BurgerClub

an article in the 11/9/05 issue of the

Which location did you go to?

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lets eat!

Has this place gotten its license for beer yet?

I hope so... we'll find out soon enough.
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Well, we found out that they did get their beer license, not that any of us got beer this time (mostly Black Cow shakes). And I'm happy to report that Goodburger satisfies.



When we first started our club meat eats, we found our selves mostly giving the top grades to the Bar+Grill Pubs this city has to offer. Eating the thick 8-10oz. burgers thinking that anything smaller, would be fast food and not cooked to order... and more than likely not fresh. The tasty smaller burgers were left to our West coast fans. Then a place called Blue 9 opened up, then there was Burger Joint, Shake Shack, Pop Burger, Schnack, Lucky Burger, and now Goodburger.



All these smaller sized burgers which these relativly new joints offered are in the "fast food" style category, but unlike McDs, these are all fresh, and all cooked to order. There is a new world order in this town... and it's 5.5 ounces. And I for one, welcome our new burger over-lords.



We were fortunate to eat at Godburger on a casual Sunday, and didn't have to be a part of the lunch time crowds this place deals with on the weekdays. Not sure if that was the only reason why, but the burgers were delivered in true form. Perfectly assembled and cooked as requested, maybe a little under, but much better than overcooked. Goddburger uses an impressive grill to cook the meat over flame, and then uses a top broiler for the cheese melt and bun toasting, nice.


Mr. was kind enough to bring in some signature green chile from the Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe, NM for us to try on our second burgers.



I've heard that there are some ties to Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian, whether it's only the employees that came over to the Goodburger side or if the owner use to be a part of the Joint, i'm not sure. But one thing I'm sure of, is that if you like the burgers at Le Parker Meridian, than this place will be real easy to swallow. In my humble opinion though, I'm with Dr. Sannwich on this one and think that even though these two burgers are practically identical in their contents, there was something about Le Parker Meridian's version that came out on top in taste... Goodburger takes the time to assemble, but Burger Joint's messy dude has that balance in taste.

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lets eat!

Our recent trip to Goodburger was satisfying, but certaintly nothing new. What jumped out the most to me was its stark similarity to the highly regarded Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian. And its for good reason. A little research provides information on how the creators of Goodburger studied the burgers at Burgerjoint, and a few other highly regarded burger esblishments around town. But this is clearly a rip on Burger Joint. The indoor grill, the fresh molded patties the same simple Arnold bun, the cheese, same, thin sliced onion, same, pickle chips, the works, what really wasn't the same? Well the flavour wasn't. Not enough seasoning in the patty. The texture was right, the meat was cooked a perfect pink medium rare, there was a nice amount of juice sweating from the fresh silky patty, but were was the flavour? There just wasn't enough seasoning to swish up the flavours. They didn't add the right amount of condiment to mine either. The burger in essence, is meant to be a salty flavourful experience, and this guy just didn't seem to get that. It held together beautifully looked great, event the fast food packaging was apropriate, but it just missed the mark on flavour. I would also dock the burger on originality. I mean come on man, who are you foolin? Its clearly a rip on Burger Joint. Sorry good burger, your simply good, but not overwhelminly great. I guess you acomplished what you went out for though. Everything I had certaintly was GOOD.

The fries were good, the attmosphere was good, the shake was...well... better than good. Overall a damn good experience.

Since I couldn't make it to the official BurgerClub meeting at last Sunday, I decided to go with a fellow burger aficionado on a Thursday night. First, I have to admit, I was famished when I arrived, so my senses were at their peak for some burger-tasting and critique. I ordered my burger medium-rare with the works, hold the mayo and onion. After about 15 excruciating minutes, the god-sent "number 57" was called and a beautiful burger was handed to me on a plate, something they don't have at Burger Joint. I returned to my seat and admired that pretty-looking babe that held itself together, all tall and poised, quite effortlessly, something the Burger Joint burgers fail to do (which have their own charm, too). As habit, I ripped off a little piece of the patty to taste on its own: cooked perfectly, so juicy, and actually, the saltiness was fine for me. This patty wasn't bland, nor salted too generously that you can "taste" the salt. And with the ketchup and mustard creating their own saucy concoction to complement the pure beef flavor, I thought it wasn't worth complaining about.
Second, I could dedicate a whole paragraph to the juices that flowed from my first burger (yes, because I couldn't resist and had to have another, with cheese). I haven't seen so much patty juice since the Luger Burger. I started eating the burger with the wax-papper sleeve slid down a bit, but after I saw how a lovely puddle of juice had accumulated at the bottom of the wrapping, I took it off and poured the juices back onto my burger. After that, I had constant burger-drip cascading down the palm of my left hand onto my plate for a great bun-sopping finale to a damn goodburger.
Last, and as previously mentioned, you know you've had a good burger when you feel you could eat some more (although frankly, their burgers look like they are on Weight Watchers). I ordered my second burger now with cheese medium rare, same as before. And I have to say, it was a far cry from my first burger. There were parts of the patty that verged on medium, and where were the juices? It was incomprably dry. The saltiness of the cheddar cheese served as a nice burger-booster, but the whole thing was off. I was shocked at how inconsistent their cooking could be within the 30min time span I was in there, and the place was practically empty.
I accidentaly gave this place an A, but I'm actually torn between a B+/A-. So far, I haven't found anything on Manhattan that can beat Corner Bistro.

