Williamsburger Visited 1/12/2018 3 Forks

Williamsburger 373 Graham Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211

I had been tracking the progress of Williamsburger for a while because it was literally right across the street from me and because it took over this crazy old space in the 'hood that had been vacant for years.  The person who lived there was a hoarder who didn't take care of it and one day he had an "open house" and it was interesting to see such valuable real estate go to waste like that.  Fast forward several years later and this homey neighborhood joint opened up, much to my relief.  I'm glad it was something low key and not another hipster barber shop or tattoo parlor.

The bad news is that the day Paige and I went they didn't have their liquor license yet - they said were literally getting it the next day.  It's a bit of a bummer to have burgers with no beer but hopefully by the time you reading this  that has been resolved.  The menu is what you would expect from a place called Williamsburger - burgers, fries, sandwiches and other bar type food.   Although weirdly enough, we started with the potato and cheese pierogies ($7) since the waitress said they were delicious, I got the mushroom and swiss burger ($15) while Paige got the triple grilled cheese ($11).

The pierogies were pan fried and while they were fine, I wouldn't say they were amazing.  They tasted like any other pierogi I've had (gotta have it with sour cream) and I might even say that they were frozen and not homemade - not that it made it less tasty but it just didn't seem super special.   I would say the same for my burger.  I asked for it medium rare and it was close to the medium side but totally edible and not in a condition that I was going to make a stink about it.  They had a nice mix of crimini and shitake mushrooms but again there was nothing special about the mushroom they used or the way they were cooked (they were basically sautéed).   The dish came with a small side of diner-type fries.  Everything about this burger was absolutely just fine - it suited what we wanted (something quick, casual and easy) and it fits in with the neighborhood.  They don't proclaim to be anything fancy and sometimes I just don't need a $25+ burger (I'm looking at you Emily Loves Pizza).  I didn't try Paige's grilled cheese but it looked triple cheesey but then again, how hard is it to mess up grilled cheese?

If I didn't live less than 5 minutes away from this place, I would not make a trek out here but if I'm ever feeling lazy and want a simple beer and burger and want to roll out of my place in sweats, this place will do just fine.  Total bill:  $49 for 2 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

AJ's Burgers Visited 10/28/2017 4 Forks

AJ's Burgers  542 North Ave., New Rochelle, NY 10801

I now it seems weird to give a random burger place in Westchester 4 forks but you know what, the food was good, fresh and delicious, so I figured what the hell not?  Aarti, Will and I were visiting Kinney and Nat who had moved to New Rochelle from the city last year.  It's a cute up-and-coming town that's not too far from the city but is definitely very suburban.

Since our annual tradition of going upstate for New Years Eve to basically cook, eat and be lazy together was no more, going to New Rochelle seemed like the next best thing.  Kinney and Nat took us to AJ's which they said was on of their favorite places and I can see why.  It's nothing fancy at all but if you are ever in the mood for a burger this is a must.  It's kind of like an upscale diner with a total hodgepodge of American and Italian American food.  But really the burgers are where it's at.  They've got all sorts of burgers and toppings.  I was trying to be "healthy" so I went for the chicken burger ($13) which was ground chicken, sauteed spinach, garlic, and provolone cheese on a garlic roll.  Even though we were trying to save room for our feast of a dinner later, we also got a side of garlic truffle fries ($5).  Everyone else also got some form of a burger too.

I didn't really know what to expect but it was definitely not what came out.  All the burgers came out on these extra large skillets and a burger the size of my head.  It was insane.  Usually I'm not down for food like that but upon tasting the burger you could tell how fresh it was.  It was a fantastic homemade tasting chicken burger with a leap heaping for fresh spinach and almost too much garlic.  The garlic roll was soft and delicious but combined with the garlic already in the burger, I couldn't bring myself to eat the whole thing.  It a nice change of pace to eat a burger that didn't taste frozen or was crazy expensive either.  Aarti and Nat both said the veggie burger was fantastic and Aarti said it may have been one of the best veggie burgers she's ever had.

We all left feeling crazy full and happy.  I can see why Kinney and Nat come here often as it seems like a great neighborhood place to relax and eat affordable food.  It had a nice family feel to it and it seemed like there were still a few generations from the grandmother to the grandkids who work there.  Total bill:  $28/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

4 Charles Prime Rib Visited 7/6/2017 5 Forks

4 Charles Prime Rib  4 Charles St., New York, NY 10014

Yes,  this place lives up to all the hype.  Do yourself a favor - stay up an until midnight and log on to Resy 30 days out to snag a reservation at one of the 10 tables there.  If you try to make a reservation during normal human hours, the only things left are the ones after 11pm and if you're like me, I just can't be dining that late anymore, so I opted for the 5:15pm reservation.

Everything about this place reeks of old school dining.  It's located on Charles Street (duh) in a townhouse and has a speak-easy feel as it is pretty tucked away and hard to find.  Once you enter, it's like being transported to something of the Godfather era - it's dark, leathery and the waitstaff are all impeccably dressed. As expected the clientele veers towards the douchy banker bros but hey, I can't fault them at all for enjoying a good piece of meat.

