As I mentioned in my Blue Collar review, I am returning to Brooklyn after two years in Hell’s Kitchen. On my way out of the neighborhood, I wanted to visit a burger joint that ranked high on my list of neighborhood eats, Hudson Common. Those who know me well know that I rarely revisit restaurants at which I’ve had a burger previously and need a good reason to do so. After all, there are so many wonderful things to be eaten in New York City, it would only slow me down to repeat eateries. But I remembered that the first time that I went to Hudson Common, they were serving up burgers not usually featured on their menu as part of a March Madness promotion. The opportunity was perfect: I’d return to Hudson Common and eat their usual fare, use that as an opportunity to write about “special-event” burgers vs. standard burgers, and send myself back to Brooklyn with happy burger memories.
Folks have written to me since my first Hudson Common review, asking why they couldn’t order the burgers that I wrote about when they visited the restaurant. I felt their pain, having missed my fair share of one-night-only food events in my time living in New York. Furthermore, I became the envy of many of my friends and peers when just this week I went to Saveur’s Summer BBQ and ate a mini lamb burger expertly crafted by Amanda Freitag that doesn’t appear on her menu at Empire Diner. So it’s plain to see that these promotional events and unique burgers do plenty to build buzz for the chefs that participate them and the eateries at which they create their typical culinary eats.
So how did Hudson Common’s Common Burger and UnCommon Lamb Burger, which are available every day, stack up against the no-longer-available BBQ Bacon Burger and Double Double Burger? As it turns out, really well. The Common Burger is true to its name. Special sauce, pickles and cheese are all that top this intensely flavorful patty on a brioche bun. It’s very simple and every bit as tasty as the dressed-up burgers I had last year. The UnCommon Lamb Burger (UnCommon Burgers are a rotating series of less-than-typical burger offerings) brought the goods you’re used to in this type of meal; a lamb patty, feta cheese, and cucumbers. The patty had the same zing as the beef patties, and the cucs and feta cheese helped tie the experience together. The buns on both burgers were excellent as well.
It is the opinion of this Burgermeister that you attend any and all special burger events thrown by burger joints you love. They will be worth your time. But don’t neglect those restaurants on a typical weeknight when they’re serving up their usual. Remember, there’s a reason you started digging the joint in the first place.
