Plate # 4 - Big Daddy's Diner

Big Daddy's = BIG LOVE

It seems that once I mention that I write a burger blog, everyone has that "great burger joint" in mind. Needless to say I am never really at a loss for places to go because of this reason. It's a real blessing at times, as in my crazy life it can be hard to find time to explore new places. I am sure E feels the same way. Sometimes finding new places happens by accident, and this was one of those beautiful cases. A couple of weeks ago I ran into my good friend Steve who suggested we grab a bite to eat, and he had a neat place in mind. Big Daddy's has two locations, and the one we ate at was in the dark and inaccessible nether regions of Manhattan, otherwise known as the upper east side. oh the horror!

Anyway, after some pushing he got me to come up, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Not to be experiencing this little piece of burger joy alone, i thought it would be a great opportunity to slot this joint into our next big burger eat fest.

I contacted E a couple of weeks later and we made plans to go. Unbeknownst to me at the time there was also a Big Daddy's DOWNTOWN. I can't express the level of joy that I felt upon knowing this. Now, besides the fact that I lived in the upper west side for a few years I have , and always will be a downtown guy. In my 10 plus years in good ole' NYC town, I think I can count on one hand how many times i have been to the upper EAST side. The place just has too many ties. I bet if you put the ties in the upper east side end to end they would stretch to the moon. Its true I heard it. So the fact that I was willing to take another trip so soon speaks loudly of my meat enjoyment. I tried to get more info on this place via their website but to no avail. Apparently to be an "insider" I need to register. Whatever. The joint was founded in 2004, and as far as i can tell the burger was good.

WAIVER - my pix suck. i was using my phone.


First and foremost you walk into this place and it is completely tricked out, floor to ceiling, with TV, pop culture, music, and food iconography, going back at least 20 or so years. You name it, if it had something to do with music, tv, games, food etc.. it was painted on the wall or hanging from a shelf. It immediately gave me a feeling of homie' ness as fond childhood memories came rushing back to me through the overload of imagery and an endless assortment of chotchke's. I felt like I walked into every commercial that i ever saw as a kid. It is a fair bet to say that most of the items could have easily dated anyone between the ages of 35 and 60 who walked through the door. To top it off, the server was pleasant and accommodating.

Now for the Burger -

I ordered the Bad boy burger with curly fires, and E and I went in on a side order of tater tots smothered in chili and cheese. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and I can only say that the Bad boy was anything but! The thick strips of smokey bacon, and the tangy zip of the cheddar cheese added a nice balance to the juicy, succulent burger patty, which came cooked to order just how I like my meat - medium rare. Already sitting in a pool of juicy yum, the roll threatened to disintegrate once I touched it, but I underestimated the thickness of this fat boy and it only served to soak up the juice and double my eating enjoyment!

The curly fries, mildly spiced, further enhanced the experience and in the end I left feeling full and completely happy. I am not sure how the animals were treated, but in my mind i imagined the farmers quietly singing the cows to sleep every night, gently caressing their furry little brows as they dozed off...

Complaints :

The price was slightly higher than I would of liked to have paid. Maybe its the cheap naive bastard in me, but I just have a hard time paying 13 bucks for a burger. But as opposed to Dumont Burger where we paid almost as much without any extra toppings and still felt hungry,we left Big Daddy's feeling all warm and cozy..


So in the end Big Daddy's though obviously a franchise, makes a decent burger. I would for sure suggest to anyone who is in the mood for a filling , mom sized meal (the menu is FILLED with home style food) and an atmosphere that will bring you back to those good ole days of Atari, Papa Smurf,and tater tots, to check it out..(yes i know i just dated myself....)


