201 West 79th St., New York, NY
We saw the “5 Napkin Burger” on New York Magazine’s The Burger Register: New York’s 82 Most Notable Burgers, and, since we were craving a burger, decided to head over to Nice Matin to try it out. (Nice Matin also owns the restaurant called “5 Napkin Burger” in the theatre district). We’d been to Nice Matin for brunch and thought it was pretty good.
5 Napkin Burger at Nice Matin
5 Napkin Burger
10 ounce hand-packed 100 percent Angus chuck burger with Comté cheese, caramelized onions and rosemary aioli on a soft white roll from Pane D’Oro bakery in Yonkers
Overall, we were pretty disappointed with the 5 Napkin Burger. The burger itself was way too thick. I wound up cutting it in half horizontally so that I could actually manage to eat my burger. The flavors were just ok. I suppose it was juicy, but I think the bottom bun absorbed all the juice leaving the larger top bun tasting rather dry. Jeff got bacon on his burger, but the bacon was more like slabs of fat than bacon.
Daube of Beef Short Ribs
Daube of Beef Short Ribs
peas, carrots, and leaks in beurre fondue with semolina gnocchetti and red wine sauce
After some debate, our sister-in-law decided to forgo the burger in favor of short ribs – she definitely made a good choice. The short ribs were very tender, and the beurre fondue and red wine sauce added some pleasing flavors.
299 Bowery (between Houston and 1st Street)
The Piggie Burger at DBGB
This is the most recent of Daniel Boulud‘s New York restaurants. Let’s see…where to begin…
Design – I am not a design expert, so I’ll just say that DBGB’s space is modern with classic french influences – a combination of cement, wood, and mirrors that really works together. The larger back room has the feel of a pantry. Floor to ceiling shelves hold rows of canned ingredients with the top shelves housing an impressive collection of copper pots. The shelves provide a fairly transparent view into the kitchen. One wall of the back room consisted of cozy, somewhat private booths which is where we sat with our friends.
Menu – American bar food meets French brasserie…. with fancy burgers.
Beer – A phenomenal range of beers, half of which were new to us – definitley a good thing!
Bonus – Daniel Boulud was at the restaurant chatting with some of the customers.
Asparagus & Fried Egg (left); Vermont Link (right)
Asparagus & Fried Egg – duck prosciutto & cracklins, mustard-egg dressing
definitely a visually appealing dish and tasty, too.
Octopus La Plancha – eggplant, tomato, crispy panisse
i didn’t try this but Jeff said it was “good…really good.“
Vermont (link) – smoked pork & cheddar link, hash browns, red onion crème frache
this sausage was seriously good. i would definitely order it again.
The Piggie (burger) – 6 oz beef patty topped with daisy mays bbq pulled pork, jalapeno mayonnaise & boston lettuce on a cheddar-cornbread bun with mustard-vinegar slaw, fries
2 people at our table ordered this burger pictured above, both said it was amazing.
The Yankee with Cheese (burger) -6 oz beef patty with Vermont cheddar, iceberg, tomato & vidalia onion on a sesame bun, essex st. pickle, fries
this is probably the most “traditional” burger on the menu. the addition of the Vermont cheddar really made the burger (probably also what helped make the Vermont sausage so great).