[Pigging by Wilfrid: August 20, 2014]
Yes, there was intelligent life B.S.S. There were some very plausible burgers too, even if the mound of fatty meat scraped from the eye-level griddle at Corner Bistro now seems...well, so primitive.
B.S.S.? Oh, Before Shake Shack. The Shack celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, but the Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridian sprang into life behind its heavy, secluding curtain back in 2002. Eater has a very good video about the first ten years here.
I went along soon after it opened, but I hadn't yet had my eyes opened to the word-shaking importance of fine distinctions between different cheeseburgers--distinctions which have driven some seven million Chowhound posts about the "best" burger in New York, and counting. I thought it was a good enough burger.
Returning recently after avoiding that line for many years, I appreciated it more. What has intervened, of course, has been the absurd cult of the Shake Shack burger (it's really not that good--and it's very variable), and countless other entrants into the market, mostly ranging from the okay to the disappointing. I'm talking about Five Guys, and Goodburger, and all those non-chain burger joints which have transformed the city from the days when J.G. Melon was about as adventurous as burgers got.
To say nothing of the over-wrought neo-Romanticism of the extra-aged special-blend, aioli artichoke dip-topped, marrow-infused, Vidalia onion-draped, chicken liver and pimento cheese-stuffed, sesame pretzel brioche sandwiched, creations of our more inventive chefs.
Burger Joint plays it straight. A freshly butchered, hefty patty, cooked authentically to order, with a flavorful char, on a simple white bun, with cheese which tastes like cheese. And once you reach the front of the line (I caught a short one--maybe ten minutes), they create your order in their tiny space with exceptional efficiency.
If you've never been--or if you've forgotten--put it back on the list. But go off-peak. Here's the website.
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