Burger

All posts tagged Burger

“Five Guys”

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on October 20, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: Beef, Best Burgers in the City, Blue 9, Burger, burger joints, Burger King, Cheeseburgers, Dinner, Dinner Plates, Dinner Plates Scale, Fast Food, Five Guys, FIVE GUYS burgers, Five Napkin Burger, Franchise, Fresh, Jackson Hole, McDonalds', Quality Meats, restaurants, Wendy's. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: FIVE GUYS Experience

Location: 56 West 14th Street (between 5th and 6th ave)

Five Guys 1

Several years ago I had my first FIVE GUYS burger during a road trip in VA. Back then Five Guys was a must have at least once a week. Having sworn off the likes of McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s prior to the documentary “Super Size Me”.

I wanted fresh high quality beef not that whatever mix I’d get from fastfood chains along with the runs. FIVE GUYS burgers are made from fresh 100% ground beef no preservatives or fillers per their advertising.

Their fries were hand cut as I recall and you’re given a heaping serving if you ever order one. Peanut oil is used to cooked the fries and they offered baskets of raw peanuts as an appetizer as you waited for your order to be made. 14th street happened to get a new location of this cool franchise and passing by I decided I hadn’t eaten yet why not see if their quality is still what I remembered it to be.

And so… Five Guys 3

Strangely enough even though the name is Five Guys there were only 3 on duty when I arrived at the counter to order. Oh well so much for a name. It didn’t take long before one of the 3 guys came to take my order.

Five Guys 2

I took quick stock of the interior after placing my order to go. Five Guys 4

I opted to forego french fries on this visit. From what I remember they’re good but still a bit too greasy for my liking.

Five Guys 5

Once I arrived home glory and satiation would be mine. I introduced my burger to the toaster oven for a few minutes as I wanted to bite into it piping hot…

Five Guys 5

The Burger is what I remember it to be great juicy fresh tasting beef and gooey gobs of American cheese melted all throughout this double cheeseburger they simply call a “Cheeseburger”. I said to myself at $7.19 a piece there had better be two patties of beef on them there buns.

Overall I have to say while I really like Five Guys Burgers. I think Five Guys is just a hair behind Blue 9 burgers and Jackson Hole as far as taste. Texture and thickness are spot on and the beef really only gets a hint of saltiness to it from the cheese its smothered in.

Either way it’s no big deal as you can always add salt and ketchup or whatever condiments you like on a burger. Five Guys tailor makes your burger to whatever specs you like. 😀 Well done please. 4 1/2 Dinner Plates out of 5 here folks. OOOO[ Five Napkin Burger could learn a lesson from Five Guys on how to make a burger if you ask me.

Definitely recommend having a burger from this place if you love fresh quality burgers that let you know where your money went after you’ve taken your first bite.

Schnippers Food Review Experience 2013

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on April 10, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: 2013, Americana, Broadway, Burger, burger place, Decor, Dinner, Dinner Plate Scale, double cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburgers, East 23rd St, Food, Food Experience, Fresh, Fries, Golden Fries, Hungry, Juicy, Mac N Cheese, Made to Order, Park Ave, Plates, poland spring, Poland Spring Water, Price Point, restaurants, Restrooms, Scale, Schnippers, Service, Simplicity, THEJNSREPORT, Value, wood ceilings. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: Schnippers Food Review Experience 2013

Date 4:9:2013 Destination – East 23rd St. Manhattan Bet Broadway and Park Ave.

ETA: 6:20 pm

Several times while walking towards the east side on 23rd I’ve passed by this place having never realized such a huge establishment was there, hiding in plain sight. For the past couple of weeks, I’d been meaning to stop by and check this burger place out called Schnippers. Ladies & Gentlemen without further ado welcome to the Schnippers Experience.

Schnipper's Food Review Experience n the City 101

The Sign that Beckoned!!

Uh yessum! It’s time I went in and found out about this joint. Let’s see what the interior looks like.

