4Food

Manhattan, NY
www.4food.com



The Order: Brioche bun, beef patty, potato chorizo hash, avocado, gruyere, ketchup, letuce, tomato, onion
Side Order: Roasted Root Vegetables ($3.50)
$8.50 + $3.50 = $12
Drink Order: Water ($1?!!)



Prepare for a trip to 4Food by learning their menu beforehand. There are so many options for building your own burger that if you go during a busy time it'd be easy to get flustered, and ordering here is definitely something you don't want to rush into. There are three ways to order. You can order one of the chef-designed burgers, one of the week's top ten burgers submitted by other patrons, or you can build your own. Joined by fellow burger enthusiasts Vanessa and Mike, we all made our own burgers.

The burger was good. I wasn't as excited about it as I had built myself up to be, having heard about this place in September, but the fault was mine. I ordered my burger on a Brioche bun, which I'm not really a fan of. It made the burger a little too dry and I quickly wished I'd gotten something different. Apart from that, however, the burger was tasty. The flavors I chose went together well and with the variety of choices, it'll be interesting to create other burgers and see just how different, and crazy, you can get. My burger definitely could have been hotter overall (maybe toasting the bun?) and unfortunately the burger was surprisingly on the small side.

The premise of 4Food is that they are 'dejunking' fast food. Great. What it means is that the meet patty has a big hole in the middle that you fill with a scoop of some other food stuff, mostly vegetables. That being said, its a little hard to justify $8.50 for a burger where you don't actually get the whole burger. Keep in mind that you are getting a lot of different condiments and toppings for that amount as well.

It's definitely an interesting idea, and fully worth checking out. Next time I'll probably go for the "Caliburger", which has been no. 1 for 15 weeks in a row. What I won't go for is $1 for a small water. Along with the whole 'dejunking' fast food idea, they don't have sodas other than their own strangely flavored sodas. No beer either. That's fine, if you're in the mood for hibuscus soda. Go ahead and 'dejunk' my fast food. But at least don't make it ridiculously expensive for me to have some water with my burger.

Rare Burger

Manhattan, NY
www.rarebarandgrill.com



The Order: Artisanal Burger, changes day to day. Pork tenderloin infused with chive and butter, mahon cheese, apple smoked bacon, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms
Side Order: Comes with Parmesan Truffle Fries. Frickles ($5)
$20
Drink Order: Brooklyn Lager



The waitstaff here are pleasant and attentive. Now, this may have been a fluke, but our burgers took over THIRTY minutes to arrive. I know pork has to be fully cooked, but thirty minutes is a little much. After an apology from both the waiter and the manager, our burgers arrived quickly. Excellent presentation (sorry about the crappy picture), but what was bewildering to me were the toppings and taste of the burger. While delicious, I soon found out this was NOT the burger I ordered (The burger toppings above reflect what I received, not what I ordered). It was definitely made with pork, but with all the wrong toppings. Mine was supposed to have mahon cheese and bacon, with chipotle butter and apple & apricot sauce.

Oh well. It was still a fantastic burger, and I ate every last bit of it. Rare was recommended to me by fellow burger enthusiast Erin, who accompanied me on this Rare Burger adventure. Their Artisanal Burger changes every day, which is exciting, but that means unless you go on the right day, you'll probably never have this exact burger. Don't let that stop you from coming here. Don't let the ordering mishap, or our unusually long wait time stop you from coming here either. The burger was delicious. The portions were generous. The Parmesan Truffle Fries were excellent. And the dipping sauces are all complimentary. Try them all, but spring for the BBQ and the Chipotle Mayo, which were by far the best.

I also had a bite of the M&M Burger (not made with M&M's), rare with cheddar, bacon, sauteed onions, and the beef was whiskey infused, which was delicious though no actual whiskey taste came through. It just made it really tender and juicy.

The Frickles were excellent, far better than Corner Burger's. And served with some kind of pesto sauce. They were sweet, sour and fried. A great opener for the meal. The Parmesan Truffle fries were great. Not a single fry left on the plate. Truffle oil makes a huge difference, and the parmesan wasn't overwhelming. Just a light dusting, enough to make you taste it.

Go here. Now.

Burger Burger

Manhattan, NY
www.burgerburgerny.com




The Order: Bill Burger, medium rare. American cheese, sauteed onions, horseradish cream, on an English Muffin
Side Order: Cajun Fries ($4.95)
$10.50 + $4.95 = $15.45
Drink Order: Mountain Dew



I was really excited to head down to the financial district and join fellow burger enthusiast Abby for lunch at Burger Burger to try their Barack O'Burger (a burger dusted with cocoa powder). Unfortunately they didn't have any cocoa powder so I had to settle for their Bill Burger. It was definitely a solid burger, cooked correctly and messy, but it could have been better overall. The horseradish flavor didn't stand out at at all and the American cheese and onions were just a little two sweet.

Perhaps the flavor of the burger was merely overpowered by the spicy awesomeness that was their Cajun fries. They have a lot of fry types to try here, and you can mix and match, but I'd definitely recommend the Cajun fries. They are just so delicious, I wanted a double order. Their only downside is how ridiculously expensive they are. Seriously $4.95 for fries? It doesn't really matter how good they are. That's kind of a deal breaker. I don't know if I'd get the fries again for round two.

Burger Burger is tiny. Four stools inside, and a few chairs outside. All the stools were taken, so we had to eat outside, and there's nothing like a burger to warm you up in 25 degree weather. It may be better to do a pickup order or their free delivery service if you live or work in that area, especially in the winter. The service was fast and friendly. It's also two doors away from a place called Pizza Pizza. Next somebody will open a place called Sandwich Sandwich.

Ray's Hell Burger

Washington, DC
Ray's Hell Burger Menu



The Order: B.I.G. Poppa, medium rare. Au Poivre burger, aged danish bleu cheese, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions.
Side Order: 7-Cheese Mac ($2)
$7.99 + $2 = $9.99
Drink Order: Coke (No beer)



Located just outside of DC, in Arlington, VA, Ray's Hell Burger has been talked up by friends and family alike, featured on a number of food network TV shows looking for the best burger, and even been supported by President Obama and Vice President Biden. While certainly an excellent burger, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best.

My burger came out fast, almost ten minutes before my fellow connoisseur's burger came out. Cooked perfectly, and presented simply. One look at this and you could tell there was going to be a lot of flavor. Dripping with it's own juices, and the soft bleu cheese oozing out beneath the mushrooms and onions, the first half of this burger was amazing. But after a while, all you can taste is the overwhelming flavor of the cheese. Don't get me wrong, it is delicious, but a milder cheese would've let the flavor of the onions and mushrooms have a little more room. And come on, cognac and sherry sauteed mushrooms? These should be exploding with flavor! But such was not the case.

The side of 7-cheese Mac was good. That's all. You'd think that boasting seven different flavors would make it amazing, but it was just a good dish of Mac and Cheese. You really couldn't tell there was more than two flavors of cheese if you didn't know you'd ordered seven.

There's no beer selection here (there is another location four doors down that sells beer and wine as well). Sodas are $2 and this place is cash only. And be prepared when you go up to order. The faster you order, and get your stuff together, the more likely you are to get a seat inside.