Canterbury Ale's

Huntington, NY
www.canterburyales.com



The Order: Archbishop of Canterburger, medium rare. Ham, mushrooms, bacon, green peppers, Swiss and American cheeses.
Side Order: Comes with their famous cottage fries
$14.99
Drink Order: Franziskaner Dunkelweiss




This isn't a terrible burger but for $14.99 I expected more. The burger came out in a timely manner, and the service was pretty good even with just one waitress. It was cooked correctly, and while this is a pretty large burger, the bun is so big that it's almost overwhelming. There is a sizable amount of beef and there are definitely a lot of toppings but the bun is just so big. I wished they either scooped out some of the bread or went with a thinner bun, or just anything to cut down on the amount of bread.

It was definitely refreshing to get a burger that didn't have a sauce on it. Even with a lot of condiments, the focus of this burger was the taste of the meat, which was good. Good quality mean, not overworked, not over seasoned, simple. Tasty. But the best part of this burger is the ham. Or I should say 'ham.' It's more like really thick bacon, which makes it awesome. It's so good, in fact, that if the burger was just beef, 'ham' and cheese, that would be amazing. Juicy, salty, and just a tiny bit of crunch, this 'ham' adds a whole world to this burger that all the other condiments don't.

Fries? Eh. I've seen pickle shaped fries before. They came out already getting cold, and weren't all that tasty. C'mon people! Fries are awesome! Make them interesting! Use a different potato, a different oil, or a different seasoning. DO something! Anyways, they have a decent selection of both draft and bottle beers. A mix of Europeans and American microbrews. It's a small place, parking is tough. Wednesdays are $10.99 burger night. A regular burger plus two toppings, and it comes with pickles and fries. Special events sometimes include fixed price beer tastings.

Pub One

Brooklyn, NY
www.puboneny.com



The Order: 3 Second Delay, medium rare. Two 8 oz patties topped with bacon, scotch bonnet peppers, white cheddar, American cheese and pickled tomato.
Side Order: Comes with fries.
$18
Drink Order: Six Point Sweet Action




Holy Wow! Spicy, sweet, salty and huge! This burger was fucking ridiculous, and definitely the best I'd had in a while. I can't say enough about this burger. Let's start with Spicy: The Scotch Bonnet Peppers were fantastic! Just spicy enough, not terrible, and a little vinegary. Each time I had one in a bite of my burger, it was an explosion of spicy flavor that filled your mouth and then quickly subsided into a dull burn. And that burn kept on building until the end. Mind you, it wasn't too spicy to finish like the Hell Burger at Stand4, but the peppers definitely let you know they were still around, and were a force to be reckoned with. Sweet: between the two cheeses and the pickled tomato, this burger was unbelievably sweet. Again, not too much so, but it was a marvelous counterpoint to the spice provided by the peppers. The gooey duo of cheese were definitely all over the burger providing sweet melty deliciousness in every bite. The pickled tomatoes were not quite as plentiful, but each bite into one was a reminder that they too had a part to play. They were sweet and a little sour and unexpected. Salty: Yes it is. And it was good. Not overly salty (I think I see a trend here), it wasn't overpowering, but just enough to add to the flavor of the meat.

The meat. Let me remind you that this burger comprised of TWO 8oz patties. It. Was. Huge. And. Magnificent. Even with all of the condiments and toppings, this burger was still about the meat. Now maybe that was because of the vast quantity of meat on this burger, but still. The flavors were balanced, and didn't impede the delicious taste of the beef in every bite. This was a difficult burger to handle. Not only is it huge, but all of the ingredients were constantly trying to escape my clutches, and the juices running from the burger made it extremely messy as well (soaking the fries and making them all the more delicious). Tastefully (tastebud-ally) balanced. And enormous. Those are probably the two best ways to describe this burger. And I'd like to get it again and again.

I can't say enough about this place in general. Pub One is located in Dumbo at the beginning of Front Street. Its a small building, but when you walk in, the bar and dining room open up into a large patio in the back with ample seating and an outdoor bar. The waitstaff are all nice and definitely enthusiastic (our waitress may have been a little too excited about us being there). The beer selection is ok, not very big. Don't be concerned about the B rating. I'd come here again and I'd definitely recommend it to everybody I know.