*** Big Daddy's gets a 3 1/2 burger rating***

Big Daddy's
239 Park Ave. South
(Btwn 19th and 20th street)

Big Daddy's
1596 Second Ave.
(Corner of 83rd)

www.bigdaddysnyc.com

- Burger Eater T

Big Daddy's All American Burger 102

http://bigdaddysnyc.com/

Big Daddy's offers burgers, shakes and tots. Tater Tots. If You Have To Ask is how it's listed on the menu. And it was the tater tots that trumped my burger-eating experience. Yes, the burger was good; it filled the hole just fine. But the tater tots, the tater tots are what worked their Big Daddy magic on me. The tater tots are fried lightly each barrel-shaped piece covered in its own thin-crust shell. They come in a mound of twenty to thirty pieces a bowl (and if you so choose, which I did) drenched under a orange blanket of gooey cheese topped with a chunky splash of veggie chili. Every soft-crunching bite a tumbling muck of spuds, chili and cheese. Pure joy! Damn them tots yummy. So that said, let's move on to the All American Burger 102, listed as a classic half-pounder, with cheese, lettuce & tomato. I order mine medium rare. The first two bites are pure beef, a little too chewy for my taste, but the bite mark in the burger sweating pink keeps me coming back for more. The hamburger bun is brown and plain the cracked-dome glistening with a buttery sheen. The bun's bedding is thick absorbing nicely the meat's juices never once sagging or becoming soggy. It's not a leaky burger and I like leaky burgers, especially one's that leak onto the plate a spittle pool of blood, so that's a mark against the burger, and what in the end will keep this burger from being a great burger. The sliced tomatoes are fresh, the lettuce crunchy and the thick melted slab of cheddar cheese strikes with a sharp punch every now and then the palate. While eating, I plate the burger once or twice to revisit the dwindling mound of cheese tots. And toward meal's end, I come to the realization that I've neglected my French fries, which matters not, since I've been swooned by the tater tots. I shovel the last of the fries down and belch furtively into my fist while eyeing the milkshake box in the menu. I'm about to pop, I'm so full. So the Barbie Blast Fruit Shake, a vanilla shake with bananas & strawberries, will have to wait for another time. I take a deep breath and tap my belly. It's been a hell of a meal. And I have to say, I'm rather satisfied. Good job, Big Daddy, walloping my gut with a burger that delivered and tater tots that astounded! 

I give Big Daddy's hamburger a 3.5 out 5. 

Until next time, happy burger eating to all.  

-Hamburger Eater E

Plate # 3 - Rachels Taqueria

Two words -

Burger Burrito.

This strange culinary concoction was introduced to me by a friend and as such i had to try it.So traveling down to the manicured streets of Park Slope, I navigated through the throngs of rain covered parents, and screaming strollers, to finally end up in a cozy little Mexican joint called Rachel's. Feet soaked, hat dripping water, i sat down to a meal that, well, tasted good at least...

Onward -

Ground beef, black beans, pico de gallo, cheese, and of course, french fries.This is what makes up a Chula Vista* ("burger burrito" was written in pen on the menu.) This pile of greasy nonsense was neatly wrapped in a floury tortilla shell and over all was an interesting way to prepare a burger.








Weird for sure, but like i said, interesting enough to try out. Disregarding all that i ever knew about a burger, i commenced to chow down on this grease squirting wrap of yum yum. The completely over cooked burger meat was fresh and burger tasty, but otherwise bland. The rest of the items were sort of mish - mashed into a frothy mess of flavor, jumping around from the potato starchiness of soggy french fries, to cheesy goo. The entire thing was screaming with an ever constant flavor battle between black beans and pico de gallo. In the end this overabundance succeeded in drowning out most of the other flavors. Combine that with avocado green hamburger juice squirting through every single crack and you got a burger burrito mess!

Over all, it was an interesting run at something different, tasted OK, and was filling. All for 5 bucks. You can't expect much more than that..but to my chagrin the burger burrito was just beginning to work its burger burrito magic and what happened after i ate this thing changed my view completely..

Its always a culinary gamble when you eat cheap food, i know it and take that chance. This time i lost... Out of respect for the reader, (particularly my favorite blog groupie) I will not go into detail the horror that i experienced from eating this thing. It was an unholy ordeal, and i will NEVER be the same for it....NEVER. After what i went through, I would not recommend this plate of pestilence to anyone who has even a fraction of respect for their body.



