Best Burgers of Summer
Summer is the time to seek out messy ones bursting with flavor
The burgers of summer — not to be confused with the boys of summer — have nothing to do with baseball. The burgers of summer have a devil-may-care attitude, a certain sloppiness that stimulates the taste buds. They could be smash burgers, except you have to pile on the patties to make a smash burger into a real burger as if the thin patties are begging to be noticed. But mainly, whatever the configuration, the burgers of summer have to be just plain great. Here are my choices, in no particular order.
Patty melt at S&P
The hamburger bun is said to have been invented in 1916, while bunless burgers styled as “hamburger steaks” may have appeared as early as the 1820s along the docks of what is now Tribeca. They were sold to German sailors from Hamburg, which explains the name. In between those years, toast was employed to make the hamburger hand-worthy. Hence the patty melt, an older form of burger, and one still well worth ordering. Around since 1928 as Eisenberg’s, S&P is thus given a historic claim to its patty melt ($21). The patty itself is big, and slices of American cheese are employed on either side, in addition to thick-cut pickles, sauteed onions, and a scandalous amount of Russian dressing. Talk about attention to detail — the carraway seeds on the crust of the rye bread make the burger taste positively German, recalling its origins. 174 Fifth Avenue, Flatiron
HighLife burger at HighLife
For decades the city has been striving to duplicate California’s “burger in the garden” — one in which lettuce, tomato, and onions play an equal role to the beef, and project the illusion of healthfulness. In-N-Out is a prototype, but this kind of burger has been around every Southern California beach since at least the 1940s. And no one has got the formula quite as right as HighLife. Along with fries and a slightly weird queso hot dog, it’s all the pared-down counter sells ($7.50). On a carefully toasted brioche bun — one-upping In-N-Out — the cheese is American, the onions appropriately raw and oniony, the tomatoes actually ripe, the pickles more than sour, and the dressing, once again, “Russian.” 135 First Avenue, East Village
Cafe Boulud burger
Yes, this burger looks wrinkly, but eating it ($40, with fries) is like navigating a Porsche through a twisty mountain landscape. The meat itself reeks of dry aging, the flavor extended with good old New York aged cheddar — this burger is all about Empire State terroir. The funk is ramped up with a bacon and tomato jam probably made in some cottage in the Catskills, and don’t you dare call it ketchup! Twin cornichon flags remind you that you are eating in a French restaurant. Finally, there are the fries. Cheese-dusted and snowed with cracked black pepper, they are so good you may be tempted to eat them first. Bar menu only. 100 East 63rd Street, Upper East Side
Classic burger at Billy’s Sports Bar
Though this former theater a stone’s throw from Yankee Stadium is big enough to hold hundreds, the burgers turned out are of high quality in the classic fashion for a sports bar ($14.95, with fries): charbroiled and nearly blackened for that smoky taste, the onions seared while leaving the middle raw, the foliage fresh, the sesame-seeded bun pleasantly pale and definitely not the brioche that plagues many contemporary burgers. And finally, the shoestring fries are nicely salted to make you drink more beer. Go on a weekday or weekend non-game day for quietude. 856 River Avenue, Grand Concourse
Grass-fed burger at Eel Bar
For those who crave an umami explosion, this burger ($28, includes fries) at Eel Bar has all the predictable aspects but adds the vinegary pickled anchovies called boquerones, and crumbly blue Roquefort — a pair that will blow the top of your head off. As if that weren’t enough, a green chile rises from the bun like a stairway to heaven. 252 Broome Street, Lower East Side
I really want to like S&P. I really appreciate what the owners/management have done to rescue the former Eisenberg’s. While it goes without saying that it’s not the same, the food now, IMO, is overpriced and overrated. Sorry.
And what about the veggie burgers?