This place comes for the same team as perennial meat favorites, Au Cheval in Chicago.  The menu here is a bit more expanded with a raw bar, chicken, pasta, side dishes and most importantly prime rib.  They also have a fantastic cocktail/wine list with some seriously outstanding old fashion cocktails - they're huge and viciously strong.  Vince is my go-to overeater partner and we obviously couldn't help ourselves when we were here.  We started with the shrimp cocktail ($21) because the Alaskan crab legs were offensively priced at $75/lb and got the prime rib Chicago cut ($66), cheeseburger with farm egg ($19 for the burger + $2.50 for the egg), mashed potato side ($13) and the creamed spinach side ($13).  And yes, it was just the two of us eating dinner.  The waiter had told us that there are a french dip special and don't think that we didn't seriously consider throwing that in the mix too but we exercised some mild form of self-control.

The shrimp cocktail came out first with 6 large shrimp served with cocktail sauce and dijonnaise sauce.  They were plumb and crisp with the right texture to it.  The cocktail sauce was served with horseradish on top of it which made it even more delicious.  It was an excellent start to the meal. Everything else came out fast and furious right after.  The prime rib was 16 oz of pink rare heaven - it was pre-sliced but you still had to cut them into smaller bite sized pieces and it was so tender that you could have cut through it with a dull butter knife.  It was one of the juiciest pieces of meat I've had in a really long time.  They only later brought out the au jus sauce to go with it, which only made it even more amazing but the first couple of "naked" bites were just as good.   But what's even better than the au jus was the horseradish cream - there's just something about rare meat and horseradish that's so perfect.  Just when you think you've had your fill of meat, they roll out the cheeseburger.  This is not just any cheeseburger but a double decker with a runny egg - many people opt to get bacon on top of it too but we decided it was just too much.  It's a fantastic heart attack inducing burger with pickles, chopped red onion and a mayo like sauce.  I'm glad we split it so that we could try a bunch of other dishes here but lots of people were totally just making the burger their main dish, which I can understand.  The super runny egg was just the cherry on top.  A runny egg makes everything better. On top of everything else the sides were not to be forgotten.  The mashed potatoes came with probably 2 tons of butter in it but also it was made with roasted garlic and chicken jus.  AMAZING.  The creamed spinach was also great but it was more along the lines of a standard creamed spinach but it's one of those dishes that I feel like you have to get with meat.

At this point, you'd think we would be comatose and ready to leave but no.  We ordered dessert too because we're fat f*cks.  We got the chocolate cream pie ($18) which for even a non-chocolate lover like me was simply fantastic - it was pretty much chocolate pudding in an oreo crust with a huge dollop of creme fraiche on top.  My heart was pretty much broken when we couldn't finish it and I had to watch half of it go to waste.

At this point, it was only 7pm but it felt like midnight.  We walked out definitely feeling like we had been hit by a mack truck food wise - I was honestly a tad uncomfortable by how much we ate and I had only had a salad earlier in the day.

I've read a few reviews of people gripping about how annoying the reservation system is (I get it, it's annoying) and it is quite pricey (although no more than many other high end restaurants in NYC) but really if you enjoy meat, this is a place you absolutely need to experience.  Just do it - you won't regret and even if you do, who the hell cares? Total bill: Unknown since I didn't pay but I'm guessing somewhere in the ballpark of $375 for 2 with tax/tip/drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pig Bleecker Visited 3/27/2017 4 Forks

Pig Bleecker  155 Bleecker St., New York, NY 10012

After the big success of the Pig Beach stand in Gowanus, the owners opened a permanent restaurant in the city.  The menu isn't quite as BBQ focused (which was a bit of a bummer) as I thought it would be but it is still very meat focused.  The decor and vibe is much more formal than the outdoor picnic setting in the Gowanus but it's not white table cloth fancy either.

Cicily and I started the meal with the meatballs ($11), shared the Brussels Sprouts ($9) and I decided on the 155 Steak ($28) while Cicily got the brisket ravioli ($24).   The restaurant is famous for their burger but since it was a double patty and I had just had a double patty burger at Salvation Burger, I just couldn't bring myself to consume another one so quickly.  The meatballs were moist and delicious - they were 3 fairly large sized meatballs served with smoked mozzarella.   We both commented how we could have easily eaten the entire appetizer on our own.  The steak was nicely cooked and already sliced for you.  It was similar to a filet and served with a side of mashed potatoes and beef cheek marmalade - there's nothing more comforting to me that a nice juicy steak with mashed potatoes and this did not disappoint.  Cicily mentioned that her ravioli was pretty good - as with any ravioli dish, there weren't a lot of them but since they were served with black truffle butter it probably didn't make sense to have too much of them.  The Brussels Sprouts were good - it was nice to have a side of greens with all the meat we were having.

Despite what people are saying on Yelp, our service was accommodating and attentive without being overbearing.   Overall the experience was pretty pleasant, although I probably would have liked it a bit more if it was more on the casual BBQ side because there aren't as many of those in the city but there are plenty of meat/steak places.  It's definitely a very solid meal and they had lovely cocktail menu, just don't go expecting it to be similar to the one in Gowanus.  Total bill:  $78/pp with tax, tip and cocktails

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Salvation Burger Visited 3/25/2017 2.5 Forks

Salvation Burger  230 E 51st St., New York, NY 10022

One of the most revered burgers in the city is the one created by April Bloomfield at Spotted Pig, so when she opened another burger joint uptown, there was a lot of excitement.  But the Midtown location deterred me from really checking it out but when Aarti and Will had friends in town who wanted to go, I was all-in.

