Great burgers in NY
 

Pizzas get all the debate :-)

What is your choice for the best burger in NY (not fast food and not glorified fast food, but a really great burger)?

Where in the state will you be?

Is neighborhood safety an issue?

If NYC: You can't get more expensive that the $32 Original db Burger, served at db Bistro Moderne (currently closed for renovations) and at Daniel Boulud Brasserie. It is made with sirloin, and filled with braised short ribs, black truffles and foie gras, and served on a Parmesan bun with pommes frites. A case could be made that it's worth its price.

Other great choices:
Minetta Tavern
Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien
Shake Shack at a number of Manhattan locations
Some of NYC's great steakhouses: Peter Luger, Smith and Wollensky, The Palm

Doctor, doctor, directly into my arteries, please!

Hop in the car, take a road trip -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._New_York.html

Yes, Manhattan (I should know better :-) ).

Dukey, not sure why the question, but no, neighborhood safety is not an issue, why?

Bspielman, isn't Shake Shack what I would refer to as a glorified fasf food burger?

Agree with BSpielman's list.

The ones that always make the top 10 lists are Luger, Minetta Tavern's Black Label, and Shake Shack.

Shake Shack is what you might call glorified fast food, but calorie for calorie, and dollar for dollar, you might not do much better. Many locations.

At Minetta, I like the "regular" burger better than the legendary Black Label.

New to NYC is Umami Burger, a West Coast transplant that I have yet to try but that gotten lots of press. Now in the WVillage but other locations to open.

http://ny.eater.com/archives/2013/08...amu_burger.php

Forgot to mention two other locally legendary burgers:

Spotted Pig (you must like Roquefort)

http://thespottedpig.com/?page_id=7


JG Melon (UES at Third and 74th)
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/jg-melon/

Also, I've not been to Clarke's in a few years, but their Third@54th original location was one of my favorites for cheeseburgers and is convenient to Midtown. There is a well-known real estate story about the building, too.

http://www.pjclarkes.com/third-avenue/

There's just something about late night Faces and Names' mini cheeseburger sliders. . .

http://facesandnames.com

I think Burger Joint and Shake Shack do not meet the criteria. They are both glorified fast food patties, and they do it well.

I wonder if the staff at the hotel get burger bonus miles every time they have to point out the velvet curtain to wandering tourists.

Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien.

Burger Joint won best burger in NYC this year in Zagats best survey. I understand why, great burgers there

http://blog.zagat.com/2012/10/new-yo...le-parker.html

Here's the thing: A good hamburger is indeed "glorified fast food". So I wonder if what you are looking for over all is a more restauranty experience or if it's really the quality of the burger. For the latter, I find both Shake Shack and Burger Joint impressive---as much for the quality of the meat and the cooking method---as for the atmosphere.

But there are better and certainly more elaborate atmospheres. Upscale places like Minetta Tavern, Spotted Pig, and DB Bistro Moderne do great burgers in a real restaurant setting, though it's hard to get a table at Minetta Tavern and Spotted Pig.

Served at lunch only, the burger at Peter Lugar is legendary and might be worth the trip to Brooklyn if you have time.

What's missing from this list are the more interesting fringe restaurants that have opened up more recently (other than Umami Burger). The restaurant scene in NYC is vibrant, and we've had a bit of a burger revolution. Sadly, I'm not as adventurous and don't get out to the newer places as much as I used to, so I can't recommend anything specific, but both Time Out and the Village Voice have done articles on this subject and have ventured a bit beyond the old tried and true.

Finally, this list is probably too Manhattan-centric. We're leaving off all the other excellent restaurants that have cropped up in Brooklyn, several of which have a creditable burger. Again, however, I have limited experience and can't make any personal recommendations.

The only place that falls comfortably in between fast food and upscale restaurant is Five Napkin Burger. The burgers there are pretty good (though not the best in NYC but still worth the trip), and the atmosphere is casual-restaurant rather than fast food.

But I think you have a pretty good list above even if it has omissions.

We really love great meat. No doo-dads (that db moderne wouldn't be something we'd be intereted in), just great meat on a great bun.

(As for glorified fast food, people here idolize In n Out and while I think it's a very good fast food burger, it's still just that, a fast food burger). I want thick, juicy, incredible flavor. I want to taste the meat!

BTW, eks, Umami Burger is about to open in my neighborhood. It's already in other parts of San Francisco, but this a new location for them. We haven't tried it yet, either.

There's a NY magazine article with a ton of ratings. See it every time I go to the local Five Guys ;)