Shake Shack - Guest Blog from the Bacon Jew

Shake Shack
http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010

THE STORY
Our good friend Mark Lafay, a meat aficionado, was coming to NYC as part of the "Scream The Prayer" tour with the band he manages, Haste The Day. Mark had suggested going to Shake Shack, but we weren't sure if we all could do it since there is usually a huge line around Madison Square Park, and some of us had to get back to work. At the last minute, Rev had to cancel to go see TAT at Warped Tour in Detroit, so we decided to hit the long line and have one of the best burgers in NYC (or dare I say in the U.S. of A.) Obviously it was weird doing a Burger Conquest without Rev, but Mark, nona*, Mike from HTD and myself braved the heat and humidity, and tackled Shake Shack.

THE BURGER
Mark & Marc - "Double Stack" - a sandwich of a cheeseburger and a 'shroom burger (crisp-fried portobello filled with melted cheese and onions), served with lettuce, tomato and shack sauce
nona* - Single Hamburger
Mike - Double Cheeseburger and a side of fries

This was actually the first time that Mark, Mike and nona* had been to Shake Shack for burgers (nona* had been once before, but only got a shake). I had been twice before, once having the 'Shroom Burger and the other time having a Cheeseburger. But this was the first time I had them together in the "Double Stack....and I'm glad I did. Being a burger, mushroom and cheese fan, this is probably the ultimate combination of the three. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, even though I usually prefer medium rare. The fact that they serve thousands of people a day out of a "shack" in Madison Sq Park makes it impressive that they can cook it right every time. There was a nice layer of American cheese, but nothing can describe the perfection of adding the 'Shroom Burger on top of it. The molten cheese that fills the deep-fried mushroom adds a sharper taste that makes there no need for any condiments on this burger. The bun, which Rev always points out as a very important part of the burger experience, was a simple grilled, buttered roll that didn't break apart and held together this amazing concoction.

THE STORY WITHIN THE STORY
While we were there, we noticed two film crews interviewing people eating the burgers. We all were laughing because it figures that one of the first "conquests" without Rev ends up being filmed for something. One of the crews came over to us and asked if they could interview us about the burger. Ended up they were from ABC News and doing a story on Shake Shack. Mark had devoured his burger already (literally took him 3 minutes), so they asked to interview me. When they asked me about the burger, me - being the great friend and business partner to Rev - said "I read on a great website called Burger Conquest that Shake Shack had one of the best burgers in the city, and I have to say, they are right". We'll see if it gets used in the story, or if it ends up just being footage of me chowing down....stay tuned.

Overall, we had great burgers, great friends and a great time.


9 out of 10 ounces
-Marc Schapiro
www.baconjew.com

Bobby Vans Grill - Don't Mind Me While I Eat

Bobby Vans Grill

http://www.bobbyvans.com
135 W 50th St

New York, NY 10020-1201

Get Directions

THE STORY
After ordering my 3rd glass of wine while out with my wife Cara and some friends, I knew that if I wanted to eat dinner, I should stop fighting the urge and just order the Bobby Vans Burger and enjoy. This particular Bobby Vans location is run by the same 4 fellas that have been awarded the Tom Horan's Top Ten Steak House Award for 3 years.

THE BURGER
This wasn't the first Bobby Vans burger I have ever had, so I knew what to expect...or I thought I did. The first thing I did was put place the onion straws on the burger. Then I noticed the sesame seed bun, which was different from the last time I had gone down this path. The burger was big, delicious, juicy and although a little over cooked, it was packed with great taste. The cheddar cheese was a perfect pairing for the meet and onion straws. Normally I would pair up a burger with some beer but as I was already down the wine path, I stuck with it. It worked really well and I may revisit the combo in the future. As I sat by myself in beef ecstasy, my friends laughed and pointed. "Check out Rev in all his glory!"


7 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

Wildwood Barebecue - Burgers Gone Wild

Wildwood Barbecue
http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/wildwood_bbq/index.php
225 Park Ave South
New York, NY 10003

THE STORY
Wildwood Barbecue, a part of the B. R. Guests restaurant family serves, as they call it "multi-regional American Barbecue." That means you can get Texas, St. Louis, Memphis or any other style they decide to slap on some meat. Pit Master "Big Lou" Elrose just picked up the Gourmet Award for his 'Big Lou" burger at the Josh Ozersky run "Feedbag Burger Summit." (as judged by our friends over at BOTM.) So, when friend's Sam and Mark suggested we have a meeting over a burger, Wildwood was the first choice on my mind!