First off, it's definitely NOT Spotted Pig, so don't come here expecting a cozy but hip West Village joint.  This has more of a chain restaurant feel - it's big and spacious and doesn't have a ton of personality. The booths on the left hand side have these weird mini flat screen TVs with a yule log like you would see during the Christmas holiday - only it's freakin March, so I have no idea why they had it on.  The menu is what you would expect - burgers, hot dogs and a few salads if you really want to be somewhat healthy.  In terms of burgers, they have beef burgers, fish burgers, and a veggie burger, so a little bit of everything.  I had just had a day of drinking and eating fries at another bar, so I decided to stick with a classic burger instead of a salvation burger that had bacon on it.  Most of us got the classic burger ($17) and Will got Salvation burger ($25) - someone had to do it!  We started with popcorn ($3) and cheese crisps ($4) and Aarti got a chocolate milkshake ($7) while one of their friends got a toasted marshmallow milkshake ($7).

The popcorn snack was kind of a waste - it was a small cup of popcorn with some paprika and spice sprinkled on top and didn't really do it for me.  Similar with the cheese crisp, they actually turned out to be crackers with a cheese flavor to it - again, a waste of space in your stomach to prepare for the burger.  After ordering, we realized that the waitress never asked us how we wanted our burgers cooked but apparently we were getting TWO thin patties - so it didn't really matter too much.  I didn't realize it was going to be two patties but there wasn't any other choice in the matter - so regardless of what meat burger you order, be prepared to clog your arteries.  As I mentioned, the classic burger is two thin patties with cheese, special sauce and pickles.  If this sounds like a Big Mac from McDonald's, you wouldn't be wrong.  It was essentially a fancy version of a Big Mac - right down to the sesame seed bun.  Now don't get me wrong - there is a time and a place for a Big Mac and the burger really wasn't that bad at all.  But when you put into context that it's just an adult version of a Big Mac it makes you wonder why you are paying $17 for it.  Plus did I note that it doesn't come with fries?!  You have to order them separately.  Unfortunately, while we were chomping on our classic burger, Will's Salvation burger came out and it was pretty much super rare - to the point it was almost black and blue.  He asked us if he should take it back and all of us agreed that he should - normally I am a fan of rare meat but this was really pushing the limit.  The waitress was very apologetic about it but they didn't comp us or bring anything out while he waited for his food.  Once it came back, it was still pretty rare but better.  I had a bite of his burger and it was definitely a better burger than the classic - maybe it was the smoked bacon and beer cheese that went with it but it felt like a much heftier burger than the classic.  As for the milkshakes,  none of us were huge fans of the chocolate milkshake because it wasn't made with chocolate ice cream - instead it tasted like it was made with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup poured on top of it.  But apparently the marshmallow one was a bit better.

All in all, I wasn't really super impressed with my meal here.  While the quality of the ingredients were high (the meat was provided by White Gold Butchers), the notion that I'm paying all this money for a burger with no fries that was kind of a rip off idea of a Big Mac didn't really do it for me.  Plus the Midtown location was a turn off for me.  Even with the crazy wait, I'll still stick with the burger at the Spotted Pig instead.  Total bill:  $41/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Whitman's Visited 1/7/2017 3.5 Forks

Whitman's  406 E 9th St., New York, NY 10009

After our first brunch at Superiority Burger, Anuja, Amy and I were unfortunately still hungry.  There wasn't much left on the menu there and we were really craving fries, so we ventured next door to Whitman's to fill our fries craving.  This place is the ultimate burger/sandwich place, so they must have good fries right? 

Yes, they definitely hit the spot.  It's a cute cozy place if you're looking for something casual and low key.  They have a pretty extensive menu of all types of burgers and sandwiches and you can put almost any topping on them too.  Since we had literally just had a burger, Anuja and I split the grilled cheese and fries ($9) since having a 2nd burger seemed egregious but only having fries didn't seem like enough food.  Amy got the Brussels Sprout salad ($7) because she's good like that and knew that having something healthy was better for her.  

This was a nice way to "top off" our last meal.  The grilled cheese was on a thick white Pullman bread with melted gruyere, cheddar and American cheese - yum!  But the bread was a bit soggy in the middle but with that much cheese I can see why.  The fries were great - crunchy and salty,  which would have been perfect with the veggie burger earlier.  Amy said her salad was great and it did look really healthy and lightly dressed.  I wouldn't say that anything we had was super mind blowing but there was nothing wrong with anything we ate either.

The price point is great here and it was a nice snowy weather get away for comfort food.  I would like to return to have a real burger to take advantage of what they are really known for.  Total bill:  $20/pp with tax, tip and wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Superiority Burger Visited 1/7/2017 3.5 Forks

Superiority Burger  430 E 9th St., New York, NY 10009

One of the big trends of 2016 was the emergence of veggie forward/vegan food.  Vegetarianism and veganism is obviously not new but there was an emergence of restaurants in NYC that focused just on vegetables - By Chloe, Nix, Avant Garden and Ladybird just to name a few.  So it makes sense that those on the veggie train would try to create the ultimate veggie burger.  Momofuku Nishi tried to do it in the most innovative way by actually making it bleed, but I don't think that's necessary to make a really good veggie burger. 

