In the beginning, we created Burger Weekly.
Burgers Ordered: Matt – Gaelic Burger; Brad – Bulls-Eye Burger; Sam – Cheddar Cheeseburger
The Experience: And how appropriate should it be that our first entry brings us to Genesis Bar and Restaurant, a burger staple of the Upper East Side. The host hooked us up with a table outside despite how crowded it was on this warm evening. The sign at the entrance of the bar boasted that Genesis is home to one of the top ten burgers in New York City according to the Burger of the Month Club. Genesis was not on the initial list of NY burger joints but Matt had heard that the burgers here were unreal. Needless to say we had high hopes that we would not be let down.
Presentation: The bun was open to see all of the toppings on the burger, and making it easy to add your favorite condiments, “I hate when the bun is already on the burger and half of the cheese comes off with it.” – Matt.
All three patties were thick and juicy, stacked high with the various accouterments. The buns were all nicely toasted.
Taste: Matt’s Gaelic Burger was topped with Irish bacon, cheddar cheese, sauteed onions, lettuce and tomato. The bacon was full of flavor, not overly crispy, as close to perfection as bacon gets.
Brad’s Bulls-Eye Burger came with jalapeños, sauteed onions and Bulls-Eye bbq sauce. It came with lettuce and tomato as well but Brad doesn’t like vegetables. The jalapeños didn’t overwhelm the burger but rather gave it a very nice kick. Brad’s beer was used more than once to temper the flames in his mouth.
Sam called his cheeseburger “A slow down burger.” Brad and Matt are still trying to figure out if that was a good or bad thing… Was the burger too small so he had to slow down to savor it? Or was it so big he needed to slow down so as to not explode? We’ll let you know when we find out.
All three burgers were ordered med-rare, but came cooked medium. Bit of a bummer though not uncommon. The service was fine though the place was busy. These 11 dollar burgers (with fries and a delicious pickle) were fairly priced at that.
The Verdict: We were all satisfied with our burgers, so it’s safe to assume the others on the menu are just as enjoyable. Genesis is an easy recommendation for a warm summer evening’s burger.
Genesis is located at 1708 2nd Avenue, between 88th and 89th Street.
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