Dinner Plates

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“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.

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: The SEA Thai Restaurant Experience Fall 2013

My sister and I had been planning a trip to eat at this place for a few weeks but due to my being under the weather towards the end of last week that didn’t happen. It was finally tonight that we were able to get together and dine at this “sister” restaurant to Spice Thai Restaurant.

Located at 835 Washington St. directly across from the Standard Hotel sits SEA Thai Restaurant another example of great Thai food to be had in the city.

Initially we thought that sitting outside for dinner would be a good idea. That was until reality set in (with the not so subtle reminder from the evening chill) that it would behoove us to move inside to eat and enjoy SEA’s interior like everyone else dining inside.

While initially seated outside we looked over their menu’s and took our time making our selections. Sis went for a Lychee Mojito to start things off while I opted for a Mandarin & Sprite.

Nice presentation on the mojito no doubt. I wouldn’t want to be the bartender having to make mutliples of these throughout the night. According to my sister they are delicious . This was her first “Lychee” version mojito.

After a perusal of their entire menu I zeroed in on my go to appetizers for Thai food which were the curry chicken puffs, curry duck puffs, and spring rolls. Sis settled on sampling some of my curry puffs and spring rolls while selecting wings and ribs for us to try.

Now that’s what you call a spread.

Behold those golden springrolls.

Golden soft pastry shell curried chicken and duck puffs were just the perfect option to have pre main course. Use of the knife and fork are definitely required if you want to take the time to slice and cut to adequate bite size portions, multiple mouthfuls of this excellent appetizer.

It’s not heavy on the palate and has a great blend of sweet with curry flavor permeating throughout. I opted to try both the chicken curry and duck curry because I wanted to see if I could distinguish which was which. Sis said grace to give thanks and bless our meal then it was on.

Yeah yeah we want dem Ribs!!!! Yessum!!!

Wings?…Sho you right!!!

Once the appetizers were destroyed and no evidence remained out came our main courses.

The Pad Thai Fried Rice…

Drunk Man Noodles Spicy w/chicken. Hawhaat?!!!!

So here’s our overall impression of our “Experience @ SEA” 😉

The overall atmosphere while we ate was great because it wasn’t too busy at the time we were seated. The music playing in the background was audible but not so loud we couldn’t have a conversation.

The wait staff were cordial and attentive but not overly so, which was good because I hate to be kept waiting needlessly nor do I like to be interrupted incessantly during a meal. The best service experience I find to have is the one in which the staff is friendly, gives good accurate & prompt service but is for the most part invisible unless really needed for something. SEA managed to do this near seemlessly.

Appetizer Rating

On our “Dinner Plate” scale from 1 – 5 here are our ratings for each appetizer.

Wings = A perfect score of 5 out of 5 “Dinner plates” OOOOO

Curry Chicken/Duck Puffs = A perfect score of 5 out of 5 “Dinner plates” OOOOO

Ribs = 3 1/4 “Dinner plates” OOO[ The ribs were ok but we’ve both had better and so while the presentation was spot on size and taste were about average.

Main Course Rating

Pad Thai Fried Rice = 4 out of 5 “Dinner plates” OOOO This was mostly due to it being a little bland according to my sister. I had no room left to sample it so I take her word for it.

Drunk Man Noodles (Spicy w/Chicken) 5 out of 5 “Dinner plates”OOOOO This was just a pleasure to eat fork by forkfull. The heat from the pepper added to the experience and had a perfect balance of hot but not intolerable runny nose hot. The shredded pieces of chicken throughout the noodle dish is also spot on in terms of there being enough chicken in the dish that you can have some noodles and chicken in every bite.

Service

Attentive, cordial, and seemless execution. 5 out of 5 for service quality.

Price

The final tally came it at well see for yourself…we included a 20% gratuity and called it a night.

SEA is what you would expect to pay for dining out in Meatpacking. Combined with great service and excellent food it is worth it’s price of admission. Would we have preferred a smaller bill? Absolutely, who wouldn’t? Even so SEA Thai Experience we will be back!!!

Burger Battle I

Posted by THEJNSREPORT on August 10, 2013

Posted in: Food & Drinks. Tagged: American Diners, Bacon Cheeseburger, Burger Battle I, burger joints, burger patties, burger patty, Condiments, Diners, Dining out, Dinner Plates, double cheeseburger, Fast Food, Food, Food & Drinks, Jackson Hole, lettuce tomato, restaurants, Satisfaction, Shake Shack, Shakes, Toasted, Travel Log. 2 Comments

Welcome to THEJNSREPORT’S: BURGER BATTLE I: Jackson Hole Burgers V Shake Shack Burgers

Ok having been in a “Burger Hunter” mood the past week or two I decided I needed a side by side comparison taste testing of both a Jackson Hole cheeseburger and a Shake Shack burger.