THE BURGER
We started off with an order of the "Bottle Caps," which are Beer Battered Jalapeno Slices and an order of the boneless chicken wings in Frank's Red Hot Sauce. The wings were really good and I may suggest this place for the next Wing-Off, even though we already know the secret of their sauce! Thankfully they don't "put that shit on everything" as the Bottle Caps may have taken a #2 spot next to Mozzarella Sticks as my favorite fried appetizer. I at least 2 dozen myself, dipping them in the creamy dill sauce that accompanied.

Upon inspection of the menu, I toiled with the idea of getting the Wildwood 1/2LB Burger but settled on Big Lou's Burger; "Seasoned with Wildwood’s Traditional TangyBBQ Sauce, Jack Cheese, Bacon, CaramelizedOnions & Sautéed Mushrooms, French Fries." I skipped on the shrooms and just as I was taking my 2nd bite, Big Lou himself came over to say hi and ask how our meal was going. After a few funny stories about t-shirts, he wished us happy eating and disappeared into the back. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and covered in all kind of tasty fixins! The BBQ sauce was the dominate flavor and the cheese just seemed to be over powered by the bacon, onions and burger. The patty itself was one of the juiciest / greasiest I have ever had but let's not kid ourselves, this one was meant to be messy. I definitely enjoyed it although as odd as it may sound, the sandwich overall was a little lacking in the saltiness category. Go figure.

With all the effort put into sauces, rubs, spices and toppings I was surprised to find the fries were pretty standard and left a lot to be desired. Once sprinkled with the house rib rub,they took a massive jump in improvement. Little did I know they offered tater tots, otherwise you know I woulda been all over 'em.

Next time we'll have to rip into some of the 'cue but I guess that would be a different blog.


7 out of 10
-Rev

Good Dog Bar - A Money Shot in the City of Burgerly Love

As originally featured on Alternative Press
http://altpress.com/features/ptwburger.htm

Hear about us via Sirius27 XM42 "Liquid Metal"? Here is the picture from the interview;


Good Dog Bar
http://www.gooddogbar.com/
224 South 15th St
Philadelphia, PA 19102

THE STORY
I was meeting up with the band Poison the Well who we manage and are out on the road supporting their amazing new album, "The Tropic Rot." The band was kicking off the 10 For 10 Tour in Philadelphia at the Trocadero and not only did I want to see the band and the tour, I wanted to take my buddies for a burger. I asked you, our readers for a suggestion via the Burger Conquest twitter and an out pouring of support for the Good Dog bar came back.



THE BURGER
We started off with an appetizer of the Baked Macaroni and Cheese, made from a blend of Gruyere, aged White Cheddar, aged Gouda and a Bechamel sauce and then topped with corn flakes. On the side? A blue berry corn muffin. Damn if this wasn't some of the tastiest mac that's every graced my palette. The combo bite of mac, flake and muff was a real tongue tantalizer.

Most of us ordered the signature 1/2LB "Good Dog Burger"which is stuffed with Roquefort, topped with caramelized onions and served in between a toasted brioche. Pretty fancy for a pub using a bunch of canine puns, but when there is a signature, you gotta go with it. The burger arrived and after the obligatory round of photos, I picked it up and got ready to sink that bad boy into my slop gullet. I bit in and ... BOOOOOM!!!!! the Roquefort had melted inside into a burger lava and it exploded all over my face, shirt, arm and shorts. I was in a total state of shock as I realized that I just got a money-shot from a burger! I was absolutely covered in hot cheese. I gather myself back together and ate the rest of the burger. Although cooked as ordered, medium rare, all I could taste was the cheese. It was over powering the entire sandwich and was just too much. What I could taste of the burger didn't impress me much. BUT the fries, oh man, the mix of regular and sweet potato fries were awesome!

"I got the traditional medium with Cheddar, lettuce, tomato and a smidge of mayo.What can I say, its a burger. Didn't blow my mind but wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating chips. When the bun lingers in your memory more than the hunk of beef sitting between it, it's never a good thing. This is exactly what happened here. Conclusion. Good not great."
-Brad Grace, Poison the Well

"Being a Philly native I had high hopes for this joint. I got a traditional burger. While it was good it was just good cause it was a burger. I ordered a medium burger and it was more to the well side. The meat had good flavor but it didn't really stand out. Overall a 5. One of my comrades had the signature burger and it tried to sexually assault him."
-Ryan Primack, Poison the Well

