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the originsl PJ Clarke's burger at:
915 Third Avenue @ 55th Street - nYc

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lets eat!

I think PJ skiped Bun class while attending burger school because the bread was no match for the meat. This burger gets a high mark its perfectly cooked patty. Lean and tender, you could eat this thing Atkins style if you needed to. But, a perfect burger requires all of its parts to add up to the sum, and this bad boy had serious problems in the bun catagory. Unless PJ ran out of his regular buns, and had to make a emergency stop at ShopRite for the enriched white special, he just has no excuse for such a choice in bread. I also prefer a crispy lettuce with my burger: romaine or iceburg please; not sure what they were thinking with the green lettuce selection. Onion Strings were exellent, and the fries were slightly below par, its hard to not mention the othere elements in a restaurant review but this forum is meant to represent Burger exclusivity. Service, cost, ambiance asside, PJ does do a nice burger.

well, there are two things that i need to say. first, i want to thank all the fine BurgerFans out there who have made this Club a possibility. without you this would only be a journey of two and cause our results to be as pointless as the "other" burger guide.

second, WOW! now that's a good burger. PJ's has taken me to beef nirvana. with all other issues not being a factor (this is about the burger afterall) PJ presents a perfectly cooked, good quality patty that could hold its' own on a plate with good steak. there are several factors to look for aside from taste... low grease to high juice factor, how the patty holds together, and internal color. PJ's burger sweeps with high marks in all three. I didn't give this an A+ however, i know there is an even better burger out there.

side note on the place and other items: this is an old establishment that has many many clients that all like to come after work, so get a beer and some oysters and enjoy the wait. the bun on the burger could use some improvment, but it doesn't take away from the taste of the meat. go easy on the fried onions if that's your style, as the buns will not hold much more juice.

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lets eat!

It looks like we're insisting in the pub-burger niche here. So i shouldn't be disappointed when i get a simple plain but good burger as in PJ Clarks, but i am. Meat quality has been largely praised by the whole BC comitee, and there's nothing to add about it. The color is simply outstanding. But that might be why this burger runs close to dougle digit price. For a home-style burger wrapped in Wonder bread, this might be a bit high.
The burger in my opinion is also too clean, it holds too well in the bun and ends up feeling like one big soft piece. I like to struggle a bit to be able to keep the burger flat while eating it, but we're more in the fast food chain style here. No stain is not a good sign!
My last point is that there's no crunchiness what so ever in this burger, due to absolutely no care for the bun, and a lack of crispiness in the lettuce. Dr. SannWich rightly mentionned it as well, iceberg could have been a nice surprice. At the end, a very tender feeling, but too predictable. This is definetely a B burger.

i like what you had to say. not harsh at all... as a matter of fact you help me see things which i had overlooked. However, I will say that the lettuce is more of a personal issue than a quality of the Burger. thanks for sharing GoldBurger.

Sorry for the late vote, but I'm a tough cookie. While the beef was SUPERB, juicy, fantastic color and the medium rareness just right, my idea of a great burgie is NOT picking the doughy potato roll home bbq bun out of my teeth for the rest of the night. And for the price, I expect a bit more than a pickle on the side.

Having said my beef, high marks for the iceberg wedge (this is the ONLY way to eat iceberg folks) and the onion strings rock tha house.

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CarnivorousFantasticus

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Let's eat!

Great old-school place. The oysters and beers for apps were perfect - didn't weigh you down before the meal. I thought the burger itself was the best damned piece of meat I've had in years. I'm a regular at J.G. Melon's and I thought this was better. Tasty meat, perfectly medium-rare, and great pickles. The onion rings rocked, also.

Excellent burger - simple and pure. They gring the meat right there in the kitchen. Doesn't get much fresher than that. I love the Bernaise Burger. Nothing but a burger, bernaise sauce, and a bun...