Schnippers Entrance

My wait in line wasn’t too bad considering it was just after 6:20pm. I figured it was because the weather was just so nice outside that it was this empty.

I felt pretty hungry so I glanced over their menu and saw that they had…excuse me…Mac N Cheese. Now you know I had to put that on the must try list. Next I looked over their burger offerings and decided to keep it simple for my first time here and test their basic double cheeseburger 2x’s.

That would mean I ordered two double cheeseburgers. I can give it to you in Spanish if you like, Dos Doble hamburguesas con queso por favor? And as usual I ordered my burgers well done. Fries were also a requisite in concert with a bottle of Poland Spring to wash it all down.

Once my order was taken by the nice lady working the register, I took my order number(which comes on a silver pole with the number laminated in a card) to a vacant table and observed the interior of Schnippers. I had the feeling of burger Americana mixed with some modern touches of wood ceilings and unique light fixtures. My tab came to $28.57

Scoping out a good location to sit.

I noticed that the height of the ceiling was higher and of a different material the closer to the entrance you were. It gives one the feeling of having plenty of room and the ability to sit relaxed and in no hurry. Do keep in mind though that again it’s not as busy as I saw this place start to become by the time I was leaving. So that feeling could potentially change depending on how busy they are any given time of day.

The 3 Fixtures. Pretty cool looking I think. Almost like that pendulum thing psychiatrists use.

Those lights are saying to me it’s time to eat!!! But how will they find me?

It’s easy as ABC, so simple as 123 Lmao!!

I cracked up thinking, the person who has to bring my order to me they will tell, “Find Mr. 123, go…find him!

Look at the ceiling above me. Very clean modern feel to the place. No nonsense and still comfortably nice.

I started to get the involuntary stomach flips as my gastric juices churned away wanting something good to digest. I patted it gently(my stomach that is) and said they were making it.

More of the interior. Pretty empty though

The Double Cheeseburgers have arrived. MMMmmm Mmmmm Son!!!

But wait where are my sides?

Ladies and Gentlemen!!!! This is what you call Mac N Cheese!!! Yessuh!!!

In court this would be called EXHIBIT M N C!!! Your Honor

I mean they didn’t slack a minute. There’s the delicious flavor of the cheddar cheese used in there and then like a traditional Turkey Day Mac N Cheese, they added the breadcrumb topping to finish things off. I was left asking questions. How in the world could other establishments know what the above looks like and call Ziti or Shells the same? How… could they do it? Why would they do it? At the end of the day I shook my head in disbelief. The unmitigated gall.

Golden pieces above

Like throw some D ‘s on that B*** Throw some Ketch…up on it!!!

The fries were another shining example of how Schnippers does their fare right. As you can see the fries come hot, golden , and crispy not soggy and greasy. These are currently the best fries I’ve had so far this year.

Double Cheeseburger number 1

The power of the burger compelled me…

The first bite

I bit my first bite into this burger and my mouth immediately knew happiness. In all seriousness this is a pretty great tasting burger, the seasoning is just right, the juiciness of the patty’s is plenty adequate and the amount of cheese on my burger clearly doesn’t require me to ask for a second slice. And then look… my burger is well done.

Schnippers gets high marks all the way round. This is how you do it Son!!! Now the only thing I can say is that the burger is slightly greasy but it’s not to the point where you feel like your drinking down oil, however, you will need all the napkins they give you with your order and I’m not complaining. Mmmmm!!!

If Blue 9 Burgers were as thick as Schnippers they would probably get the nod over Schnippers but since they don’t they won’t. Schnippers is a must visit for me from now on anytime I’m in the area and hankering for a good burger. Makes me think of Pulp Fiction LOL. Now for the oh so amazing looking Mac N Cheese.

First bite. Yes that would be flecks of black pepper in there too. Mmm Mmm Son!

