Smithfield

Post number 2 from New York is for a place called Smithfield. Now this was not on the list of recommendations I received, but I was just looking for a place close to my hotel in Chelsea to watch a game and grab a bite to eat. After looking at some reviews, I decided to checkout Smithfield. After asking around later, not many people I know knew this place even existed. I think it is more of a soccer bar, but it did just fine to watch some American football. The bar was pretty full and happening when I got there. It seemed to full of regulars and everyone seemed to kind of know everyone else around the bar. In what seems to be a theme from my trip, the fries here were also very good.

Now for the surprising part of the post. I think this might have been my favorite burger on my trip. They grind the meat in house. The blend is brisket, short rib and sirloin and it was delicious. I ordered the Black & Blue burger. As I said, the meat was very flavorful and really showed through the rest of the ingredients. The bun was a brioche style bun, but was not overly greasy. The bottom bun did get really soggy from the juices. The burger came topped with Maytag blue cheese, pickled red onions, baby greens and mini pickled cucumbers. All in all, this was a surprisingly good burger.

Spotted Pig

After going to San Diego, my next trip was east to New York. Being my first time in the Big Apple, I felt I needed to try a few of the burgers there. I got several recommendations, and did not get to them all, but I think I got a good representation of the burgers in the city.

The Spotted Pig is in the West Village. It is a pretty small place with a mix of interesting small plates to share and some entrée's you might not want to give up. The room is pretty dark and you might wait a while for a table, but the bar is cozy and the bartender will be happy to make you an interesting cocktail while you wait. I know this is a burger blog, but the shoestring fries that come with the burger were exceptional. I normally prefer steak fries because I like the potato flavor along with the fried flavor. They had a nice amount of saltiness and herbs that did not overwhelm the potato.

Speaking of the burger, this is as simple as burgers get. We are talking patty, bun and cheese. The meat had good beef flavor. It was not the best meat that I have had in a burger, but it was definitely good. The bun appeared to be either homemade or fresh from one of the bakeries in area. It was soft and chewy and absorbed the juices of the meat but did not get very soggy. They used Roquefort cheese, which is known as one of the more pungent cheeses. The cheese really wasn’t as stinky as I would have imagined, and added a good balance to burger. Overall, this was a good burger, but felt it was missing something without some onion or greens to add texture or maybe increase the meat flavor.

Crazee Burger

This is the final post on my San Diego burger tour. And why not save the strangest burgers for last? For the last one I went to Crazee Burger. Crazee Burger is known for their off the wall burger creations. One had all sorts of pig in it (bacon, ham sausage etc.). Others include venison, gator and whatever they can get their hands on. The restaurant is in the Northpark part of town, which has all sorts of restaurants and shops. It is a great place to hangout out and there is also plenty of nightlife too. There is also a second location in Old Town San Diego. The interior of the restaurant is pretty basic. It almost feels like a 70’s joint with some wood paneling. They have a bunch of good beers on tap and plenty of sides to go with the burgers.

I ordered the Dansk burger, which is their standard burger with blue cheese. They use a brioche style bun, which had nice chew and held together well. The meat is angus beef and is cooked either pink or done. I got mine pink which amounts to medium cooked meat. It was nice and pink inside and very juicy. The meat was good but not amazing flavor-wise. The burger was topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles. All of the veggies were very fresh and had nice crunch for add flavor and texture. The best part of the burger was the blue cheese. Usually blue cheese has a very strong flavor and most places put too much on the burger and it can overpower the rest of the flavors. This was not the case here. The blue cheese they used was on the mild side and was very creamy. It was a great compliment to the rest of the burger. Now that I have tried a more standard burger, the next I am in the area, I think I may need to go back to try one of the other burgers. I highly recommend you do the same.