Superiority Burger has gotten a ton of buzz as being one the best veggie burgers around, so I checked it out during my monthly Rabbit Habit date with Anuja and Amy.  First, this place is not a restaurant, it's really more of a take-out joint with 4 tiny seats.  Be prepared to wait or just grab it to go and sit in the park if it's nice outside.  The menu is really limited:  veggie burger, large veggie burger, sloppy joe type sandwich, broccoli salad, and romaine salad.  I was really bummed that they didn't have fries on the menu (they're vegetarian right?!?!) but I guess it's healthier that way.  In any case, I got the regular veggie burger ($6) and the tahini romaine salad ($6).  If you are hungry I would strongly recommend you get the large burger, it's only $3 more and you'll be a lot more satisfied in the end, trust me. 

The burger is topped with toasted munster cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickle all on a soft potato bun. If it sounds like the making of a great burger, it was.  It reminded more of a falafel burger in terms of consistency and texture.  It definitely wasn't trying to be a meat substitute but I liked that it also wasn't some kind of nasty bean burger that many veggie restaurants try to do.  It was a solid burger that I would most definitely have again but it was just really too small if you're hungry.  This is where I really missed having fries as that would have definitely filled me up.  The salad was tasty with the tahini ranch dressing but I'm generally not a huge fan of romaine.  The salad was described as having cauliflower and sneaky avocado - the avocado was very sneaky as you could barely see or taste any of it in the salad which was a bummer.  I had a bite of the broccoli salad and that was much better in my opinion.  It had a slight charred taste and it was topped with red chili, cilantro and cashew. 

The menu here apparently changes (not the burger but the salads and sides) and a couple came in after us who were clearly friends with the owner and they got to order an off menu pastrami sandwich which looked great, so either be friends with the owners or wait a few months for new items to appear. 

Overall, it was definitely one of the better veggie burgers I've had in a while.  But the lack of fries made me feel like my meal wasn't really complete.  If I lived in the East Village or found myself walking around the hood, I would definitely stop by but I'm not sure if I would necessarily go out of my way from BK to have it again.  Anuja and I had debated if we wanted to split yet another burger because that's how hungry we still were but instead he opted to have a 2nd brunch at next door.  More to come on that meal....Total bill:  $13/pp

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Momofuku Nishi Visited 10/22/2016 3.5 Forks

Momofuku Nishi  232 8th Ave., New York, NY 10011

Everyday there are so many buzzy food trends that pop-up in NYC that it's hard to keep track of all of them.  One of the latest ones comes from David Chang and the Momofuku Empire and it's called the Impossible Burger.   What makes it impossible?  It's a plant based "burger" that actually looks and bleeds like a real meat patty.  Now I'm not sure vegetarians really think that what they are missing from a burger is the bleeding but I can see how a vegetarian would be intrigued by this.  I've had a LOT of veggie burgers in my life and for the most part they're not good.  Usually they are some bean patty that falls apart after a few bites and tastes nowhere close to a real burger.  So I usually skip it and will settle for at least a turkey burger if I'm trying to be healthy.

As with any novelty trend, there was a line 30 people deep before the place even opened at noon. They claim that the burgers are first come first serve, so I'd recommend coming around 11:30 or 11:45 to ensure you've got a fair shot at getting one of them.  Anuja got the burger with cheese ($14) and I got the pork belly sandwich ($15) and we split the butter noodle ($20) as well.  Basically this is exactly what the entire restaurant ordered as well, so I'm not even sure why they have anything else on the menu.

At first glance the Impossible Burger looks pretty much like a regular meat burger - it's even cooked "medium rare" on the inside to give it a pinkish glow.  I had a small bite and I'll say that as a meat eater it is pretty damn close to a real burger but it's still missing that fatty meaty flavor to it that is really what red meat is all about.  But if you've never had a real burger before,  this will get you pretty close to the real thing.  I'm assuming that since it's a plant based patty, it's better for you health-wise but then again, I'm not sure if I want to know what it's actually made out of.  You absolutely must get it with cheese and the fries that came with it were also addictive - skinny, salty McD's like fries and they really made for a tasty burger and fries combo.  As for my pork belly sandwich, it came with avocado and a perfectly fried egg on top.  Ingredient wise, it was a combination of everything that I love and don't get me wrong, it was a fine sandwich but honestly I wasn't wow'd by it.  It kind of felt like a cliched sandwich of all the trendy things going on right now (pork belly, avocado and a fried egg) - you might as well throw some kale or poke on it and call it a day.  As for the butter noodles, it was very similar to a cacio e peppe dish with a fried egg  on top.  The noodles were nice and chewy and it was definitely a very hearty and heavy pasta dish.   Again, I enjoyed it but it wasn't a dish that I felt warranted a long line and wait outside.

The novelty of the Impossible Burger is for sure very interesting.  I'm glad I tried it and if I lived in the neighborhood, I could see myself stopping by for those amazing fries on a cheat day.  Total bill:  $36/pp with tax, tip and drink

Where to Eat When You're on Jury Duty in BK - Part 2 Visited 9/26-9/30/2016 2.5 - 4 Forks

Week 2 of grand jury duty!  Unlike trial jury duty, for grand jury duty, they pretty much assign you a block of time and then put as many cases in front of you during your timeframe.  The minimum you can get away with is 2 weeks but people can get put on 3 month, 8 month and sometimes even 1 year long commitments!