Schnippers Mac N Cheese definitely uses cheddar cheese in the cheese sauce which is awesome in my book. The taste was spot on and the bread crumbs only made me wish I had more of them sprinkled on top to contrast the texture and taste of the Mac N Cheese. Currently I rank it higher than that of Hill Country but not better than WildWood’s Mac N Cheese. It’s a simple dish but when it’s done right, it’s one of the most incredible things to eat. Just had a flash back of Homer Simpson drooling LOL. I digress…moving right along. The burger was waylaid and I moved onto the second one before passing sentence on the remnants of Fries and Mac N Cheese.

The Conclusion

At the end of my dining experience here I was very pleased not to mention full. My order took approximately 15 minutes to arrive at my table which wasn’t too bad and I liked that I had already paid for my meal so as soon as I was ready to leave the establishment I could without having to look for a server to get my check. There is a tray stacking station located in the middle of the dining area with trash bins within them.

You can be a lazy bum and let the staff empty your tray for you or you can get up and throw it out yourself. Personally I respect service industry employees enough that I’d rather throw out my own trash than leave it for the staff. I say this especially in lieu of the fact that you can choose to tip or not pre meal with out knowing what the service is like. Baring in mind that in this particular visit Schnippers wasn’t too busy, staff was quick to deliver orders.

I’m not sure until I experience a rush hour there how service is effected. Either way I figure as a matter of conscience any time we can make some other human beings day job just a little bit easier it will come back around. In my case however an employee was changing the trash bins and cleared my trays for me and did so with out attitude. Very unexpected. Restrooms are located in an obscure corner of the place to the back and left. there are several bathrooms through a narrow corridor of white walls that turns left to where the restroom doors are marked with M/W and can only be opened by the code on your receipt. It was a good thing that I usually save my receipts otherwise I’d have been outta luck. 😉

Price is on par with most burger places around the city where both my burgers were $8.50 each keeping in mind that they were double cheeseburgers afterall. For $2 more I could get a double cheeseburger of Texas sized proportions at Dallas BBQ but this Burger is well worth it’s price. Price score $$ out of a possible $$$$$.

Food Score for Taste & Presentation on THEJNSREPORT 5 Dinner plate scale is 4 1/2 dinner plates. I had a good time walking off that meal over the next few hours.

When combined with the value, simplicity with modern decor rules. Overall Food Review of Schnippers is a 4 1/2 dinner plates. Till next time this has been Schnippers Food Review Experience 2013 by THEJNSREPORT.

Five 5 Napkin Burger Episode

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on March 14, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: Aioli Dressing, American Bar & Grill, Burger, Caramelized Onions, Cheese Soup, Episode, Five 5 Napkin Burger, Gruyere, Hand Cut Fries, Shells, Union Square. Leave a comment

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The 5 Napkin Burger Episode

The other day I passed by this place in Union Square and remembered seeing it a little while back but never actually stopping by to try the fare. I’d begun to see a lot of new burger places open and close in the past few years around the city and this joint took over what used to be a corner Deli. Now transformed into a bar/grill restaurant I like the make over. Would the experience match the decor? Let’s find out. “Never forget you” was pumping through my ears as I approached the entrance. I wonder if that was foreshadowing.

The entrance

This is the Drink Menu on the table. Pretty cool I think. I took a look around and was compelled to snap a couple shots of the interior.

Staring at the ceiling I had a flash back of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” though “Saw6” would do as well. Take a gander at their black board below.

I’d dub that Tha Shiznit! Anyway moving right along…my server came to my table after a few moments and brought me a menu. I perused it briefly before I was asked if I wanted something to drink? I decided to forego alcohol and settled on their Saranac Ginger Beer. I told my server I’d need a minute to look over the menu and see what I wanted to try.

This was not one of the better tasting Ginger Beers I’d had. It was a bit on the sweet side and generally lacked much fizz or crispness that one would expect with a good Ginger Beer.

Their menu is decent but as far as burgers go lacking in variety when compared to Big Nicks Burger Joint. I suppose that’s the idea for them to keep it simple with their specialty burgers. However, when you consider their prices vs say Big Nick’s Burger Joint they have some pretty big shoes to fill as they are in Sumo Burger territory and beyond.