Burger joint is my second favorite burger ever, so I was psyched to try this place out when I heard about its similarity to my haven. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Well while that may be the case, it's important to remember an imitation is not the real thing. While the burger here was really really good, I will even say really really really good, it just wasn't the real deal. If you are going to imitate another burger place (which is like instantly admitting that they are the ideal if you copy their model), then you better do it dead on balls accurate. Well this place just didnt. It was like I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It looks EXACTLY like the burger at Burger joint, and I am sure they use 99% the same ingredients, but the ratio was just a little off here, not to mention the smokiness that is so important at Burger Joint was just missing, not to mention the lack of character at the actual establishment. If I am in the neighborhood and I feel like a burger, I would defintely stop by this place, especially for the great black and white shakes (but watch out for the lime rickey, it's got dental appointment in two weeks for cavity written all over it), however, if I am in the mood for a burger joint type burger, I would rather go the 15 extra blocks or so for the real deal. By calling this place Goodburger, the owners conceded that it was lacking the great factor. Low B+/high B for me.

My first post so I run some risk of coming out of the gates too fast. In that respect I am probably erring on the side of caution and undervaluing Goodburger when I say it is a rock solid "B".
To get something straight I think a "B" is a great score (maybe because my life has been a colorful barrage of "C's"). So this is well above average but still a long way from perfect.

I had read the prior reviews before I ordered, and while I can be a fan of the thin burger, I decided to "meat this up" by getting the Double Burger with the White/Cheddar Cheese Combo. To keep it company I ordered a side of fries and chocolate shake (as my Dad always said, if you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly).

The Pros
- Visually a treat. Looks sloppy enough to be featured on a magazine cover but not a disguting mess half-way through
- Top quality lettuce and tomato. No limp leaf and grainy tomato but fresh veg and appropiate meat, lettuce, bun proportion.
- Retained a good amount of medium rare color despite being a thin burger. Hard to do.
- The bun was good. Not something you write home about but I think a bad bun ruins a good burger while a decent bun should be just the medium that allowed you to eat with your hands.
- I like the added mayo. Mixed well with just the right amount of grease. That may turn some away who are condiment purists and need to add their own but I thought it showed a certain amount of moxie that Goodburger decided mayo was a necessity.
- No Burger Bloat. Just finished, and despite all that I feel pretty good (I should note here that I weigh 240lbs)

The Cons
- I think this is a par-broiled burger. Not quite the freshest patty I have ever encountered. You think that would automatically merit a "C" rating but they must cryogenically freeze these because there was still plenty of flavor and the meat was not at all rubbery.
- The char was appealing (love a good char) but a little too much. I found myself distracted by it and actually pulled apart the burger to see how black the patty was.

The Conclusion
On the surprise factor alone (I was blown away by how good this was) I'd recommend it. I expected another 5 Guys experience (a "C+" in my book) and I feel I got a near Burger Joint ("B+") work of meat mastery. That being said, when you walk in with this recommendation in hand you may be a little let down. But don't forget I gave this a "B." Go in with that attitude and you will be pleasantly surprised as well (not like that move Sideways which everyone so talked up that by the time I saw it, letdown was invevitable).

I have to add that my enjoyment was also heightened by the fries and shake. The fries are McDonald's knock-offs (so not amazing but I still consider that a compliment) but the shake was one of the best I have had in a long time. Rumor has it the ice cream comes from Vermont which I don't know why that would make it any better but it sounds good.

Big Thumbs Up for Goodburger.