There is no question about it, New Yorkers love their burgers. It's an odd thing that a city with such refined and diverse tastes has such a huge demand for hamburgers, but the number of establishments based around the burger as well as the amount of attention paid to it is incredible.
The demand for hamburgers, at least in the city, seems to be somewhat cyclical. New places open and close every few years, but when they come, they come fast and in groups. After all, opening a solid burger joint does not require a celebrity chef, years of culinary school, a fancy location, or some many of the other things that make operating a restaurant in the city so difficult- all you need is good food, quick service, and, hopefully, some way to differentiate yourself from the competition. This is easier said than done, especially considering how many well established options there are, but it's far from impossible.
Right now NYC is in the middle, or maybe even nearing the end, of another burger surger. A number of high profile restaurants recently opened as well as a few smaller ones and foodies all over the city and online are constantly bickering over whose is the best.
The top newcomers are
Stand and
brgr. Both got a lot of press before opening and have excellent pedigrees, but Stand has emerged as the victor, at least between the two. Stand's convenient 12th Street location, nestled right between NYU and Union Square, as well as its sit down service, solid burgers, and impressive shakes (and bar which should be opening soon) got it very good street cred right after opening. This was solidified with Frank Bruni's recent
two part examination.
New is great, and always worth a try, but New York City already had a number of highly respected options. The king of these is Madison Square Park's
Shack Shake, which is outdoors and open seasonly, but is the definitive crowd favorite. The line is rarely less than 30 minutes during meal times and its not opened in the winter, but the burgers are great and there is a lot of room to eat in the park. Other highlights include the Better Burgers all over town, Zip Burger, and BLT Burger. An untested new comer that does not seem to have much draw is
Burgers and Cupcakes, but it's still too early for me to weigh in on it. Personally I really like Shake Shack but can't deal with the lines, so have grown to really like Zip Burger despite somewhat high prices and a less then ideal location.
Right now New York finds itself in a post-Atkins, yet exercise-crazed time where the burger is just the right mix of responsible eating and just not caring, comfort and class, and as well as of luxury and speed. There are a lot of hungry people with very diverse tastes so the burger wars are one of attritrion more than anything else. The best will rise to the top and stay there as the burger craze dies down and the rest will fade into other types of eateries, maybe Thai or pizza or a coffee shop, whatever New Yorkers are looking for next.
