btw. 40+41st) the lady who answered the phone said that City Burger was sold. And with that, Midtown Lunch’s closest connection to Pat LaFreida is gone.

More on the situation as it comes in.

Related:
New City Burger Will Get Meat From the Same Place As The Shake Shack
City Burger Reinvents Itself With Black Label
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1

The Under $25 column in today’s New York Times takes on three newish burger places (Flip, Black Iron Burger, & City Burger), and drops this LaFrieda bombshell about the burger that City Burger (on 39th & Broadway) calls the “Black Label”.

“City Burger’s menu says it uses LaFrieda’s aged Black Label blend in some burgers. But Mr. LaFrieda told me he sells Black Label only to Minetta Tavern and that City Burger’s blend, which he calls City Black mix, isn’t aged quite as long.”

Uh… that’s good to know (I guess?) You could say it’s just a matter of semantics, but to burger aficionados it could be an important distinction.

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1
AHT Calls City Burger’s Black Label “Best Burger in the City”

In what would be considered a huge upset by many Josh Ozersky, the just out of bounds Five Napkin Burger (on 9th Ave. btw. 44+45th) won the Reader Choice award for “Best New Hamburger” at the Time Out New York Eat Out Awards last night. The other nominees were Black Iron Burger, Petey’s, and Midtown’s own City Burger (on 39th & B’way)

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1

Profiled Midtown Lunch’er Josh Ozersky (Editor of The Feedbag, and author of “The Hamburger: A History”) appeared on Nightline last week to talk about burgers. And while most of the 8 minute piece was pretty uneventful (Spotted Pig, Shake Shack, Pat La Frieda’s), the last few minutes took place inside City Burger! With all the things being said about this place when they opened, could anybody have imagined that just 8 months later, this hamburger place would be singled out on national TV? It just goes to show what a special Pat LaFrieda blend can do for your business.

Check out the video after the jump…

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It took them long enough, but A Hamburger Today finally weighed in on City Burger’s $10.95 black label burger, and it reads more like a manifesto than a review. The gist of it? It’s not an “expensive burger as much as a cheap steak. In these times of economic austerity don’t be surprised if you see Wall Street executives, their expense accounts suspended, lining up at City Burger to satisfy the cravings that they used to sate at expensive wood-paneled steakhouses. For the steak lover, particularly those on a budget, this is the best burger in the city right now.”

Related:
Original City Burger Better Than Black Label? Combo Comes Down By $1
Your First Real Look at City Burger’s Black Label Burger

Earlier this week I had an email exchange about the new changes at City Burger(on 39th just East of B’way) with Josh “Mr. Cutlets” Ozersky. Not only is he editor of The Feedbag, but he is also the self appointed president of the Pat LaFrieda fan club:

Josh: “You better get on down to City Burger… Went there with a few other people the other day. It is SICK! Really, really good now.”

Me: “I don’t know.  [The black label burger] is a little pricey for my cheap-ass blood… but yeah, I’ll probably break down and try it this week.  Have the regular burgers changed at all?”

Josh: “Listen to this! I like the regular burgers BETTER than the black label. They’re top-three burgers in town right now.  They got rid of the grills and brought in griddles…started warming the buns… oh man I wish I had one now.”

That is a bold statement… top 3 burgers in the city?!?!  (Not even just Midtown?) The truth has been narrowed down to 2 possibilities.  1)  City Burger has significantly improved their burger.  Or 2) The Abitino Brothers (who own City Burger) have some serious dirt on our good friend Mr. Cutlets.

Only one way to find out which is true…

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Danny (from the blog Food in Mouth) went to City Burger and got them
to serve him their new black label burger (even though technically it
doesn’t debut until tomorrow.) He forwarded the picture along and had
this to say in the comments:

"I think there are a variety of ways to look at this burger. From the
Midtown Lunch perspective of a $10 lunch… I would guess a $13
cheeseburger is not for everyone."

"From a cheeseburger to cheeseburger comparison perspective, this is
definitely worth trying. Yes it’s an expensive take-out burger but it
tastes different. I can’t tell you if it lives up to this black label
hype, but it definitely has a completely different taste. If you’re
really into trying the various burgers in this city, you owe it to
yourself to at least try this one. I think of those that do, many will
come away with a kinder impression of City Burger.

With all that said, there was no line when I went, so the criticism of
the service may still stand."

Good first impression…especially coming from Danny, who got to try
the burger as a regular customer, rather than at a special tasting for
reporters. (He clearly didn’t mention to them that he was a blogger,
or else they probably wouldn’t have served him a day early.)

Some big news reported by the Feedbag yesterday… City Burger, which has gotten mixed reviews since they opened on 39th St. just East of Broadway, will reinvent themselves starting tomorrow as “a temple to classic burger cookery. Griddles have replaced the grills, the menu has narrowed, and the focus is now on the glories of La Frieda beef.”

According to the owner “We’re cooking the city’s best burgers! Our rivals aren’t Wendy’s and McDonald’s. They’re Shake Shack and The Spotted Pig and Corner Bistro and the city’s other great burgers. And I’ll put ours up against any of them.” 

  Read more »

Here we go again! The scene at City Burger $1 burger day (on 39th just
East of Bway) is vaguely reminiscent of opening day with a few key
changes. Only 1 person at the register so the cooks don’t get
overwhelmed, and the orders seem to be coming out a little faster… but
there is still a general disorganization, and orders are coming out
wrong (not surprisingly.)

Got in line at 12:15, ordered at 12:30, food came out at 12:45 (although
the guys after me got their food 5 mins before I did, and they ordered
their burgers cooked medium, and I ordered mine medium rare. Go
figure.) All in all, not terrible… unless yours was one of the orders
they screwed up. Line is a little longer now at 12:45, but not by much.
“Sister Christian” playing while I waited for my food certainly
helped… not a complete shitshow- but the potential is there. You
have until 3pm (and of course there is next tuesday and the tuesday
after.