Williamsburger - Hipsters Don't Ruin Everything

Williamsburger
http://williamsburgernyc.com
342 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211

THE STORY
I was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn looking at potential locations for the bar that me and 2 friends are opening (One Barrel) and in need of lunch. My buddy Mike Bigel responded to a BC twitter post and suggested Williamsburger. Not being much of a hipster, I was a little hesitant reading their tag line "Beefing up hipsters," but far be it like me to turn down a burger! It's bright luncheonette like corner location drew me in.

Williamsburger was started by Cory McPherson who is famous (so I read from their website) from the Grand Central Hotel. A simple google search reveals nothing on this top however. Williamsburger promises they "will only serve small farm, hormone and pesticide free natural grass and corn fed Hereford beef burgers."

THE BURGER
Although there are a lot of interesting choices on the menu for burgers, I decided to keep it simple; basic cheeseburger cooked medium rare with white American. I felt a little more adventurous with the other items and had an unfiltered UFO Heffeweizen and an order of curry fries. The burger, served on a sesame seed bun, was juicy and bursting with flavor. I almost devoured it in a few bites (they aren't that big) before opting to pause and rip into the curry fries. The waitress mistakenly brought me chili fries, which she let me keep no charge and still served up the curry fries. Chili fries, pretty decent but the curry fries were awesome. They're covered in curry powder and bursting with flavor.

Hipsters wouldn't know a good burger if it plopped right down in front of them, oh wait, it did. Lucky bastards.


7 out of 10 ounces
- Rev

Macy's Cellar - The Secret in Santa's Bag

Macy's Cellar Bar & Grill
http://www.patinagroup.com/east/macysCellar/
151 W. 34th St
New York, NY 10001

THE STORY
Macy's, famous for being the world's largest department store also has a gigantic wedding registry, a massive catalog, stores all over the US. and even it's own Thanksgiving Day Parade that ends in the arrival of Santa. Located smack dab in the middle of Manhattan in Herald Square, millions of people flock there from all over the world to shop for the latest in fashion, home ware, jewelry, beauty supplies and more. The store itself is so big and so old that it's a site to see unto itself complete with wooden escalators declared as official landmarks.

But what they don't tell you, is that the restaurant in the basement, known as Macy's Cellar, has one of the best burgers in all the land. After a day of endless shopping, the Macy's "Cellar Burger" is like finding the gold after mining the rivers of the old West all day long. "THARE'S BURGERS IN THEM THERE CELLARS!!" As a native New Yorker, its one of Cara's (my wife) favorite burgers in the city and this trip was part of her X-mas present. Pretty classy guy eh?

THE BURGER
Macy's Cellar also server an "All-American Burger," which is probably pretty good but the reason for the season is the Cellar Burger. It's certified Angus beef, grilled with cheddar cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, frizzled onions, tomato and a pickle and comes with a side of fries. We both ordered medium rare and to credit the Cellar, was exactly how they were served. There are so many "frizzled onions" that you have to use your hands like a compress to get the burger down to bite size. Its served on a tasty brioche which ads a slight sweet taste to each bite. Its a good burger people, but its the frizzled onions make all the difference. Go easy on the red onion so as not to over power the rest of the tasty flavors.

Now that the cat is out of Santa's bag, don't take your new Lennox knife and spread the word like too much butter, the burger needs to stay ours!


7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

Casino El Camino - Everything's Hotter in Texas

Casino El Camino
http://www.casinoelcamino.net/
517 E. 6th St
Austin, TX 78701

THE STORY
We were down in Austin, TX for the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) Music conference and festival. Rumor has it that Casino El Camino has the best burger in these parts and although Austin is more know for it's BBQ and Mexican food, we had to find out. The place is touted as a "real neighborhood bar" and although its located on Austin's East 6th Street, the party section of town that draws in tourists, it maintains its locals draw. Loud music and long waits are a part of the way things are at the Casino so don't expect a quiet meal with impeccable service, it's a dive bar with burgers. The decor is part metal, part biker, part art house, with a vibe that really can only be what makes this unique spot what it is. Not to mention, there was a sweet Batman Corvette parked outside.

THE BURGER
After 4 days of beer, music and heavy eaten, both Marc and I wanted to order the famous Amarillo Burger with Roasted Serrano chiles, jalapeño jack cheese and cilantro mayonnaise but felt maybe our tender insides couldn't handle it. But hey, we came all this way and who are we to stand down in the face of a burger?!?! So we split one along with a Chicago burger with Bacon, Romaine lettuce and cheddar cheese. Yianni got the Buffalo Blue, while George also got the Chicago and Matt ordered the K.C. along with some chili cheese fries.

Both burgers were ordered medium rare and when the Chicago arrived, it was more along medium well. They unfortunately forgot to make the Amarillo so we ate the Chicago while we waited. The whole wheat bun was a nice touch while the bacon and cheese melded together as a nice topping. Unfortunately the over cooked burger was also bland and a little dry. I was definitely let down.

Another 15 minutes later and the Amarillo burger was ready. They called Marc's name and he picked up the burger at the kitchen. We dove right in. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare and un-like the Chicago, was juicy and full of flavor. No idea what happened between the 2 sandwiches. Just when I was starting to think this one was pretty tasty, the heat from the peppers kicked in. Holy smokes! It was a barn burner. The first couple of bites went down no problem but then the intensity from the peppers made it hard to continue. I was into the flavors bursting into my mouth and try as I might, I just couldn't finish the burger. Not for a lack of trying but a combination of pain and fear for what might happen later. It was like running a race and collapsing right before the finish line.

