Time Out New York and Amstel Light teamed up once again to bring New York City the Battle of the Burgers. Sixteen NYC restaurants vied for the hearts and tongues of the Battle’s attendees. In the end, Jeepney took home the coveted top prize.
Having tried Jeepney before, I saved my appetite for nine of the sixteen burgers that I’d never tasted (and one I’d tried before). From left to right, top to bottom in the photograph above, I sampled burgers from:
Pork Slope: Having previously tried their Porky Melt, I needed to get a bite of their cheeseburger. It has a fancy McDonald’s flavor going for it, very similar to its next-door neighbor (at the battle) Dram Shop.
Nurnberger Bierhaus: The German soccer bun was an interesting touch, but the most notable flavor in this burger bite came from the fried onions that adorned it. I prefer a little more from my beef.
Watermark: A simple, understated, but excellent burger. The tomato was unnoticeable, which is the best thing you can say about a tomato on a burger, and both the patty and bun had a wonderful flavor.
The Trading Post: Not bad at all, but not particularly memorable.
The Kettle Black: This was hands-down my favorite burger at the Battle. Using garlic buttered Texas toast instead of a bun and accompanied by a delightful dipping sauce, I was very taken by this burger.
Whitehall: Ever since my transcendent experience at Five Leaves, I’ve been all about the beet-and-egg combination. Whitehall brought the goods with these toppings, but the patty was a bit cold. This was a problem that plagued many vendors at the Battle, and one that is sadly typical at events like these.
Teddy’s: Teddy’s was serving chicken burgers and veggie burgers as well as hamburgers. Their offering was solid, though I had trouble creating a sense-memory of it.
Twist and Smash’d: This was more bun and barbecue than beef, but it tasted great and came with a delicious and salty side of potatoes. I’m usually pretty wary of side dishes at events like these, but I appreciated the variety in this case.
Perla: This was actually the first burger that I ate, which ended up being something of a mistake. My palate was muddled by the unorthodox toppings (taleggio, pancetta, escarole, and roasted tomato). The escarole in particular to a while to overcome, but a bottle of Amstel Light made the job a little easier.
Not pictured – Rare: The M&M Burger from Rare has a hit-and-miss history on Burger Weekly. Their showing here didn’t change anything, as the bacon and patty didn’t have much of a taste at all.
I should also give a shout out to Five Napkin Burger, who brought their slider to the game, found that it was larger than most of the burgers being served, but received only adulation from those that I heard commenting on it. Kudos! And thank you to Rev from Burger Conquest, who made sure I attended the event and put me to shame by eating all sixteen burgers!