May the devil eat the burger burrito and choke on it. Hell, he probably made the damn thing...Oh yeah, if you see this guy on the street kick him the balls for suggesting i eat that specimen from Hades in the first place, and then laughing at me after i told him about the gut demon this aberration planted in my body. YES he looks EXACTLY like this, because he is EVIL.


Dick!







In its defense Rachel's did have a nice vibe to it, and if i ever start a Mexican food blog I will surely check it out. It was clean, had a great ambiance, and the staff were really nice. But since this IS a burger blog Rachel's sadly fails. Sorry senorita, but stick to making good old fashioned Mexican food and leave this dish where it belongs..anywhere but in a burrito.


***Rachels Burger Burrito gets a 1 Burger rating***

Rachel's Taqueria
408 5th Ave,
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 788-1137


- Burger Eater T


* My friend graciously corrected me, and i confirmed with Rachel's that in fact the Chula vista, though close, is NOT the burger burrito. My bad!

Plate # 2 - Five Guys.

I found out about Five Guys from my Uncle who lives in Washington DC where Five Guys originated. I didn’t really recall my first Five Guy’s burger when I visited last winter because I was on my way to a funeral and wasn’t really in the burger mode. But now almost a year later Five Guys has brought their DC charm to New York and I’m craving a serious hamburger. I order a cheeseburger with grilled onions and A-1 sauce, a large order of fries, and a medium root beer (free refills!). Now, with a fast-food burger come two trade offs, temp control and ambience. All hamburgers at Five Guys are cooked medium well. Ugh. I like my burgers medium rare to rare. Love the leakage. So already before getting the burger, I’m thinking, eh. And then there’s the ambience. The lighting is bright as fuck. The walls are red-and-white checkerboard tiles. The seating is tightly packed with wooden chairs and tables. And in the end it’s get your burger eat your burger. So don’t come here expecting to hang out. My number is called and the man behind the counter hands me a brown paper bag, which is oily with spots of grease, a good sign. Inside the bag the fries are piping hot and somewhere underneath the jumble of fries is a hamburger wrapped in foil. The hamburger is a double patty, the cheese melted to a translucent orange, the onions chopped coarse grilled translucent as well. It’s a hefty burger, packed dense, and easy to manage. There’s no slop falling from the sides. Nice. The first bite goes down almost unnoticed. The second bite and I’m really enjoying the double-patty density, thinking to myself, yes, this burger is going to fill the hole, which is the number one requirement when thinking about a hamburger. Will it fill the hole, meaning will I still be hungry after eating this hamburger? And if ever the answer is yes, then I don’t care how fucking good the hamburger is. It has failed. All hamburgers must fill the hole. Period. And this hamburger has at least done that. Continuing on, I can taste the cheese, which slows the chewing process for its gluey appeal. Like it. The onions are there too, giving an almost tangy kick, extremely subtle. Suddenly I realize I’m missing that A-1 kick I requested. Either they forgot it, or added a dollop that went unnoticed, not a good sign. The fries were missing something as well. Touted as Cajun fries, there was nothing Cajun about them. Maybe they forgot to dust them with their Cajun spice, or dusted them lightly, who knows? So on the round up, the Five Guy’s hamburger out of one to five hamburgers gets a rating of two-and-half hamburgers. Meaning, if you’re ever in a rush and need the hole sufficiently filled, then Five Guys is the place to do it. Otherwise, skip it.

-Burger Eater E










I found Five guys to be filling as well as tasty in a Coney island food stand quality sort of way, with well done being the standard.

For $9. 50 you get a burger with TWO, count 'em TWO patties, unlimited toppings and gooey cheese. My order consisted of fried onions, American cheese, and mushrooms. And it was worth every grease squirting bite! For $5.00 more you can get a brown bag chock full of gut busting, albeit tasteless, fries. Enough at least for three big guys to chow on (our friend Philip joined us). Throw in the two wooden barrels of peanuts that you can dip into while you wait for your food to be served, and in the end you walk away from Five guys feeling like you got your bang for your buck.