Having tasted each on separate occasions now was the time to truly find out side by side which burger I liked best. And so ladies and gentlemen, without further ado I give you Burger Battle I.

Shake Shack burger & Fries.

Behold the Jackson Hole Bacon Cheeseburger

Now what you have to realize is Shake Shack burgers aren’t huge. They are a good slightly above average sized burger bout the same size as Blue 9 burgers. In stark contrast, Jackson Hole burgers are almost a half pound burger.

Thick or thin, almost every width and thickness in the burger patty spectrum is all good in my book. What makes the difference is taste, texture, and presentation. How well were my instructions followed as far as how I like my burger cooked? Did my mouth enjoy the burger, and was I satisfied? All important questions needing answers.

The Shake Shack burger I had first.

Shake Shack burger & Fries.

It was perfectly cooked and seasoned and not too salty the way some burger joints over season their meat. Shake Shack makes a great burger no doubt about it. I found the double cheeseburger decently juicy, and overall very satisfying to the palate.

Their fries were pretty good as well. The bun was soft and the lettuce, tomato & mayo just made the perfect harmony with the well done burger patties. There is definitely a distinct taste to Shake Shack burgers that makes people stand in long lines to get them.

I devoured my Shake Shack double cheeseburger in between bites of crunchy golden fries. Answers forth coming were as follows. Shake Shack scored 5 dinner plates out of 5 for following my instructions as far as cooking my burger well done. Taste and texture were both very good and scored 4.5 dinner plates out of 5. OOOO.5

Presentation was good considering it came wrapped in paper half way up the burger so one can hold it comfortably and eat. Overall presentation scores a 4.5 dinner plates. OOOO.5

Shake Shack gets an overall score of 4.7 dinner plates out of 5. OOOO.7

I didn’t include a photo of it wrapped due to my haste to get started eating it. 😉 Now turning my attention to the Jackson Hole Bacon Cheeseburger pictured below. There was a bit of time between picking up the two burgers before heading home. So not wanting to eat my very thick Jackson Hole Bacon Cheeseburger luke warm or cold I put it to heat up in the toaster oven.

Toasted burger. Mmmm!!

I could hardly wait to take the first bite into that amazing looking burger. I have to admit it bacon cooked right and put on anything including burgers instantly makes them taste better. Notice of course the obvious difference between Shake Shack and Jackson Hole is the size disparity in burgers.

If you’re looking for a “big man-sized” burger Jackson Hole Burgers are where it’s at (Big Nick’s is in that class as well I might add). I decided to skip the lettuce, tomato, pickles and all other condiments with this burger and kept it simple between the bun, meat and cheese.

Presentation of this burger I think speaks for itself. I gave it 5 out of 5 dinner plates for a simple yet impressive arrangement and bounty of ingredients. That cheese oozing all over the burger is what dreams are made of people!

Once I toasted it, it was like that just took the burger to the next level. Taste and Texture both received perfect 5 out of 5 dinner plate scores. OOOOO. I bit into the thickness yokum of that burger and found even toasted, my burger was well done yet still juicy inside. With each bite I took into it I found juice rushed into my mouth. 😀

The cheese slathered and rippling down my plate spoke of the attention to detail and heavy-handedness paid to a deserving near half pound beast. The bacon was perfectly crispy and the salty good bacon flavor just took things to the next level.

The bun of my Bacon Cheeseburger was well toasted as it had been already been lightly toasted when it was first picked up but now it was a nice almost crustini texture to it except for the parts of then bun that were in immediate contact with the meat and cheese.

The contrasting textures of the crunchy bun and crispy bacon combined with the melted and slightly burned cheese and juicy beef just made my mouth yearn for more and more with each passing bite.

Jackson Hole huh? They sure do make a tasty burger. Mmmm!

There would be no room left in my belly for more fries. As far as being satisfied. Jackson Hole’s Bacon Cheeseburger gets 5 out of 5 dinner plates OOOOO for Presentation and Satisfaction. I was beyond satiated for several hours following burger battle I.

Overall score for Jackson Hole’s Bacon Cheeseburger is a perfect 5 out of 5 dinner plates. OOOOO

The winner here in Burger Battle I is Jackson Hole. Shake Shack came up just short in the end but is still definitely a great burger. Some may disagree with my findings but that’s the beauty of variety. Everything is subject to interpretation and preference. What’s your take? Have you had either one of these Burger Joints offerings? If so, who do you think makes the better burger?

Till next Food Travel Log this has been Burger Battle I: Jackson Hole VS Shake Shack by THEJNSREPORT.