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.

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.