"Good dogs sweet potato and potato fries were the winning part of my meal. I wish I could say the same for the beautifully presented bomb which was the good dog burger filled with Roquefort. Delicious sounding idea on paper but horrible if you want you want to taste anything other than the Roquefort itself. My guts weren't happy but good atmosphere and from what I hear my decision to eat the cheese filled hamburger was the only potential order regret that was on the menu. Good dog Roquefort burger gets a 4 only because the fries were awesome. "
- Jeff Moreria, Poison the Well



5 out of 10 ounces
-Rev





THE TOUR
The concept is great and the name says it all, "10 For 10 Tour, 10 hardcore bands for 10 hard earned dollars." Each night the line up changes with some bands only playing certain shows, Poison the Well and Terror however, are on the whole tour. For the kick-off at the Troc, the line was as follows:

The Ghost Inside
Crime in Stereo
Trapped Under Ice
Death Before Dishonor
This is Hell
War of Ages
Vision
Terror
Madball
Poison the Well

The top 6 bands shared gear and made for quick change overs and not a moment of down time. All of them are worth checking out. NJ's Vision showed why after 19 years of playing hardcore they still hold a special place in people's record collections.


Up next, the most NYC sounding LA based hardcore band ever, the mighty Terror. Scott Vogel and crew got the crowd riled up for some mosh madness and really proved why they are a headliner on this tour.


Madball gave the crowd a good ole NYC style lesson in hardcore. These guys are still keeping the NYC hardcore scene and live and well ever since it's home, CBGBs turned into a fashion store. Freddy, Hoya, Mitts and Ben served up an auditory beat down that practically left the crowd in pieces. "It's all about the 'Ball!"


Taking the stage last and still full from eating burgers, Poison the Well closed out the show with a set of songs spanning their entire catalogue. The "Pee-Tee-Dubs" have been twisting hardcore on it's ear for more than a decade. Their latest release, "The Tropic Rot" is a progressive and intricate blast of progressive punk and hardcore with the texture of a Pink Floyd record. They truly stand out from the pack and have the fans to prove it. Philly supported accordingly.




10 out of 1o dollars / bands
-Rev

THE CHEESE STEAK
SURPRISE! C'mon! You really didn't think we would go all the way to Philly and not get a cheese steak did you?!?! After the show, Adam. Brad Grace and I made our way over to Jim's Steaks on South Street. There are a ton of options in Philly for cheese steaks but Jim's is the best in the biz. They chop their meat, while others slice it and use fresh Amaroso rolls. Don't be a fool and go with any other kind of cheese, it's all about the Whiz and I always go "WIT."


8 out of 10 ounces
(It would've gotten a 9 but they didn't give me the extra Whiz I requested)
-Rev

Old Town Bar - Father's Burger, 1 Year Later

Old Town Bar
http://www.oldtownbar.com/
45 E 18th St
New York, NY 10003-2003

THE STORY
On July 20th, 2008, I gathered up a bunch of my friend's to get a burger together. It was my father's birthday and before he passed away, nothing made him happier then getting friends together for a burger and a beer. After a great time at PJ Clarke's, I joked about starting a burger blog. With our friends Mike from Darkest Hour and his manager Mike in town on the the Summer Slaughter tour, I thought it was a great reason to get Team Burger together.

I wanted to pick something close to the venue and after a few web searches, the fine folks at Chow Hound pointed us towards the Old Town Bar. More than a century old, it was once presented a "Golden Local" award by NBC for being the "Best Old Bar" in NYC. Built in 1892, the Old Town Bar served as a speak easy named "Tammany Hall" during Prohibition and since has been made famous by many "moving pictures."

THE BURGER
I almost passed up the regular old cheese burger for the Bison Burger but in the end with a medium rare burger with American cheese. While perusing the menu I noticed the Horseradish-Cheddar dip which I asked with the intent of full on fry dippage. The burger came on a sesame seed bun and much to my joy, 2 slices of cheese. The sandwich was a greasy old school "Dad's" burger (as I like to call it) and came with whole seed mustard. The burger was decent although overcooked especially thanks to the mustard. The real star of the show was the Horseradish-Cheddar dip. Served cold it made the not-so-awesome shoestrings hard to stop shoveling into my face.


6 out of 10 ounces
-Rev

Burger Fest - Get in Your Bed and Ride!

Burgerfest
http://bit.ly/UCRmJ
Village of Hamburg
(Mani and Buffalo Streets)
Hamburg, NY



Live in or near the Buffalo, NY area? Get yourself to Hamburg, NY, supposed birthplace of the Hamburger, tomorrow for the Burgerfest! There will burgers from 20 different vendors, a classic car show, live music and bed races. The event is free and runs from 11:30 am to Noon.

We won't be able to make it but would love to see a review from anyone who does attend. Can you say guest blogger?!??!