So by week 2, I knew most of the places I wanted to go that I hadn't gone to yet and there were a few I re-visited.

Shake Shack  - Let's be honest, no visit to Downtown Brooklyn would be complete if you didn't have Shake Shack at least once.  I had been avoiding it because it's not really the healthiest thing and I've been to it a million times before.  But sometimes it just calls your name.  It really is delicious and I stand by that themushroom burger is better than the hamburger.  However, recently they've introduced the chicken sandwich and it's pretty freaking delicious too.  It's a crispy chicken breast with lettuce, tomato, pickles with buttermilk herb mayo on a potato roll.  Genius.  While I was there, I helped myself to some yummy crinkle fries as well.  It's not a lunch time meal I recommend on a frequent basis but having been stuck in a jury room with 22 other annoying people, I felt like I deserved this meal.    4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pinto Thai - Sometimes during jury duty you luck out and get an extended lunch break.  Tuesday was one of those days where we got over an hour, so I took a leisurely stroll down Montague Street which is a lovely but busy street in the heart of Brooklyn Heights.  I randomly stumbled upon Pinto - I've actually been to the one in the West Village before with Aarti many times before and really liked it, so I was pleased to find it here.  It's a lovely setting and of course they have a nice lunch special menu.  For $9, you can get an appetizer and entree which is quite a steal!  I got the fried tofu appetizer and the chicken pad thai (duh) and since I was on an extended break, I thought I'd treat myself to a thai iced tea too.  The fried tofu was great - not too greasy or oily and really soft on the inside.  It was served with a spicy mayo which is not what I would have expected from a Thai place but it was delicious non the less.  The pad thai was solid - it's what you expect from a neighborhood thai place.   My meal would have been great had it not been for the Thai iced tea.  Don't get me wrong, it was delicious and super unique in that the ice cubes were made from frozen thai iced tea and they serve you everything in a deconstructed way - separate glass of condensed milk, separate glass of iced tea and a little glass of simple syrup.  Adorable right? Except when the bill came it was $6.  WTF?  It was almost as much as my entire lunch - so much for a steal.  I told the waitress that I was shocked by this price and she apologized but didn't do anything about it.  In no world should a freaking drink that does not have alcohol in it cost this much.  For this, I had to knock my review down to 3.5 forks.  Stick with the $9 lunch special and you'll be fine.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Hanco - I came back to Hanco, but this time to try their pho ($9.75).  I wasn't feeling too well and the weather was starting to get chilly so I thought some pho would solve the trick.  I actually came in with zero expectations for their pho because well frankly, it's run by Chinese people and not Vietnamese people.  However, I was actually fairly impressed by it (I guess this is what happens when you have no expectations).  It still wasn't as good as Pho 75 back home but the broth was great and there was a shockingly good amount of beef slices in the dish served rare which is my favorite.  I am kicking myself for having wasted other lunch meals when I could have gotten a really solid bowl of pho here.  If you have more than an hour for lunch and you're serving jury duty in the winter, definitely come here for the pho.  4 Forks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Nanatori - Ugh, this was my least favorite meal of the entire 2 weeks.  I am usually a sucker for sushi lunch specials but since I usually only had an hour, I didn't feel like I really had enough time for it. Luckily, I had another extended lunch day and thought I would give this place a try since it looked crowded from the outside.  They serve your standard sushi lunch specials - I opted for the 3 roll combo ($11.95) with spicy tuna, spicy salmon and eel/avocado.  It comes with a miso soup and salad - nothing to write home about here.  The 3 rolls came out and they just looked sad.  The rice was falling off most of them and there was just way too much of it in general.  I ended up pretty much removing almost a full cup of rice from the rolls.  The rice was most definitely not high quality (not that I was expecting much but I expected it to at least not suck) and the spicy tuna and salmon was the pre-mixed/chopped up kind.  It was just an overall disappointing waste of a lunch special, you're much better off at Hanco across the street.  2.5 Forks

 Photo Credit:  Yelp

Emily Visited 5/29/2016 3.5 Forks

Emily  919 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 11238

Ok, let's get this out of the way first.  Emily makes a god damn good burger - it's super moist and juicy and packed with a ton of flavor.   Make no mistake - if you get the burger, you will love it.  So why the 3.5 fork review?  It's unfathomable to me that this burger is almost $30 - well, $26 to be exact but when you factor in tax and tip, you're over $30.  How did we get to this point in life where a freakin burger costs $30?!

But I digress.  Emily has long been on my list of places to try but the horror stories of waiting 2+ hours isn't something I felt like dealing with much these days.  Luckily, Anuja and I were both in town for Memorial Day weekend and one of the bonuses of not having a house in the Hamptons is that the city clears out and places that normally would have long lines are much shorter.  Emily opens at 5pm and we got there around 5:30pm - the place was already packed but we were able to get 2 seats at the bar.  The menu consists of mostly pizza - red ones, white ones, pink (vodka sauce) ones and green (tomatillo) ones and of course the famous burger.  Anuja got one of the white pizzas ($22) while I got the burger.  Apparently they do run out of burgers if you don't get there early enough, so be warned. 

