The Burger Joint

10/13/09

Current Rank: 2

The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien was an easy pick for our hunt. This burger is consistently in the top 5 of just about every burger ranking we could find. As such, it made sense for us to try the burger and use it as a measuring stick for future burgers to compare to.

At the outset, I must take a moment to comment on the location and atmosphere. A trip here is like a trip to a speakeasy. Not everyone knows about it and it is tucked away so that if you aren't looking for it, you could walk right by without even knowing it was there. In fact, behind the curtain, there is no sign, and nothing to draw attention to the Joint. Instead, a simple neon burger lights the way. (Oh, and the smell of burger is unavoidable if you get within 20 feet of the restaurant). Once you find it, you are presented with a menu and ordering directions that were drawn with colored markers. The walls are covered with celebrity pictures and autographs marking their visits to this hidden gem. The walls appear to be for celebrities only, however, as a sign warns "We don't spit in your food, so don't write on our walls."

The burger was excellent and at $7.35, it did not break the bank. (I personally had three cheeseburgers, fries and a shake so my wallet did take a hit). The burger is not a steakhouse burger, but it did not lack flavor. In addition, you order it the way you like(with an option for "the works" of course). Lets be honest, if you are looking for a kobe burger to knock your socks off, this is not the place for you. It is far from gourmet dining. You are not getting artwork on artisinal bread. In fact, the bun is the same Arnold's bun that you probably use for your own backyard barbeques. (I am Serious). That said, the burger is juicy and delicious and good enough for me to go back and get a third.

You can skip the fries as they are nothing special, but the three of us that made the trip unanimously recommend the chocolate shake. When I got my third burger I tried to buy a second shake but they told me that the blender was broken. This made me very sad.

Finally, this place gets a big thumbs up because the menu had enough lower priced options that Dan could enjoy himself, but at the same time had a certain snob factor associated with it that Alex could tell his city friends about it this weekend when he goes to an overpriced brunch.

Unfortunately, Cory did not make the trip so we have very few complaints to post about the Burger Joint.

Let us know if you agree or disagree and thanks for reading.