DMANBURGER “Stand Burger”

Recently I visited the much blogged and written about Stand burger. In its conceptual phase it was expressed by a who’s who of food aficionados that such criminalist burger atrocities had occurred there. A penchant for the dramatic and skeptical, I was interested to see what sparked such auspicious burger educators to voice their dissatisfaction. Interestingly Stand Burger was created by noodle king Jonathan Morr , famous for APT and Republic  who then in 2007 started to think burgers. Stand has a modern open feel with some communal bench seating and a spacious dining room, perfect for a large crowd. I sat at the bar which was teaming with youngsters and college types. ESPN was showing on all TV’s and people were drinking like fish for 3.00pm in the afternoon, which made for a raucous bar scene. I found out there was a relatively new burger on the menu, the BOLD Burger, a gigantic twin patty goliath of Pat La Frieda beef stacked on a brioche bun with apple wood smoked bacon, sautéed onions, American and cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, chipotle sauce and fried egg.

 

   

 

The menu has an array of beefy pleasures, burgers for every palette are featured here such as  the Stand Burger noted as the “best burger in Manhattan at any price” with onion marmalade; Mushroom Beef Burger, Buffalo Blue Cheeseburger,Veggie Burger with quinoa, mushroom, zucchini and parmesan and the Hamburger with shredded lettuce onion marmalade and green peppercorn sauce. Other favorites on the menu include a Burger Salad, Shrimp Po’Boy, Crabbie Pattie Sandwich, fries and Onion rings-which are blogged about as the best in the city!

 

 

I went with the Hamburger, BOLD Burger, and the much hyped about Toasted Marshmallow Shake. The Hamburger arrived first; it was plump and piled with shredded lettuce and green peppercorn sauce oozing out the sides. I thought the green peppercorn sauce brought an interesting element to the burger, tasting like steak au poivre more than a burger. In the distance I could see the BOLD Burger coming from the kitchen; it was like a tower of beef and pork levitating across the room. All I could see was this thing of structured beef beauty coming at me, it was daunting but at the same time exciting. I picked it up to take my first bite, struggling to handle its bulkiness. I opened wide, but just grazed the outside of the beast, the taste was succulent and juicy for the first 2 or 3 bites but then fell apart in my hands ending up like a meatloaf on my plate. I finished what I could of the burger, but it lost its juiciness and its flavor and ended up in torn mangled pieces on my plate. The Toasted Marshmallow shake with honey lavender chocolate, peanut butter cap, mint cookies and cream; however was one of the best things I have ever tasted ! It didn’t have any Bourbon in it, but it was a good $7.00 milkshake. In a burger addled town I found Stand to be disappointing, however the overall atmosphere and the staff were very friendly and invitingly appealing.

 

 

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