RACHAEL RAY

Photo credit: Andrew Kaplan

Andrew Kaplan, a contributing writer to our NYC Foodie blog, has shared this restaurant recommendation with us:

A Burger Joint in Midtown That’s Really Worth the Trip

When a new burger joint pops up, I like to check it out to see how (or, really, if) it differs from the other umpteen burger joints in New York City. Some “burger gurus” recently had positive things to say about HB Burger, so I thought I would give it a try. 

HB Burger is Heartland Brewery’s new burger outpost, located right in the heart of midtown. It’s a casual, sit-down restaurant with a strong emphasis on burgers, as the name would suggest. But before I went on trying buffalo burgers or salmon burgers, I thought I would see how their good ol’ American burger fared. 

I sat at the bar during lunchtime and ordered just that – a classic beef burger. It came with shredded lettuce and tomato and I added American cheese to it. I took advantage of the lunchtime combo, which came with my choice of fries, onion strings or homemade tater tots. Of course, I ordered the tots. I was quite impressed with the meal. The burger was a generously-sized patty cooked on a flat grill, so it had that golden brown crust. It was served on a potato roll, Shake Shack-style, with some shredded lettuce and a slice of tomato. The tater tots were mashed potatoes mixed with some bacon pieces and coated in what looked like shredded potatoes, then deep fried. Tater tots are one of those few foods that are somehow better from the box. These tots were actually quite tasty for being homemade!. 

I’m happy to say that this burger stacked up to its reviews. It was a simple burger with no crazy fixings to throw off the flavor (although a wide choice of add-ons are available). I still don’t know if I would branch out and try one of their more adventurous burgers or if I should stick with the basic. We’ll see… In the meantime, I have a few more burger joints to check out!