Hamburger Hi-Jinx      10/12/2009  

I Have Seen The Burger of My Dreams, And It Can Be Found at Bill’s

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The Bill's burger.

On a happier note, I went in for a press preview at Bill’s Bar and Burger Saturday, somewhat downcast at the range of freakish, rococo creations I had seen at the previous night’s burger bash. Despite my baleful comments, Spike Mendelsohn won again with a blue cheese and horseradish mayonnaise burger. Really, Spike? It seemed that the burger world had lost its soul, except for a few faded outposts in North Jersey. Were restaurants like The Spotted Pig and Minetta Tavern and the little owl really the only places I could get a great burger? Then I ate the stark, simple, magnificent hamburger above, and all was right with the the world.

The Bill’s burger, at least the one I tasted, is the next step in the evolution of mainstream hamburgers. It takes the aggressive “smashing” technique from Steak n Shake and Smashburger, and applies it even more aggressively, and using LaFrieda beef — a rich blend I couldn’t exactly put my finger in, but lush and sweet in a way that suggested lots of brisket. It’s flatter and wider and browner that the Shake Shack, so much so that it hangs outside of the bun. It’s just luscious and enveloping and compuslively edible. And beneath that crust, which is complemented by a butter crisp toasted Arnold’s roll and a slice of deliciously viscous American cheese, is a torrent of juicy, salty, beef flavor that really lets you know you’ve eaten real meat, not just gray burger tissue. The thing is just fantastic, and there is not one weird topping or middlebrow trope anywhere to be seen. Is it too soon for me to say that this is the best hamburger in New York? I don’t think it is. Certainly it’s the best cheap hamburger in New York, if not the world. Daniel Boulud, Josh Capon, Nick Solares from Serious Eats…we all tried it and were knocked out. But better still than the taste was the fact that it was a blow for orthodoxy, and proof that our national sandwich is still best presented unadorned, in all its rude glory. Perhaps I need to send one to Spike.

Comments

10 Responses to “I Have Seen The Burger of My Dreams, And It Can Be Found at Bill’s”

  1. DocChuck on October 12th, 2009 4:32 pm

    Yes, that appears to be a decent burger.

    But exactly when will you move beyond ” … the best cheap hamburger in New York, if not the world”?

    When will you understand that there are some things in life more important than “The Bill’s Burger”?

    Did you get a deal on that burger, Josh?

    Inquiring minds —- and all that stuff, you understand.

  2. Robin on October 12th, 2009 11:35 pm

    I was lucky enough to try smash burger when I was out in CO and I’ve had shake Shack a few times now. If this thing can hold a candle to either of them it’ll be knocked out of the park.

  3. snoop on October 13th, 2009 11:57 am

    just went to Five Leaves in Brooklyn last night, their burger has fried pineapple, pickled beets, an egg… at what point does a burger stop being a burger and begin being a tower of crazy? Can I sandwich my compost pile between two buns and charge $15 for it?

  4. The Feed file: Cutlets falls in burger-love, the AG defends his turf | The Feed Blog | Time Out New York on October 13th, 2009 7:40 pm

    [...] Josh Ozersky declares the new burger at Bill’s Bar & Burger to be the best one in the city. [Citysearch] [...]

  5. Ashish on October 14th, 2009 2:21 am

    5 Leaves has an Aussie theme to it, and these eclectic toppings are commonplace there. 8 Mile Creek in Soho has a similarly-topped, yummy burger as well.

  6. Alastor on October 14th, 2009 11:38 am

    What’s more important than meat and cheese?

  7. Restaurant Round-Up for the Week of October 22 « A Sarcastic Appetite on October 22nd, 2009 8:09 am

    [...] burger joint?” you say suspiciously? Oh, no, dear friends. This is apparently the burger of your dreams. Or Josh Ozerky’s dreams, [...]

  8. Wednesday: It’s Unanimous, Bill’s Bar and Burger Deserves Its Praise (aka the “This Is How You Make an Entrance” Post) « The BLD Project on October 23rd, 2009 12:10 pm

    [...] to virtually instant and unanimous praise from (what I refer to as) Tier One food blogs, including The Feedbag, A Hamburger Today and others. These accolades sparked a fierce debate elsewhere in the blogsphere, [...]

  9. Restaurant Round-Up for the Week of October 29 « A Sarcastic Appetite on October 29th, 2009 7:48 am

    [...] Burger and Bar’s recent opening is still causing a ruckus; The Feedbag’s Josh Ozersky basically had a coronary when he waxed poetic about its sublime burgers, but GQ’s Alan Richman is having none of it. I [...]

  10. Bill’s Bar & Burger in Meatpacking District Unworthy of Top Burger Title | NYC Food Guy on November 23rd, 2009 2:19 am

    [...] and “best” burger praise from A Hamburger Today,  Ed Levine at Serious Eats, Josh Ozersky (RIP Feedbag), and Rob and Robin at NYMag.  Bill’s, the brainchild of Stephen Hanson (B.R. [...]

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