Complaints -
This place has a fast food vibe for sure, complete with terrible flat lighting. Combine that with the red and white tiles, and tight seating, and it all adds up to a "eat and go" atmosphere. Though a few steps above McDonald's, Five Guys still relies on an over abundance of salt and grease to compensate for quality.

In the end, the over all experience was what could be expected from a burger stand style joint. If you're looking for a quick bite to eat, that fills you up with plenty of greasy, salty, gooey flavor to boot then Five guys is the place to go, but if you're looking for a little bit more in your burger you might want to move on.




*** Five 5 guys gets a 2 burger rating***


Five Guys Burger
296 Bleeker Street
(other locations as well, this is the one we ate at)


- Burger Eater T

Publish Post

Plate # 1 - Dumont burger.

This little burger joint located in williamsburg is an extension of the somewhat pricey Dumont restaurant.

The over all burger quality was pretty good. The meaty slab of danish bleu was a nice touch as opposed to a thin filmy layer of crumbly that most places give you. The service was great and the restaurant itself is pretty nice. The fries were well cooked and spiced nicely.



The only thing more stupefying than the amount of grease consumed ( E noticed that the buns had little pats of butter melting on them when they arrived) was the nonsensical price we paid for what turned out to be more toppings than meat. Total bill with fries and 3 toppings : $17.00. Regret level over the massive ass raping my wallet experienced - MASSIVE. This sting was felt even more acutely by the fact that I left still feeling hungry. In my opinion, no burger is worth this much money, especially when it left me feeling not entirely burger satisfied.

So over all, my rating for quality standards, fries, and service quality was good, but the price sucked, and i left slightly hungry. Needless to say i won't go back, unless you're buying. No burger is worth that much money, especially when it can't even fill me up. So in the end Dumont Burger fails and becomes yet one more trendified establishment over charging because idiots like me are paying.

*** Dumont Burger gets a 2 1/ 2 burger rating ***

Dumont Burger
314 Bedford Ave
(Cross Street: Between S 1st Street and S 2nd Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11211 (map it!)

- Burger Eater T

BURGER!! BURGER!! BURGER!!

A hamburger (or burger): A sandwich consisting of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc. as well as lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and cheese.



Nutshell - This whole thing started with two guys who enjoy the simpler things in life, such as a good burger. At one point we thought it would be fun to rate the places we go to.

Here is the breakdown:

Each month we will take turns picking places to go, and judge the overall quality of the burger experience from a set of criteria. This criteria is listed chronologically by importance beginning with burger quality. In the end, each place will be given an over all "burger rating" ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 basically saying "you couldn't drag my stinking bloated corpse in there again" to the highest number, 5 being " holy fuck, i think we just hate angel meat, can we go to hell for that?"

A breakdown of the criteria:

1) Burger Quality:

Toppings to Burger Ratio: "I know deep down below the 6 TONS of toppings a burger wants to come out."

Burger Control (temp): mmmmm. hot burger juice....

Burger Stability: How well does that thing stay together when you bite into it? does it hold strong or are you eating your burger with a fork by the end of the meal?

The Fill Factor: If you're walking away feeling like you could put another burger down, you just got the burger screw job and should demand your money back.

Cruelty Factor: It is good to know that your meat came from a slaughter house whose employees are required to spoon with the cows before they kill them.

Condiments: How good were the toppings?

Burger After Effects: How do you feel after slugging that puppy down? Are you gleefully full, rubbing your slightly extended tummy like a jolly little Buddha, or are you trying not to puke from the burger after taste you keep burping up every 30 seconds?

2) Fry Quality: The perfect accompaniment to any burger, a complete necessity and one that could easily enhance or destroy the burger experience!!


3) Price: Pretty straight forward - was it worth the money??


4) Ambiance / Service: What was the joint like? How was the service?