Stand4 Burger

Manhattan, NY
www.standburger.com



The Order: HELL Burger, medium rare. Wasabi, caramelized onions, Thai chilies, sweet chile sauce, with white cheddar ($1)
Side Order: Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Parmesan ($5)
$11 + $1 + $5 = $17
Drink Order: Six Point Sweet Action
Dessert Order: Mini Ricotta Pistachio Milkshake $6

Mike's Order: STAND Burger, Medium. Specially seasoned beef, red onion, lettuce, tomato, house sauce, with white cheddar ($1)



After a multiple enthusiastic recommendations from fellow burger enthusiast Malia, I finally found the time to go and try Stand Burger. Or is it Stand. Or is it Stand4. Actually, not even Stand itself can agree on the name. If you look at their website, they call themselves any and all of the above names. We'll stick with Stand.

Apparently my choise of side was agreeable to our waitress ("good choice!"). Again, joined by Mike and Vanessa, Mike and I decided to split our two burgers. He ordered the STAND burger and I ordered the HELL burger.

Starting with my half of the HELL burger first may have been a mistake. The first bite instantly cleared my nose (the wasabi). If you want to try something that is beyond spicy, go for this burger, but it isn't so much the wasabi that gets you as it is the Thai chillies. They made it so hard to eat the burger that by the time I finished my half I was glad it was ONLY half the burger.

The STAND burger on the other hand was delicious. The seasoning on the meat was an explosion of flavors complimented perfectly by the house sauce, and the other toppings, and the meat was perhaps the juiciest I've had in the past few months. Both burgers were definitely high quality burgers, and a good size for their prices, but I'll definitely be going with the STAND next time.

Our burgers came with fried pickles on the side, which were fantastic and a wonderful surprise. The butter pickles that they were made with weren't too sweet, and they were just a little sour. If you have had the fried pickles at Corner Burger, come try these and be amazed at home much better they are. No offense Corner Burger, but these have you beat by a big margin.

The sweet potato mash was excellent, but just a little too sweet, and there definitely could have been more Parmesan on top. In fact, perhaps a more bold choice of cheese topping could have worked better. The dish was interesting, but if they were really looking to wow with it, they were just a little off the mark.

I have only three words left for you. Ricotta. Pistachio. Milkshake. This is EXPENSIVE, but AMAZING. Giant chunks of pistachio throughout, a healthy amount of whip cream, and the ricotta flavor poking through every once in a while make this one of the best milkshakes I've ever had. If you come here, you can not leave with out trying one of the milkshakes, and there are definitely other interesting flavors to order. Toasted Marshmellow. Honey Lavender Chocolate. Blueberry Pie. Maple Almond. AND they have alcoholic shakes.

Come here early to avoid the lines, or come for lunch when they offer a few lunch specials. Definitely worth a try... or two.



Coming up next week:
Dear readers! Beginning this Friday I will be in Palm Springs, CA and Los Angeles, CA eating burgers! I'll also be watching my sister get hitched, but there will be tons of burgers! It will be raining burgers! A thunderstorm of burgers has been forecast and I'm going to be getting soaked in it!

But seriously. Next week I will be making it to 9 different burger establishments in Los Angeles and 1 in Palm Springs. That's a total of 10 burgers for my dear readers to read about. I will choose 4 of them to review immediately, that is to say, as soon as I can get to a computer after eating that burger, you'll have that post. The other 5 will be sprinkled in between the regular weekly reviews. Those 10 are the definite places, but there are a couple others that I MAY get a chance to go to somehow. So get excited! And check back often.

Here is the definite list:
In N Out (I know, its fast food, but I'm going because its amazing)
Oinkster
Umami Burger
Father's Office
Yardhouse
Lucky Devils
Tommy's
Bucket
Stout Burger
Matchbox