My server had left me now for so long a time I looked around and actually took some more photos of my people watching and still my server was no where in sight. I looked around the place and as you can see in the photos above it was not busy at all.

I managed to signal another server from across the restaurant and within a moment or two someone else came to take my order. The guy who took my order explained that my server was busy but he could take my order so …being that it was my first time In Five 5 Napkin I ultimately decided to go with the Original Five 5 Napkin Burger well done and with American Cheese instead of Gruyere. I added Mac n Cheese as my side seeing as how my burger would come with fries as it damn well should at $15.95

My original server returned to me after the other server had taken my order and I took the opportunity to add one more thing to my order as I saw that they had the happy hour special of 50 cent wings. My original server then informed me that I had to be sitting at the bar in order to get them.

I laughed out loud in shock and disbelief “like really?” Im thinking to myself who’s the “genius” that decided that? My server asked if I wanted to sit at the bar to which I said flatly “no”. I was comfortable with my window seat. Why should I have to sit at the bar to enjoy wings?

So my server left to take someone else’s order then came back a little after that and asked me how many wings I’d like. 😉 I figured 6 was the right amount. When she left again I was presented with the following…

Clearly someone said “We don’t do American Cheese up in herr”! I gave up as I said to myself you did ask for an “Original Five 5 Napkin Burger well done (with American Cheese) not Gruyere. Chef said “you’ll eat Gruyere and like it!!”

HAWHAAT!!? Hand cut golden goodness!!! Uh…Yessum!!! They could use some ketchup, speaking of which…

Now this is where the tires came to a screeching halt and the sound of brakes squealing could be heard. This is supposedly an “American Bar and Grill.” So tell me how do you mess up Mac N Cheese or should I say call shells in cheese soup Mac N Cheese?!!! How do you do it?!! Why do you do it?!! I’m not saying I’m anti shells but come on man?!!

This was blatant false advertising in my book, but you know what, I was hungry and those shells did taste kinda good. LOL Even still I say call a spade a spade, call shells shells and dog-gonit call Mac n Cheese, Mac…N Cheese!!

Then came the wings!!!!

When these arrived at the table I wasn’t expecting them. I mean I was thinking along the lines of plain chicken wings with the option of sauce in a carousel or on the side, but that’s my mistake as I didn’t specify what kind of wings I wanted. Nevertheless, I gladly partook of these tangy spicy good wings. The Five 5 Napkin Burger lives up to it’s name as it gets very messy all over you while eating it no matter how careful you are. Luckily, they give you a good sized real cloth napkin with your utensils.

My first bite in and there was disappointment not necessarily in the taste but in the fact the my burger was under-cooked. I was irritated now to say the least but not enough to send my burger back to the kitchen as I generally speaking as a rule never send anything back to the kitchen unless it’s so egregious it has to be sent back.

I did find that the caramelized onions were sweet and surprisingly the Gruyere cheese wasn’t bad. However because of the texture of the melted Gruyere and how soft my burger was in addition to the soft roll it sat on there was no textural contrast for me. I thought perhaps if it has some crisp lettuce on it that would have made a difference . It still was a pretty good burger but I wonder now how much better I might have enjoyed it had it been made to my requested specifications.

Overall my experience at Five 5 Napkin Burger was good I’d give it 3 3/4 out of 5 Napkins. I base this on service, price, taste and presentation. Presentation gets 5 napkins all the way round in each component of my meal. Now for the rating of the Original Five 5 Napkin Burger. The Original Five 5 Napkin Burger gets 3 3/4 out of 5 Napkins. So far Big Nick’s Black Angus Sumo Burger hold’s the crown alone followed by Big Nick’s Kobe beef burger.

The hand cut fries were good but you’d have a lot better tasting hand cut fries at Five Guys and for a lot less dough. Fries get 3 1/2 out of 5 napkins. The Shells and Cheese Soup gets a 3 1/2 out of 5 napkins and the wings get 4 out of 5 napkins.

Once I finished my meal my tab before tip came to just under $30. I will be back here again to sample more of their menu and see if my experience improves over my first impression.