Brooklyn Diner: The Best $16 Bacon Cheeseburger in Midtown
November 15, 2007
Brooklyn Diner calls themselves “The Finer Diner.” If we’re judging this based stricly on their Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Platter ($15.95) then they absolutely deliver.
I’ve eaten at Brooklyn Diner at least 4 or 5 times and ordered in just as many. Mark my words: It has never disappointed. The burger comes on a buttered and toasted brioche bun that is always fresh and “inexpressibly delicious” to borrow a phrase from Monsieur Proust.
Take a look at this cross section:
That’s what we call “the dankity dank.” Ordered medium rare, cooked medium rare. The burger breaks down like this from top to bottom: 1) bun 2) ketchup 3) fried onion 4) ketchup 5) bacon 6) vermont cheddar 7) custom blend burger.
You always get a healthy handful of fried onions which are fried but light and never overly greasy, and, in my experiences, have always been fresh :
The platter also comes with two quality half-sour pickle spears and a healthy offering off usually crispy shoestrings. Their crisp-ness is what makes them so vital to a delicious combo bite of burger, fried onion, fries, and pickle. Delicious.
Special drink advice below…
Order an egg cream, despite it’s $4.99 price, it’s hefty and well worth it. Seltzer’s always bubbly and syrup’s always balanced and in the end what goes better with a diesel burger on grilled brioche than an old-fashioned egg cream or milk shake.
Look at this delicious grilled butter action:
The best part of a butter toasted bun with a cheeseburger, similarly excellent at Fanelli’s, is that if you run out of burger and you’re only left with cheese and bread, you have a mini grilled cheese sandwich. KICK ASS (Thank you Mr. Cartman). This is doubly delicious at Fanelli’s because their burger comes on an oversize onion roll. Imagine that: A mini grilled cheddar cheese on an onion roll after you just took down a quality burger. Fanelli’s burger mind you, did not impress me.
There you have it folks, an awesome burger outside of Burger Joint and Five Guys DOES exist in Midtown near Times Square. Pretty startling, huh? Even though it is a $20 meal without a drink, it’s damn worth it if you want to spoil yourself. Enjoy.
Brooklyn Diner (2 locations)
212 W 57th St (Btwn Broadway & 7th Ave)
Phone: 212-977-1957
155 W 43rd St (Btwn Bway & 6th Ave) **I’ve never eaten or ordered from this one**
Phone: 212-265-5400
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April 3rd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
What’s up NYC Food guy? Love the burger reviews. There are great burgers popping up all over downtown NYC these days, and I have enjoyed more than a few. One that I really like is the burger at Alexandria on Houston street (below w. 4th) served with choice of Cheddar, Swiss or Stillton blue . . . and crisp bacon. Great soft bun as well. Cooked to order, Juicy and delicious every time. The onion rings are thin, lightly breaded, and some of the best around. I always throw a couple on top of the burger for good measure. They also serve thin, frite style fries that stay crispy throughout the entire meal.
On a side note, the Calamari appetizer is one of the best in town. Not fully breaded, just sliced and pan fried. Man I am hungry.
Later.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:22 pm
VTFryGuy,
That sounds pretty excellent. I’ve got a lot of respect for the onion rings on the burger as you can see from the pics above. It’s all about taking what’s given to you and spicing it up. That got me through college.
Do you mean Alexandra though? On Hudson near Barrow? Looks like a cozy spot. Does the burger come with fries? And then you order the onion rings in addition? Looks like you can get it for Lunch and Dinner, that’s key. And it’s open till midnight. No Corner Bistro, but solid.
That area of town is kind of a mystery to me what with the streets with names. What are some of your other top spots that fall under the radar?
April 16th, 2008 at 7:15 am
OK, I’ll try it. Suggestion for another excellent burger- try JG Melon, 3rd and 74th. The clientele may be a little upscale for this group (yes, I AM an elitist swine), and don’t go during prime dinner hour because it’s too crowded, but the burgers consistently excellent and cooked-to-order. Medium rare means medium rare, an achievement not consistently realized in most places. Prices reasonable, too, but no credit cards.
Any comments on Jackson Hole burgers? Yes, they’re big, but they’re really steamed tasteless meat loaf.
April 16th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Doc-
Before we get to JG Melon, thank you for articulating my feelings about Jackson Hole. My frustration everytime I hear someone praise is has prevented me from thinking clearly. Their burgers are dogsh*t. Enough said.
JG Melon’s clientele isn’t that upscale. It’s just in a boring neighborhood and they have an a la carte menu that ends up charging you close to 20 for a burger and cottage fries. The burgers are good, don’t get me wrong, but they’re by no means amazing. Ordinary bun, griddled burgers, ordinary flavor. They’re cooked well and made with fresh ingredients and the cottage fries are good, but I don’t really know why this place garners as much praise as it does. I really think it’s just another place still getting by on its name.
October 24th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I couldn’t find a post on Shake Shack, so I decided to post this here. Just walked by the UWS location, I am guessing it opened yesterday or today. There was a line forming, not huge, but big enough to be called a line… Are the burgers there that good???
October 24th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Before Sunrise,
I’ve had Shake Shack’s burger twice. It was good both times. Neither time did it leave me saying, wow, this is the best burger I’ve ever had. I thought it was tasty, and a little rich depending on how much “Shack sauce” you slather on there, but by no means did it floor me. When I dream about a burger, I still think about the one you’re looking at above, the best burger I’ve had in Manhattan, at Brooklyn Diner. If you haven’t seen my 2nd post on BK Diner, check it out, much better photos.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
NYCFG,
Had seen this before. Not sure I could take a bite of that burger, it’s HUGE! However, if we’re still on for our dinners, I’ll definitely give it a go. If not, I will give it a go anyway 🙂