Big Nick's Burger Joint

Manhattan, NY
www.bignicksnyc.com



The Order: Bistro Burger, medium rare. Angus, melted gruyere, fried mushrooms, caramelized onions, and fresh tomato on grilled thick challah bread.
Side: Comes with seasoned waffle fries
$11
Drink Order: Coke



Do not come here unprepared. Writing this, I am fully uncomfortable. My stomach is about to burst. I can not even think about moving from this spot. Not only does their menu have an intimidating number of burgers (60), but the size of the burgers is beyond ridiculous, and a quiet challenge that we are just not man or woman enough to finish it all. Taking the easy way out of having to make a difficult decision about which burger to eat, I asked the waitress which burger to have, and boy was I in for it.

The Midnight Burger Adventure began with drinks at two nearby bars, so midnight burgers didn't actually begin until about 1AM. Decisions were made quickly, and the burgers arrived just as fast. This wonderful 24-hour establishment serves a large menu of other food, but the menu to tackle is the burgers.

The Bistro burger is one of a few special burgers on their menu (these burgers aren't separated out on their website menu). The others to look out for are the New Yorker and the Sumo Burger, which... apparently is huge. Go figure. Served on challah bread, the Bistro was definitely the first burger to stand out, and let me tell you, it made a big difference. The taste of the bread was fantastic, and then sinking my teeth into the burger was HEAVEN.

The first half of this burger was absolutely delicious. It was juicy and all the spices and individual ingredients blended together in a fantastic harmony of flavor. The sweetness of the challah with the onions and mushrooms was delightful, and top it all off with my favorite burger cheese, gruyere, mama mia! You can't go wrong. Unfortunately the second half of the burger was not as good. When the burger had arrived, the lettuce and tomato were on the side, so I just dug in as it was presented. Upon the waitress' suggestion, I added them back into the burger. The tomato and lettuce really just don't fit with this burger, and they'd do better to leave them out completely. It was still good, just not the knockout that the first half was. 1 for 2 waitress. 1 for 2.

Not only is this place delicious, but they are open for 24-hours. You can try this burger any time you like!! It seems like you really can't go wrong. Granted, my reaction to this wonderful place may have been influenced by the number of beers I'd had, and the lateness of the hour, but I'll DEFINITELY be going back. One of our Midnight Burger Adventurers has already gone back and asserts that the Zapata Baconcheeseburger is amazing. I, however, have my eye on the Garlic Sauce Burger and the Portcheddar Burger.

If you want pizza at any and all hours, Big Nick's Pizza Joint is right next door.

Moules et Frites

Syosset, NY
www.moulessyosset.com



The Order: BBQ Brie and prosciutto burger, medium rare. Brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, onion.
Side Order: Comes with fries
$15
Shared Appetizers: Mussels Mariniere Traditionnel (15), Mussels Pernod et Creme, Bretzel Bavarois (9)
Drink Order: Hacker Pschorr Dunkel



Seven of us came for Manly Burger Time, our counterpart to my sister's Bridal Shower. None of us had previously been to Moules et Frites, but let me tell you, this place is fantastic. A Belgian biergarten and bistro, with a selection of 40 beers and an enticing menu, it promised to be a good brunch.

We started with two orders of mussels and a Bretzel Bavarois, a gigantic soft Bavarian Pretzel, with two kinds of mustard. All three appetizers were delicious. The mussels were all tender and the sauces were so delicious that we had to order bread in order to sop it all up and eat it. No sand in the mussels at all, and they were all fairly large. The pretzel was great, and the horseradish mustard was especially good, but probably not worth the $9 it cost if you're getting it by yourself.

And then the burgers. Oh. My. God. These are large burgers. Large is a tame word for how big these burgers are. Because it was Manly Burger Time, we all had to be up to the challenge of finishing those burgers, after three ridiculous appetizers and a healthy amount of beer.

I ordered their special, the BBQ, Brie and Prosciutto burger. The BBQ sauce wasn't too sour, as some BBQ sauces can be, and it had some similar flavor to tandoori chicken, which may have been cumin or something. It definitely made it more interesting, as each bite of the burger I was trying to figure out exactly what I was tasting. It was all delicious, and not overwhelming at all.

The fries on the side were pretty tasty as well. Actually, everyone at the table though they were excellent. They came with three dipping sauces on the side. Ketchup, aioli, and garlic mayo. The garlic mayo was by far the best.

Verdict? This may be a drive, but a visit to this place is entirely worth it. A good European beer selection, fantastic burgers and mussels. I'm already looking forward to the next time I can get out there.

Mother Burger

Manhattan, NY
motherburger.com



The Order: Uncle Matt's Wing Burger, medium rare. Basted in spicy wing sauce and topped with creamy bleu cheese
Side Order: Deluxe it with fries ($3)
Movie Theater Nachos to start ($3.95), corn tortilla chips with pepper jack cheese sauce, mother's 3 bean chili and sour cream
$6.95 + $3 + $3.95 = $13.90
Drink Order: PBR ($2!)



I found a $15 Groupon for Mother Burger (I'd pay $7 for $15 worth of food), so I figured I'd check it out. My friend Jared has been expressing interest in a burger outing for some time and we were finally able to link up. Now, Mother Burger is somewhat hidden. It is located in World Wide Plaza, which is between 49th st and 50th st. If coming from 49th st, you have to walk around a building to see that Mother Burger is actually there. Once inside, this place is tiny. It can seat maybe 25 or 30 people, but at 5:30p on a Friday, it is packed.

