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.