In the end, Casino was definitely a unique experience but it wasn't an amazing one. The burger was just ok, the fries were limp and soggy, the service was ok (we did have a very friendly server but she was the only one working the whole restaurant), the music was too loud to talk over and it didn't help that some guy in a Pogues shirt played several dollars worth of the Pogues and Flogging Molly (great bands, just too much at once.)
.

6 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

Kuma's Corner - Death to False Burgers

Kuma's Corner
http://kumascorner.com/
2900 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618

THE STORY
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me if have been to Kuma's Corner in Chicago, I would have enough money to buy the damn place. So the first time I end up in Chicago since we started BC.com, you can bet your (metal up your) ass, I made sure a visit took place. Named after an Akita, this burger spot was made for every red meat eating metal head on the planet. With every burger, including monthly specials, named after credible heavy metal bands (Iron Maiden, Mastodon, Yob, Melvins, Metallica, etc), its a place that deserves a theme song written my Manowar.

We walked in to the sound of Obituary playing over the stereo, which unto itself rules, but then I noticed to bar taps marked "Woodford Reserve" and "Jack Daniels" and I actually couldn't believe what was happening. Scotch, whisky on tap? Death Metal on the stereo? Burgers, craft beers, skate boards, guitars, mac and cheese, home made potato chips ... had I died and gone to heaven? Did I walk into the lunch room from Hell? Was this the true Vikings Valhalla? SEEK AND DESTROY!!!

I was about to find out, but only if I could stop shaking (not a joke.)

After being seated at 3 different places (a party of 9 is impossible to seat at Kuma's), we were handed a beer and a food menu. Brittany, our AMAZING server, immediately came over and asked what we wanted to drink. As I sipped from my draft Woodford Reserve on rocks (c'mon! How could I say no to that?), I realized my heart was racing and my mind was doing flip-flops. Brittany asked again and I replied "can I please have a moment to calm down?" and I took a huge breath. Then I noticed they carried beers from my favorite brewery ever, Bell's of Michigan.

Start your engines.

THE BURGER
After placing an order for the Pig Destroyer waffle fries (covered in BBQ sauce, pulled pork and cheese) as well as the "Make Your Own Mac & Cheese" with bacon and chicken, it was onto the moment of truth. As I perused the menu, I realized just how serious Kuma's takes their burger, when I read this: "*All Burgers Served On A Pretzel Roll.*" Oh man, this was going to be life changing. I went with the Black Sabbath, a true original covered in Blackening Spice, Chili, Pepper Jack and Red Onion, cooked medium rare, even though I wish I could've said "Blood Mountain please"

The burgers arrived and I spared no moment of time before I shoved the Birmingham, England prodigal songs inspired beef touchdown into my mouth. Wow. Holy shit. Amazing. It was as no different than the first time I heard "War Pigs" by the band of the same name, save this time, it wasn't my mind that was blown, it was my taste buds. With every bite, my taste buds found a new and interesting reason to get lost in the doom. Simply amazing.

And the Mac & Cheese and the Fries - both unreal. The selection of micro brews was so fantastic that I asked Brittany if I could just play Russian Roulette. Beer after beer, neither Kuma's nor Brittany, never disappointed.

Top to bottom, Kuma's fucking rules. You can read through the site and you'll see, we don't normally curse, so please understand, these words are being used to emphasize a point...it doesn't matter if you like burgers, micro brews or metal, Kuma's is one of the most unique, creative and exciting burger joints on the planet.

2900 - The Number of the Burger. Death to false burgers. Horns up. \m/

9 out of 10 ounces
- Rev

Silver Spurs - Move Along Little Doggies

Silver Spurs Restaurant
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7087408/new_york_ny/silver_spurs_restaurant.html
771 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

THE STORY
Since moving into our new offices in Union Square, NYC, we have been exposed to all kinds of new burger options. A few co-workers have told me that they swear by the Silver Spurs just a few blocks south of us. So when my new neighbors (but long time friends) Rich and Bob suggested a burger to celebrate the move, we hit the double S. Silver Spurs is a chain restaurant in NYC that for all intensive purposes, is really just a rodeo themed diner with a large burger list. All the burgers have funny Southern tinged names like " Slu Foot Sue - American cheeze," "Sadie˜nite Special - monty jack, muenster & swiss combo," "Appaloosa American, bacon, ham, mushrooms, onionz" or the "El Buckin’ Bronco bacon, black beans n' pica de gallo." You get the gist.

THE BURGER
I ordered a Slu Foot cooked medium rare on an English muffin (my fave!) with American Cheese and a fried egg (another fave) after proclaiming "I'm kind of a basic guy when it comes to burgers." The sheer size of the beast was impressive. I thought to myself "how the hell am I going to go back to work after eating this?!??!" Unfortunately, that is where the excitement ended. The burger was overcooked to medium or medium well. The eggs added no special flavor. The burger was greasier than a dipstick in a dragster and ended up turning the bottom half of the English muffin into pure mush. The meat itself was bland and without that special zing of flavor that quality ground beef carries. It was a large boring, waste of calories, carbs, fat grams and my day! I dragged throughout the afternoon and ended up crashing on my couch around 9:30 pm. Bob got a chicken sandwich that looked pretty good so hopefully his review is a little better than mine.

On a more positive note, the fries were pretty damn good and it was excellent catching up with some good friends.


5 out of 10 ounces
-Rev