The burger was very tasty. It was cooked just a touch over medium rare, but not enough to make it bad. The wing sauce was at times very present, and other times just complimented the flavor of the burger. The flavor of the sauce itself was great but it definitely wasn't as spicy as I would have liked, and would have expected. Something about the name Uncle Matt's Wing Burger makes me think of a small town man trying to make big city men cry. Alas, it was not true. But you really can't go wrong with wing sauce and bleu cheese. It not being that spicy meant being able to devour this burger fairly quickly.

The fries were completely not worth it. A little hard, not seasoned at all, really, and definitely not worth $3.00. That is just ridiculous for the measly amount of fries you get. The Chipotle Russian sauce that they are served with was good, but really not as good as it should have been. Both Chipotle and Russian dressing have such strong and distinct flavors that if the two were mixed they would have a different, equally strong, flavor, right? Wrong. No matter how much of that sauce I put onto each fry, it was the same bland taste. Ketchup is the way to go here.

The nachos? Between Jared and I, they were gone very quickly. You get a surprising amount of nachos, cheese and sauce crammed onto a small plate. There really isn't anything bad I can say about them. The cheese was melty, there weren't too many beans in the chili, and the sour cream was mixed in, as opposed to just being dolloped on the top. Get these instead of their weakling fries.

All in all this place is decent, especially for the price (ignore the fries). $6.95 for a good burger, and $2 beers? That's tough to beat. Come here for after work burgers and beer.

Schnipper's Quality Kitchen vs. Shake Shack

Manhattan, NY
www.schnippers.com
www.shakeshack.com



The Fight: Schnipper's Classic vs. Shackburger (single)

Schnipper's Quality Kitchen
The Order: Schnipper's Classic, medium rare. Special cheese blend, carmelized onions, bacon, arugula, Schnipper sauce
Side Order: Fries ($2.75)
$8.99 + $2.75 = $11.74
Drink Order: Dr. Pepper

Shake Shack
The Order: Shackburger (single). American cheese, lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce
Side Order: none
$4.75
Drink Order: Dr. Pepper



Last night I went to shake shack for the second time. It was late after work, I need a quick snack, and the line wasn't very long. Many of you have problem heard of Shake Shake and how it has been at the forefront of the whole NYC Burger Revolution. But what many people don't know is they have a direct rival. Schnipper's Quality Kitchen. Friendly and healthy competition, to be sure, but Schnipper's has one location within two blocks of Shake Shack on 8th avenue, and are currently in the process of opening another in Madison Square Park, where Shake Shack recently opened a new burger venue.

I've known about this rivalry for a while now, and just had not had the chance to get to Schnipper's. Getting my second Shake Shack burger to go, I realized my mistake upon walking up to Schnipper's. For a second I was tempted to do a direct taste test, walking into Schnipper's with a Shake Shack burger in hand, but it was not to be, so I vowed to return the next day. And return I did. Now, much is being made about this rivalry between Shake Shack and Schnipper's (in the papers and blogs at least), but I don't understand it at all. Shake Shack really isn't all that good. The patty is thin, and the flavor of the meat isn't all that great. There is a lot of hype surrounding it, that I'm fairly certain has a lot more to do with public relations than actual quality.

On both nights, I ordered the burgers to go. Shake Shack's burger comes to you in a wax paper wrapper. Not elegant, no points for presentation here. But then again, they're 'high end fast food' so this makes sense. The burger comes out entirely too fast, but with the number of people that are already there waiting for a burger, I can't imagine that it was precooked. Schnipper's burger comes in a box. Upon opening the box I immediately knew this was going to be good. An aroma wafted out from under the lid making it's way quickly to my nose and OH MY GOD this burger smelled amazing. And this wasn't a small burger either. Not flattened and crammed into the foil, instead it was nicely wrapped. You couldn't tell where one ingredient ended, and another began, with all the cheesy goodness. Bite after bite was delicious. There was so much flavor. It was cooked perfectly, the bun wasn't soggy, and their Schnipper's Sauce (some mixture of mayo and mustard) was excellent, especially paired with the baby arugula. The fries were thin and crispy. Simple, but they're each JUST salty enough that it was difficult to stop eating them, and I found that I'd eaten half of them before even starting my burger.

Shake Shack's burger by comparison was bland. Not a lot of meat flavor. "Now wait," you might say, "you didn't order it medium rare!" A mistake on my part, yes. But to be honest, if cooking the burger medium takes away all your flavor, and you cook your burgers medium unless specified differently (which nobody does), you've got a problem. Squished into the wax wrapper, the descriptor of 'high end fast food' makes perfect sense. Less than five minutes of wait time, and crammed into a wrapper. I might as well be at McDonald's. The burger wasn't as hot as I expected it to be and the taste of the American cheese was somehow overpowering. Having eaten their fries previously, I didn't order them. The previous visit, they had been nice and thick crinkle cut fries (think Nathans's), but bland in taste. Not enough salt, or any other seasoning for that matter.

At Schnipper's the prices are a bit higher, but you really get more for your money when ordering a burger there. Shake Shack has a more specific market, while Schnipper's has many more options on their menu (sandwiches, sloppy joes, chicken, etc.). On the whole, Schnipper's is just more worth it in almost every aspect. Both establishment's have a beer selection, though Schnipper's is just your standard selection of domestic beers. Shake shack wins by here, with a number of regular and seasonal microbrews. But this war isn't about the beer (though it helps). Schnipper's burger blows Shake Shack's burger out of the water. Worth it for the money, I'd choose it any day. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't go to Shake Shack, but for all of you who haven't heard of Schnipper's, its time for you to put your jacket on and go.