The food came out rather quickly and the burger was glorious looking - it was dry aged beef on a pretzel bun and covered with their special sauce, tons of caramelized onions, and cheddar cheese.  It's served with what Anuja and I called high end McDonald's fries (we mean that as a big compliment as they were incredibly addictive).  The burger is quite messy but the flavor profile was spot on.  I'm definitely happy that I tried it and maybe if an out-of-towner really wanted to try it, I would go back again but it's one of those things where I am happy enough to check the box and say that I've tried it.  The fries were skinny salty and if not careful, you can eat the entire tray of it before you know what hits you.  

I had a bite of Anuja's pizza and we both agreed that while it was good - we've both had better, especially at Roberta's.  It's a very similar to Roberta's in that it's a thin brick oven Neapolitan style pizza with fresh artisanal toppings.  But there's something about Roberta's that had a more positive impression on us or maybe we're just over this whole hipster pizza thing.

Is this place worth a visit? Yes.  Is it worth waiting 2 hours?  That I'm not sure about but if you find yourself looking for a place to try out over the summer and don't mind eating like a grandma at 5:30pm, then give it a try.  Total bill:  $36/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Au Cheval Visited 2/1/2016 4.5 Forks

Au Cheval  800 W Randolph S., Chicago, IL 60607

Fuuuck me.  Do you want a heart attack?  Do you want to literally feel full for days on end?  But do you also have a god damn delicious burger?  Then get your ass to Au Cheval.  This place has been on my list for a while and after my umpteenth trip to Chicago for work, I finally made it.  I "dragged" Eric here on a cold Monday night thinking there wouldn't a a long wait but even then it was an hour wait.  Luckily there are tons of nearby bars to duck into for a drink.  They will text you when your table is ready which is perfect in this "I don't like to talk on the phone" age. 

The decor is straight up, old school wooden panels, kind of like a old time-y saloon - it's super dark in there which is actually a good thing because no one should see what you look like when you're elbow deep in egg and meat juice.  While there actually several items on the menu to choose from, just do yourself a favor and order the cheeseburger - the single will be just fine because it's practically the size of a double and get it with the fried egg ($12.95).  Eric took it one step further and got bacon with it and we also decided to really do some damage to our health and got the crispy fries with mornay sauce, garlic aioli and another fried egg ($9.95).  Yes, the place reeks of burger but it really doesn't matter.  The yolk is perfect - super runny and delicious, the meat is super juicy and well seasoned and the bun was soft but not too chewy.  To me, it's right up there with Black Tap Burger as a really solid, gourmet yet not gourmet burger.  I really didn't want to eat all of it because I truly did think my heart would stop working at some point, but it was too good to stop.  It is a bite of a messy meal with the runny yolk and burger juice, so be prepared to go through a lot of napkins and to look like a hot mess if you're on a date (luckily, I wasn't).  On top of all that, the fries with the egg and mornay sauce was just so unnecessarily necessary to the meal.  The bacon on Eric's burger had the thickness of a small encyclopedia - I can't even imagine eating it everything else that was going on.   

I rolled out of this place slightly buzzed, very full and super happy.  It's definitely not a place I would go to often purely for health purposes but if you are in the mood for a really spot-on, non-fast food but not snotty burger, make this your first and only stop.  Total bill:  $60 for 2 with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Slash Run Visited 12/26/2016 3.5 Forks

Slash Run 201 Upshur St NW, Washington, DC 20011

I have always been a huge fan of solid burger joints especially ones that have a heavy metal theme to it (i.e. Kuma's Corner in Chicago).  I was home for the holidays and got to catch up with some long time friends from elementary-high school and we ended up at Slash Run since it was near my friend Martha's place.  Given that it was the day after Christmas, it was pretty quiet and low key but that was great because that's exactly what we wanted.  This place is a true local joint as judged by many patrons wearing Redskins jersey since the big game was on that night - even better! 

The decor is kitschy, rock n roll and comforting all at once.  The menu centers around bar food and lots of local beers on tap.  We got the fontina artichoke dip ($9) to start while we mulled over our burger choices.  They have a nice variety of burgers that range from basic (simple bacon cheese burger) to the random (one with pineapple relish and pork rinds).  I was torn but opted to get the Le Petite Mort ($11.95) which was a burger with blue cheese crumble, garlic aioli, arugula, and mushrooms sautéed in red wine.  Did I mention that all the burgers came with waffle fries - yum! The fontina dip was what you expected of an artichoke dip - gooey and cheesy.  Next came the burgers - they were a very generous portion and mine was cooked medium rare with a bit more emphasis on the medium but it wasn't so brown that I felt like I had to send it back.  I enjoyed the combination of the blue cheese and mushroom - in fact, I was actually a bit disappointed that there wasn't more toppings to the burger, although that's probably slightly healthier for me.  The patty was juicy and moist but it didn't necessarily have me wanting to drool over it like I did at Black Tap but if I lived nearby I can see why it would be a cool neighborhood joint to relax and chill out.  The waffle fries were a pleasant addition - other than steak fries, I am a total sucker for waffle fries and these were nice and crisp and really paired well with the burger and beer I had. 

Overall, the Slash Run is a nice rock n roll local joint that's unpretentious and chill.   It seems like a good Sunday Funday kind of place to go and have a few beers with friends.  While the food itself is basically bar food, I give them props for trying to be creative with it - especially in a up and coming part of DC (there's an artisanal pickle shop coming soon!).  The service was a bit slow despite it being not crowded at all but I guess, who really wants to work on the Saturday after Christmas anyways?  Total bill:  $36/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  The Washtingtonian 

County Visited 12/10/2015 2 Forks

County  34 E 20th St., New York, NY 10003

I'll admit that this review might be a bit on the harsh side - I almost hardly ever really go below a 2.5 fork rating, but there was just so much about this place that annoyed me that it was time for me to give some restaurant the brunt of my anger.  

The B-school gals and I met up here for Beth's birthday and I will say that what it has going for it is that it's in an extremely convenient location on 20th street.  It's kind of crazy (or is it?) that I have never seen or heard of this place before given how close it is to so many things I've visited before. 

Our table was located incredibly close to the door but it was fine enough and fit all of us but it was incredibly loud sitting right by the hostess table and the door.   The menu here is, as you would expect from a place called County, very "farm to table" style and rustic.   We were all starving and ordered the fresh made ricotta ($14) and the salmon tartare ($17) to start.  I'm usually a big sucker for fresh ricotta (especially the one at Locanda Verde) and this one was good but not amazing.  It was served with mint, honey and warm grilled bread but it just didn't taste as farm fresh and light as I would have liked.   The salmon tartare was served on a bed of crispy rice which was so thick that it was all I could really taste in the dish. 

While neither of these dishes itself were terrible, what really kind of put me over the edge about this place were the main entrees.  I had just gotten back from Puerto Rico, so I was craving some traditional American food and when I saw a cheeseburger on the menu, I jumped on it.  It was only later that I processed that it was $25!!  WTF?!  In my book, the ONLY burger worth paying more than $20 in this town or anywhere else is at the Spotted Pig and that one is $22.  Unless this burger is covered in truffles and gold, it's really quite ridiculous to price a burger in that price range.  I must have been in a starving haze because I also didn't realize it was a double patty (which I guess is why they felt justified in charging $25).  I've never really understood why it's necessary to have a double patty if the single burger is meaty and flavorful enough.   The other gals all got the branzino ($29) for their main entree. 

After getting our appetizers, we had waited quite a while for our entrees to arrive and when they did, they were totally not for our table, so we had to wait some more.  When the correct food finally did come out, I was disappointed at what we were getting for such a steep price.  Yes, the burger was quite large.  It was 2 patties with cheddar, arugula, smoked chili mayo, pickles and applewood bacon. This thing was so unnecessarily large, salty and probably enough calories to last me a week.  After eating half the burger with the bread, I just started eating the patty itself but with every bite I couldn't help to think to myself that in no way was this worth $25.  Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to pay high prices for food that I think is worth it, but a burger just isn't one of them especially when you can get supremely better one at Black Tap and even Shack Shake for half of the price or less. The fries that came with were also pretty dry and overly salty as well.  I took a look at the girl's branzino and usually when I see that fish on the  menu, it's served whole but here they just gave a small fillet. It also didn't seem to justify the high price tag for such a small portion.   

Overall, I was so not impressed with this meal and if I'm paying $100 (included us paying for the birthday girl), I expect excellent service and high quality delicious food.  Instead, the service was super slow and the food unmemorable and highly overpriced.  Bah humbug.   Total bill:  $105/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp   

The Heyward Visited 10/9/2015 4 Forks

The Heyward  258 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, NY 11249

The Heyward is one of those low key unassuming places where you can sit down with a friend and drink tons of wine, have lots of good food and have great conversation.  It was quiet but not stuffy or boring and despite never being totally packed, it still felt like a cool place to be. 

I met Lily here on a cold, dark, rainy Friday.  The place seemed like it was full of locals just trying to unwind from the week.  The menu here is pretty much American with a bit of a slant on Southern seafood.  We shared the spicy glazed octopus ($15) to start and I ended up going for the cheeseburger ($18) because it came with Old Bay seasoned onions and 2 yr old aged cheddar cheese.  Yum.  Lily got a few oysters ($3/each) and ordered the butternut squash mac and cheese ($10) and brussels sprout ($7) side as her main dishes.  Oh and we got wine too, lots and lots of wine.  The octopus was one long tender tentacle served with andouille sausage ragout, fava beans and wilted greens.  The meat of the octopus was perfect and not chewy at all.  The spice from the sausage was perfect - it added heat but it wasn't overbearing.  It was a lovely dish that I really enjoyed.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the burger here too - it was was a solid burger that totally got the job done.  It's nothing fancy or amazing like the one at Black Tap - but it was a nice juicy burger on a sesame seed bun that held everything together.  The combination of the Old Bay onions and aged cheddar cheese was a nice twist to an old classic.  I devoured the thing in a matter of minutes and I'll add that the fries were tasty, salty, thick cut fries.  It was the perfect gloomy rainy day comfort food.  I had a few bites of Lily's mac and cheese and it was homey and autumnal with the butternut squash mixed in.  Mac and cheese is also a solid rainy day food in my book.  The brussels sprouts were your typical brussels sprouts in that they were roasted and tasty but it had a slight kick to it with aged worcestershire, pickled peanuts and chili.   For dessert we had a raspberry and fig cake that was light but distinctively figgy.  It was totally unnecessary but we were on our 5th glass of red wine so it seemed appropriate to order a dessert to round out the night. 

Overall, it was a lovely, low key dinner in a somewhere upscale, more adult setting.  I can see this place being a nice date place if you wanted to go somewhere in Williamsburg that was low pressure, non-hipster but still relaxing.  It's by no means the best restaurant or coolest restaurant in Williamsburg but sometimes you just need a nice neighborhood joint to escape to every once in a while.  Total bill:  $250 for 2 people with tax, tip and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Black Tap Craft Burgers and Beer Visited 9/16/2015 4.5 Forks

Black Tap Craft Burgers and Beer    529 Broome St., New York, NY 10013

Holy shit, this place is ridiculously amazing.  How have I not been here before?  It's probably a good thing I haven't discovered it earlier because otherwise I would be massively overweight with a major cholesterol issue.  This places reminds of Kuma's Corner in Chicago with an awesome menu of delicious sounding "craft" burgers - only difference is that there are no heavy metal themes here but that doesn't matter here. 

The place is tiny and as Janet had texted me before I got there "is full of white guys" - it kind of felt like a frat house/bro hangout at first but later on there were a few other ladies who walked in. Anyways, the whole place is just one long bar counter and 4 narrow seats at the window.  We were jammed into the window seats but it turned out be great because you get a nice view of the outside and some more leg room.  The menu has about 10 "artisanal" burgers with meat ranging from regular beef patties, turkey burgers, steak burgers, bison burgers, lamb burger to a wagyu beef burger.  There is a vegetarian option which is the falafel burger that actually sounded delicious too because it had feta, humus and tahini sauce.  They also have burger salads for those of you looking to avoid carbs.   Genius! The menu is truly overwhelming because everything sounds mouth wateringly amazing - originally I was going to get the Californian which was a turkey burger with avocado, swiss and truffle mayo but Janet was not having any of this turkey burger nonsense, so I was switched over to The Old Fashioned ($16) which was a burger with crimini mushrooms, swiss, caramelized onions and horseradish.  Back in the day when I was a kid and went to Hamburger Hamlet, this was the kind of burger that was my go-to, so it brought back a lot of memories.  Janet got the Greg Norman ($18) which was wagyu beef, buttermilk dill, blue cheese and arugula - sounds awesome too, right?  

The burger came out and I was definitely happy that I went for the beef option (although I'm sure the turkey burger would have been great too).  It was a fucking masterpiece - the meat was perfectly pink, juicy and flavorful,  the bread was soft and delicious.  I loved everything about the burger and the fries were also finger licking good as well.  I probably shouldn't have eaten the entire thing but it was so hard not to.  They also have fantastic line up for shakes and old school beers and soda and I kicked off the fall with a lovely Pumpkin Ale from Brooklyn Brewery. 

The only thing I didn't love was how cramped it was in there but otherwise, it was the perfect meal to return to after being away from the US for a long time.  I also was a huge fan of the host/waiter - he was funny, bearded, tatted up and super friendly - just my type.  I will most definitely be back but for the sake of my health, I should spread it out to once a quarter at most.  Total bill with tip and tax:  $30/pp

Photo Credit:  Yelp 

Revolution Brewing Visited 8/25/2015 3 Forks

Revolution Brewing 2323 N Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647

I had been wanting to go to Revolution Brewing for the past year since last time Deanna and I tried to go and it was over an hour wait.  Eric and I were in town for yet another client meeting and this seemed like a good place to check out and unwind away from the Downtown Chicago scene.  We were here on a late Tuesday night and we were quoted a 20 minute wait but luckily we were able to get a table relatively quickly.

The menu here is what you would expect from a pub/brewery - rich burgers, pizzas, chicken and steak.   While I've been trying to be good and stick to salads for my impending trip to Croatia, there's just something so wrong about coming to a pub and ordering a salad.  So I went all out and got the Smokehouse Burger ($14) which was a burger with pulled pork on top of it and the blue cheese potato salad while Eric and I also split the calamari ($9) to start since we were both starving and coming straight from the airport.  The calamari was light and crispy - the outside tasted more like it was baked vs. fried with oil which was greatly appreciate.   The burger came out quickly and it was quite the sight.  It was a pretty thick patty topped with pepper jack cheese and then piled on with Kansas City style pulled pork with a thick bun.  Very aggressive move on my part.  I couldn't justify eating the entire thing without feeling like a total glutton, so I took off the bun which honestly didn't look like anything too amazing.  The combination of the burger and pork was exactly what you would imagine - in your face overload of meat.  I ate about half of it before I threw in the towel, but mostly because the meat was incredibly salty.   It was definitely over-seasoned it to the point where I really felt dehydrated during and after the meal.  In the future, I would probably stick to a straight simple burger than to go with one that has a heaping of salty pulled pork on top of it.  The blue cheese potato salad was a nice twist to your typical potato salad but it was a bit too heavy on the mayo and not enough actual potato in it.  

Overall, I wasn't in love with the food but I did really enjoy their beer, especially the Rosa.  The place definitely has a nice neighborhood vibe and I can see how if you had a few more beers in there, that the food was really be super appealing.  It's the right menu for this type of place.  I guess I shouldn't have been so aggressive in my ordering when I had only had 1 beer in me.  Total bill:  $60 for 2 people with tip, tax and beers

Photo Credit:  Yelp